Why I spent half a million dollars on brand

Over the past seven years, I've spent well over half a million dollars building Umault's brand.

For a two-person agency, that's a ridiculous amount of money.

If you looked at it in a spreadsheet, you'd probably tell me to stop.

But I wouldn't.

One of the biggest reasons I believe so strongly in brand happened by accident this year. While I was making my first feature film, Ana the Cleaner, I largely stepped away from marketing. I wasn't consistently posting on LinkedIn. I wasn't blogging. I wasn't putting out as much content. Predictably, our lead flow slowed.

When the film wrapped, I turned those activities back on.

The interesting part wasn't that leads returned. It was how they returned.

Prospects would say things like, "I've been following you for years," or "I remember seeing one of your videos a while back."

The content I was publishing simply reminded people we existed. The real work had already been done by years of investing in our brand.

That's what I love about branding. It has an incredibly long shelf life.

A Google ad stops working the moment you stop paying for it. A cold email disappears into an inbox. But a memorable brand can stay with someone for years before they finally need what you sell.

The other reason I love investing in brand is that it's one of the few competitive advantages most companies won't pursue.

Everyone is willing to spend money on lead generation because it's measurable. You put dollars in and (hopefully) leads come out. That feels safe.

Brand doesn't work like that.

You invest in better writing. Better design. Better videos. A stronger website. Bigger creative swings. And for a while, nothing obvious happens.

That's uncomfortable.

Most companies give up before the investment compounds.

The ones that stick with it build something much harder to copy than a marketing funnel. They build a reputation.

Finally, there's a simpler reason I love branding.

It's fun.

I started a business because I enjoy making things. I like working with designers. I like refining messaging. I like obsessing over a website. I like creating videos that people actually choose to watch.

The best brands in the world look like they're enjoying themselves.

I think customers can feel that.

Branding is one of the few investments that gets more valuable over time while making the process of building a business more enjoyable along the way.

If you're only investing in tactics that generate leads this quarter, you may be missing the thing that generates leads for the next decade.

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