The Brand Gap: What You Think vs. What Really Matters

How to Experiment With Your Brand—Without Losing It All

On April 23, 1985, Coca-Cola’s CEO Roberto Goizueta announced what he called “the boldest single marketing move in the history of the packaged-goods business.”
New Coke launched. Coke Classic was gone.

What followed?

• Stock prices dropped.
• Pepsi shares surged (they gave employees the day off to celebrate).
• Customer service lines were overwhelmed.
• Protesters rallied in the streets.
• Lawsuits were filed.

Seventy-nine days later, New Coke was pulled from shelves.
One of the most famous brand missteps in modern history.

Your Brand ≠ What You Say It Is

Marty Neumeier said it best in The Brand Gap:
“Your brand isn’t what you say it is. It’s what they say it is.”

Your logo, fonts, or tagline? Important, sure.
But your brand is the emotional experience your audience feels when they engage with you.

So How Can Marketers and Creatives Lead Brand Growth—Without Going Full New Coke?

“You have to stay curious. Be empathetic. Always serve the customer and stay aligned with what they care about,”
says Eliott Wahba, CEO of DolFinContent.

An internal survey at DolFinContent found 93% of marketing and creative leaders now rank brand growth as a top priority—either central or urgent in 2025.

But growth can’t come at the cost of alienating your audience.

Start With a Brand Framework

Your brand’s framework is its DNA.
It defines who you are—and who you aren’t.

Some companies use the 12 classic brand archetypes. Others take a simple “we’re this, not that” approach.

At DolFinContent, we’ve built our framework around creativity without bottlenecks—delivering scalable, on-demand design that empowers marketing leaders to move fast and stay consistent.

What’s yours?

Create Consistency With Brand Guidelines

Brand guidelines are not just an internal rulebook.
They’re what keep your message, visuals, and voice aligned across every campaign, platform, and audience.

Your guidelines should cover:

• Logos and sizing
• Brand colors and usage
• Typography
• Iconography
• Photography styles
• Design templates

Without this, your creative team will waste time reinventing the wheel on every new project.

Case Study: How BeaconPath Scaled Their Brand With DolFinContent

When BeaconPath, a fast-growing fintech firm, came to DolFinContent, they had seven sub-brands—and no unified design system.

Campaigns were slow. Creative assets were inconsistent. Launches were delayed.

Our team helped:

• Redesign their brand system across sub-brands
• Create scalable templates for ads, email, and video
• Build a flexible style guide for in-house and outsourced teams

Outcome:

• Brand consistency achieved across 200+ assets
• Creative production time cut by 65%
• Improved lead conversion by 28%

Know When to Experiment—And How Much Risk to Take

“There are great reasons to experiment with your brand.
But where—and when—you do it is everything,”
says Eliott Wahba.

Biggest risks:

• Changing brand elements that impact large, late-stage audiences
• Alienating loyal customers
• Damaging trust through inconsistent messaging

Lowest risks:

• Testing new creative directions in early-funnel or smaller audience segments
• Limited-time visual campaigns
• Controlled A/B testing

Why Marketers Fear Brand Experiments

In a DolFinContent client poll:
52% said their top fear was loss of brand recognition.
39% cited lack of market insights as their main barrier.

No surprise there.
Change is risky. But not changing? That’s a bigger risk.

How to Take Calculated Risks

Step 1: Ask your audience
Even a small survey can reveal powerful insights. Don’t assume—confirm.

Step 2: Use your existing data
What do your best-performing campaigns say about what resonates?

Step 3: Test small
Pilot new designs or messaging with a limited audience before rolling out widely.

Step 4: Leverage customer conversations
Your support and sales teams know what real customers are saying—and where the brand may need to adapt.

You’ve Got This

Branding isn’t just about you.
But it starts with you leading the way.

You don’t need to overhaul everything tomorrow. But you do need to:
Listen to your customers
Test with purpose
Align teams behind clear guidelines
Scale creative with systems, not guesswork

At DolFinContent, we help brands grow without risking their core identity.
From new brand guidelines to scalable creative production, we’re here when you need us.

Let’s Chat