If I Wanted To Grow An Audience In 2026, I'd Do This

After studying countless marketing definitions that were vague and confusing, I developed a clear, actionable definition: Branding is a deliberate pairing of things through an outcome.Take Coca-Cola as an example. They pair drinking their product with the outcome of enjoyment (the "yum" factor). The next time you want that feeling, you're more likely to reach for a Coca-Cola because that pairing was successful.Sometimes businesses pair their products with things people don't like—that's bad branding. The Dylan Mulvaney Bud Light collaboration was actually good advertising (it let lots of people know about the product) but bad branding (many customers hated the pairing). Sales suffered as a result. When Bud Light later paired with Shane Gillis and UFC—things their target audience liked—sales began recovering.The key insight: branding always happens, but our goal is good branding. Good branding is deliberately pairing your business with positive outcomes for your ideal customers.