Why Brands Must Take Charge of Their Content
Most brands understand the need to create content in today’s fast-paced digital landscape, where attention is fleeting and volume is everything. But many overlook the importance of owning the entire content experience, not just the idea, imagery, or copy, but the full creative vision from start to finish.
Here’s the truth: the biggest reason most brand content underperforms isn’t a lack of budget or a weak product. It’s that no one has fully taken responsibility for the overall experience. If your content isn’t converting, engaging, or even getting noticed, chances are one of these three pillars is missing:
Editorial Positioning
Visual Packaging
Narrative Structure
Let’s break each one down and explain why they matter so much more than brands tend to realize.
1. Editorial Positioning: Say Something Worth Saying
Every piece of content your brand puts out should come from a clear editorial point of view. That means your content doesn’t just talk about your product — it stands for something. It has a voice, a tone, and a take. It reflects how your brand sees the world.
Too many brands fall into the trap of safe, generic messaging:
“Tips for better productivity.”
“Meet our team.”
“Here’s why hydration is important.”
It’s not that these topics are bad, it’s that they’re forgettable. There’s no edge, no opinion, no insight. It’s content without conviction.
Brand Takeaway: Your editorial positioning should be as consistent and ownable as your logo. Whether you're a wellness brand advocating for radical self-care or a fintech brand pushing for financial transparency, your content should speak with your voice, not a recycled version of someone else's.
2. Visual Packaging: Look Like You
We live in a hyper-visual culture. On TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, and even LinkedIn, your content is competing with not only other brands but also creators, comedians, educators, and viral trends. The only way to stand out is to build a distinct visual identity, one that stops people mid-scroll and signals: “This is us.”
That doesn’t mean every piece needs to be high-production or full of motion graphics. But it does mean your visual style should be:
Consistent across formats and platforms
Recognizable without needing a logo
Tailored to the way your audience consumes content
Think about the brands you instantly recognize in your feed, Dunkin’s fun, no-nonsense personality shines through in their bold visuals, coffee-fueled captions, and upbeat tone. Louisiana Hot Sauce, on the other hand, keeps things spicy and straightforward, leaning into its heritage and heat with confidence. Their content feels like them before you even hit play, and that same identity carries over into how they show up in person, especially at live events.
Brand Takeaway: Visual packaging isn’t just about design — it’s about branding through every frame. Don’t let your message get lost in content that looks like everyone else’s. Make it unmistakably yours.
3. Narrative Structure: Tell a Real Story
Here’s the thing: even the most aesthetically beautiful, perfectly positioned content will flop if there’s no story arc. A common pitfall for brands is sharing content that’s informative but emotionally flat, or attention-grabbing but confusing.
Every good piece of brand content, no matter the format, should follow a simple but powerful structure:
The Hook (pulls your audience in)
The Stakes (why it matters)
The Transformation (what changed)
The Resolution (what’s next)
That structure applies to a 90-second customer testimonial, a behind-the-scenes video, or even a static carousel post. If your content tells a compelling story, people will stay with it longer, remember it more clearly, and share it more often.
Brand Takeaway: Stories are how humans connect. Data fades, but stories stick. Build every piece of content around a clear before-and-after journey.
So, What Does It Mean to Own the Experience?
Owning the experience means your brand isn’t just reacting to trends or posting for the sake of activity. You’re crafting a deliberate content universe that reflects your brand’s perspective, energy, and intention.
That experience should:
Reflect your brand’s unique point of view
Feel visually consistent and creatively confident
Guide the viewer through a story, even if it’s just 10 seconds long
When your content hits all three points: editorial positioning, visual packaging, and narrative structure, it becomes something more than just content. It becomes a brand experience.
Why It Matters Now More Than Ever
Let’s be honest: most audiences can smell copy-paste content from a mile away. The internet is flooded with well-meaning but uninspired posts that blend together into white noise.
But when a brand takes full creative ownership, when it builds an actual experience for viewers something shifts:
People start paying attention
Trust and interest increase
Engagement becomes more natural
Brand loyalty deepens
It’s no longer about chasing the algorithm. It’s about becoming a brand people recognize, trust, and want to hear from again.
Final Thoughts
Your brand’s content should do more than check a box. It should perform in every sense: capture attention, communicate value, build emotion, and drive action.
To do that, someone on your team (or the agency you hire) has to own it all the way through, from the first brainstorm to the final frame.
Because in a world where everyone is creating content, the ones who win are the ones who create experiences.
