Your Brand Committee Is Killing Your Brand (And Your Soul)

April 4, 2025

Listen, I get it. You're a responsible, inclusive leader. You want everyone to feel heard. You've set up a Slack channel called #brand-feedback where seventeen people with zero brand strategy experience are debating whether your logo should be "more energetic" or "less threatening."

Stop. Just stop.

Consensus is brand kryptonite. It's how you get beige websites, safe taglines, and logos that look like they were designed by a focus group of suburban moms who "just want something nice."

Here's the uncomfortable truth: Great consumer brands aren't built by committee. They're built by founders brave enough to have an opinion and smart enough to defend it.

The real question for any CPG brand isn't "What will everyone like?" It's "What do we believe that matters?"

Because here's what happens when you chase universal approval: You get universally forgettable brand positioning.

Brand clarity comes from conviction, not consensus. Liquid Death didn't test whether people wanted water in a beer can. Glossier didn't ask if anyone needed another D2C beauty brand. They said something, stood for something, and let the chips fall where they may.

Your consumer brand should make some people uncomfortable. If it doesn't, you're probably not trying hard enough.

Looking for clarity, culture, and conviction in your brand strategy? Let's talk about how fractional CMO expertise can accelerate your consumer brand's growth.