Thomas Ramseier From AI-generated messaging to soulless stock visuals – marketing is becoming more efficient, but also increasingly interchangeable. In a world of digital noise, standing out requires more than performance. It requires brand.
Welcome to the Age of Copy-Paste Marketing
Artificial intelligence has democratized marketing – but also made it look the same. Texts are written in seconds, visuals are generated via prompt, videos come together in a few clicks. Efficiency is up. Originality is down. Everything is fast. Everything is good enough – but nothing sticks.
What follows is a new kind of mediocrity. Differentiation – once the essence of a brand – is now often an afterthought. Communications look alike. Claims sound generic. Visuals repeat in endless variations of “diverse, friendly, digital.” In this sea of sameness, one trait becomes more valuable than ever: distinctiveness. Not a stylistic luxury – but the key currency of any brand trying to cut through the noise.
Brand Building is Back – But on What Foundation?
For a long time, marketing was ruled by performance. KPIs, conversions, attribution models were the holy grail. Branding? Nice to have, if time allowed. That is now changing.
According to McKinsey’s State of Marketing 2024, brand building is back in the spotlight – ranking above data-driven personalization. Why? Because the ROI of pure performance is finite. You can only optimize a funnel so many times before it flattens out.
But brand building doesn’t start with communication – it starts with clarity. Who are we? What do we stand for? What makes us unique? Investing in communication without a strong brand foundation is like polishing a facade while the structure crumbles. You risk not being perceived as a brand at all.
Inhouse First – But Not for Branding
Marketing departments have been transforming. Content teams, design units, media expertise – everything is moving in-house. And that makes sense: it brings speed, proximity, control.
But when it comes to identity, strategic positioning, and brand leadership, many in-house teams hit their limits. Too close to the brand. Too operational. Too little pushback. Branding is uncomfortable. It challenges assumptions. It needs outside perspective – not because the internal team is incapable, but because they are too deeply entangled.
Strong brand refreshes rarely happen between meetings. They need focus, depth, and the courage to be questioned. Or, as one CMO aptly put it: “We’re too close to see clearly.” Those who only think internally stay trapped in the present. Those who allow challenge, create the future.
Marketing vs. Branding: Who Owns What?
The divide between marketing and branding is no longer structural – it’s mental. Branding creates identity, values, distinctiveness. Marketing activates, orchestrates, moves. Both are essential – and both need each other.
What’s changed is the attention economy. Many brands focus solely on the 5% of their audience who are currently “in the market.” The remaining 95% are ignored – because they’re not buying today.
But that’s where branding starts. It shapes memory and emotion long before a purchase decision is made. It ensures that when the time comes, people choose by preference, not by comparison.
The classic funnel – awareness at the top, conversion at the bottom – doesn’t reflect reality. People don’t move linearly. They explore, pause, forget, return. If you only focus on short-term activation, you’ll lose long-term meaning.
Seamless Experience: Consistency Beats Volume
It’s never been easier to publish branded content – and never harder to keep it consistent. Different teams, different tones, different messages – all at once, across every channel.
Brand experiences no longer happen one after the other, but all at the same time. On TikTok. On LinkedIn. In search results. In sales calls. Every inconsistency breaks trust. Every misalignment creates noise.
That’s why branding needs more than a design system. It needs a clear core, a defined voice, a visual identity that shows up consistently – without becoming boring. And above all, it needs contrast in a crowded competitive landscape.
A brand can’t cook in its own juices. It must stand apart – from similar offerings, messages, visuals. Only brands that clearly articulate their promise and translate it into a distinct, credible identity will rise above the noise.
Consistency without distinction is repetition. Distinction without consistency is confusion. Only together do they build a brand.
Brand communication doesn’t stop with the customer. Employees and applicants experience it too – often first. Via careers pages. Social media. Glassdoor. If employer branding isn’t built on the same foundation as the master brand, there’s a disconnect. And disconnects hurt – inside and out. A strong brand is consistent across channels and across audiences – from customer experience to company culture.
Distinctiveness Is More Than Visual: The Power of Sound
When we talk about branding, we usually mean visuals – logos, colors, typefaces. But what we hear often leaves a deeper impression.
Brands like Netflix, Apple, or Deutsche Telekom have long realized what many still ignore: sound is memory. A single tone can trigger emotion, expectation, trust – without a single word.
Still, audio branding is a blank spot for many companies. Why? Because it’s not part of the design system. It’s less tangible – but more powerful. In a world of podcasts, smart assistants, and audio-first interactions, one thing is clear: You don’t just see strong brands – you hear them.
User Experience: The Interface as the True Stage of the Brand
Many believe their brand lives in the campaign. The truth? It lives in the app. In the loading spinner. In the “Forgot Password?” flow.
User experience has become the quiet stage where brands show who they are. And its impact is massive. When everything feels the same – buttons, flows, language – the brand disappears. When interactions are smooth but soulless, no relationship is built.
The strongest brands create distinction in the details: through tone of voice, surprising micro-interactions, brave UX decisions. They express identity – even in the tiniest hover effect. UX is no longer a service topic. It’s a branding issue. And it’s time we treat it that way. That’s why user experience is now the new frontline of brand leadership – not loud, but decisive.
Branding is not a luxury. It’s a survival strategy. If you want to be seen today, you need to be remembered. And if you want to be remembered, you must know what you stand for.
AI will take over many things. But not what makes a brand a brand: attitude. Character. Uniqueness. That stays human. And that remains essential.
Now is the time to invest in a brand that is strong, clear, and truly distinctive – for everything that comes next, AI or not.