trends are killing your brand equity
Oct 13, 2025
Brought to you by The Art Of Positioning Podcast
Your feed is screaming at you.
"Try AI for everything!" "Do the GRWM trend!" "Behind-the-scenes content is essential!" "Dance challenges drive engagement!" "POV videos are converting!" "Social commerce is the future!"
Every marketing guru, every competitor, every social media "expert" has a new trend you absolutely must adopt or you'll be left behind.
Then there's the business pressure: "We need to modernize!" "Competitors are getting on TikTok!" "Should we rebrand to look fresher?" "Everyone's talking about AI - we should too!"
The noise is deafening.
And somewhere in all this trend-chasing, you've lost track of what actually made customers trust you in the first place.
When chasing every trend backfires 👇
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The perfect accompaniment to ensuring your business is on the right track to your end goals - be it growth, exit, or sale is this episode of The Art of Positioning, where M&A and finance experts Alexandria Seydel, J.D., and Allie Beckmann, RFC® share their considerable experiences helping businesses achieve just that.
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A building material supplier started posting daily "sustainable living tips" and eco-friendly lifestyle content because green building was trending on social media. Their core customers—practical contractors who chose them for reliable availability and competitive pricing—started questioning whether the company was still focused on getting them what they needed when they needed it.
The supplier didn't attract the eco-conscious homeowners they were chasing. They confused the contractors who actually bought from them.
Your brand equity gets built slowly and destroyed quickly.
I’ve seen it happen to no end: established businesses get so darn caught up in staying relevant that they become irrelevant. They dilute what made them distinctive by trying to be everything to everyone.
The brand filter framework
Before jumping on any trend, run it through these four questions:
Brand alignment: Does this reinforce or contradict our core values?
Audience relevance: Will our customers see this as authentic from us?
Implementation authenticity: Can we execute this genuinely?
Long-term brand impact: Will this strengthen or weaken our equity?
Let me show you how 3 businesses with distinct personalities use this filter. (Bonus points if you can spot the fictional inspirations. 😜)
The 3 businesses in question:
Holmes & Associates CPA
Values: Obsessive attention to detail, deductive investigation, uncompromising pursuit of truth
Positioning: "We find what others miss" - the forensic accountants who solve financial mysteries
Wayne Building Supply
Values: Strategic preparedness, protective reliability, tactical intelligence
Positioning: "Always ready, always reliable" - the supplier that anticipates problems before they happen
Logan Custom Homes
Values: Uncompromising craftsmanship, fierce independence, enduring resilience
Positioning: "Built to last generations" - the builder who refuses shortcuts
Trend 1: AI Adoption Pressure
Holmes & Associates:
Alignment: AI pattern recognition enhances their investigative approach ✓
Relevance: Clients want accuracy, not flashy tech ✓
Authenticity: Positions AI as enhancing human expertise ✓
Brand impact: Strengthens "finding what others miss" ✓
Decision: ADAPT - Integrate AI fraud detection, but emphasize how technology amplifies human investigation skills.
Wayne Building Supply:
Alignment: AI inventory prediction fits their preparedness value ✓
Relevance: Contractors care about availability, not tech features ✓
Authenticity: Use AI behind-the-scenes without making it the story ✓
Brand impact: Reinforces reliability without changing voice ✓
Decision: ADOPT QUIETLY - Use AI for supply chain optimization but market the result (better availability) not the process.
Logan Custom Homes:
Alignment: AI design tools conflict with handcrafted independence ✗
Relevance: Clients choose them for human artistry ✗
Authenticity: Hard to execute without seeming inauthentic ✗
Brand impact: Could dilute "uncompromising craftsmanship" ✗
Decision: SKIP - Stay focused on traditional techniques and human skill.
Trend 2: "Get Ready With Me" Behind-the-Scenes Content
Holmes & Associates:
Alignment: Transparency fits their truth-seeking value ✓
Relevance: Business owners might appreciate seeing methodology ✓
Authenticity: Can show investigative process without revealing client details ✓
Brand impact: Demonstrates expertise while maintaining mystery ✓
Decision: ADAPT - Create "case study breakdowns" showing how they uncovered financial discrepancies, maintaining analytical brand.
Wayne Building Supply:
Alignment: Showing preparedness reinforces their core value ✓
Relevance: Contractors value seeing organization and planning ✓
Authenticity: Warehouse systems and delivery prep fit naturally ✓
Brand impact: Proves the reliability they promise ✓
Decision: ADOPT - Show warehouse organization, inventory systems, delivery preparation—all supporting "always ready."
Logan Custom Homes:
Alignment: Documenting craftsmanship aligns with their values ✓
Relevance: Homeowners want to see quality and attention to detail ✓
Authenticity: Traditional techniques and quality control feel genuine ✓
Brand impact: Reinforces "built to last" messaging ✓
Decision: ADAPT - Create content showing detailed craftsmanship and traditional methods, staying true to "built to last generations."
Yeah, I'm not going to do you dirty and leave you with that - let's create some real change in your business 👇
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Badass Tip
Create a one-page brand filter with your values and positioning. Before adopting any trend, run it through the four questions.
What it looks like in practice:
Document: Write down your three key values and positioning statement. Keep this visible when evaluating trends.
Ask: For each trend (and business decision) ask: Does this reinforce our values? Will customers see this as authentic from us? Can we execute genuinely? Will this strengthen or weaken our brand?
Clear decisions: Choose from ADOPT (take as-is), ADAPT (modify to fit), or SKIP (ignore completely). No maybe decisions.
Communicate: When you skip popular trends, don't apologize. When you adapt them, show how they align with your values.
Track brand clarity: If people can't clearly explain what you stand for, you're probably adopting too many misaligned trends.
The point is that the brand needs to stay recognizable as the world evolves. This isn't about reinvention - or 'rebranding', yick. This is looking at how, through each evolution, your business becomes more distinctly what it already is and represents.
And if you need to change your values as the world changes, perhaps it's time to ask if they were really values.
-B
