Let me introduce you to my concept of brand consciousness.
First, let’s define consciousness. Wikipedia traces the modern concept to John Locke, who in An Essay Concerning Human Understanding (1690) defined it as “the perception of what passes in a man’s own mind.” The Latin conscientia literally means “knowledge-with.”
Just as your own “knowledge within” starts small, so does your brand consciousness. The late David Lynch explained this with a simple analogy:
“If your consciousness is the size of a golf ball, then your understanding and awareness will be limited to that size. When you read a book or look at the world, your perception is confined. However, if you can expand that consciousness, everything changes. You gain more understanding, awareness, and wakefulness.”
The same principle applies to brands—both personal and corporate. Unlike individual consciousness, which lives only inside you, brand consciousness can influence the understanding and awareness inside other people’s minds. With skill and consistency in storytelling, you can expand your audience’s consciousness. You craft salient stories that capture attention, inform, and trigger emotional response.
The Problem
Most leaders have a limited understanding of their brand. Before you expand your customers’ consciousness, you must first expand your own.
When you move from a street-level view of your brand to the penthouse, everything changes. If senior leaders do not act as enthusiastic chief storytellers, ambassadors, and evangelists, few others will follow them toward meaningful success.
Limited brand consciousness shows up when CEOs, CMOs, and brand leaders rely on the old formula: awareness + differentiation + persuasion tactics to build market share. This approach often disappoints or demands a massive investment to move the needle marginally. That is not a compelling strategy.
As Byron Sharp writes in How Brands Grow, market share measures popularity. In a saturated, low-attention market, awareness plus persuasion tactics rarely build real popularity. It creates noise, not loyalty.
Your opportunity to first build intrinsic brand consciousness, then extrinsic. We always start by looking in the mirror, then out into the market.
How to Expand Brand Consciousness
Effective storytelling works.
Like Lynch’s golf ball analogy, you must plant a small seed in your customers’ minds (I don’t play golf, but I love trees). Then you nurture and grow that seed deliberately, honestly, and consistently. Over time, it becomes an oak tree. Your customer becomes an evangelist—repeating your stories with conviction and enthusiasm.
That customer plants seeds for you. Just as a mature oak expands a forest year after year, loyal customers expand your brand—if you maintain the relationship and keep your promises.
A transaction-dominant mindset prevents leaders from embracing brand consciousness. You cannot build a forest with short-term thinking. You must adopt a long-game mindset.
That does not mean you cannot grow quickly. I have seen companies achieve dramatic growth in months when leaders expand their brand consciousness. They shift from a narrow to a broader perspective. They become more intentional about what matters most to their customers and to themselves. They refuse to sacrifice long-term potential for short-term gains.
I often say: brand = reputation.
Your brand is your reputation because it reflects everything you say and do. You will earn the reputation you deserve, so design it intentionally.
Set a clear directional vision. For example: “We are a $20M company with aspirations of becoming a $100M company.” That vision provides clarity. Now ask: what does a $100m brand in our category look like, talk, and act like? The first thing you’ll realize is that the brand you have today is not the brand you need to win tomorrow. Now you must design your company, brand, marketing, and operations to reflect that future brand today.
I call this the optimization of aspirations.
You do not need to build the entire forest today. Forests take time to mature. But you must start planting now.
Feed Your Mind
What I’m Listening To:
If you’re not aware, there is another Bobby Gillespie out there. He’s also a creative, but instead of being a marketing guy, he leads bands like Primal Scream and The Jesus and Mary Chain. Fun fact: I’m constantly getting tagged on Instagram (where I am not active at all), but people keep mistaking me for the other Bobby G. I mention this because Jesse Jackson passed away last week. The civil rights leader was sampled in hundreds of songs. Here’s Primal Scream’s song, Come Together, featuring a sample of Rev. Jesse Jackson, that I share in his honor, and the message is still relevant today, and the track is an absolute banger. Enjoy.
Mona, a WFMU DJ, did a tribute show to Mr. Jackson on Friday, featuring tracks that mention or sample him. Check it out here.
What I’m Reading:
I’m reading the biography of Steve Jobs. I’ll save my commentary until I finish it.
What I’m Watching:
My wife and I started rewatching Twin Peaks. Boy, do they love good coffee and delicious pie. If you haven’t watched this show, what are you doing with your life?
