[Column] Andy Mosmans: Why creativity is a tool, not the goal in building powerful brands

In a world obsessed with virality, visual cleverness, and cutting-edge campaigns, it’s tempting to believe that branding is all about creativity. But that’s a dangerous illusion — and a costly one for businesses that chase the “new” rather than the “true.”

At its core, branding is not about creativity. Branding is about meaning.

What Is a Brand, Really?

A brand is not a logo, a tagline, or an ad campaign. A brand is the mental shortcut people use when making decisions. It’s a combination of memory, emotion, and perception. It is built on what a company stands for, promises, and delivers consistently — not just what it looks or sounds like. Branding start with asking: why should people buy into your brand? What's the game of your name that you play for your customers and with your team? What's the concept that drives your business?

Creativity may dress the brand, but it does not define it.

The Obsession with Creativity

It’s easy to fall into the trap of believing a brand's magic lies in the next clever idea. As Mark Ritson points out, the enthusiasm for creativity often overshadows what matters most—strategy, positioning, and market understanding.

“Creativity is great… but it’s inherently product-oriented… we have overstated it. We have reified it and we’ve over-promoted it, while other things, more important things, have been neglected.” Marketing Week

This creative fixation can distract a brand from developing relevance and differentiation grounded in consumer context and meaning.

Creativity Alone Is Not Enough

Ritson and his collaborators at System1 and Effie provide empirical clarity: creative quality indeed amplifies ROI—up to 12x—but it’s only effective when paired with the right structural elements:

• Emotion/feelings: Tap into any emotional response—positive or negative—as long as people feel something.

• Fluency: Make sure viewers recognise whose communicating; distinct brand assets are crucial.

• Time/fame: Campaigns that are emotionally resonant and recognisable must run long enough to make an impact.

Meaning First, Creativity Second

Branding’s true goal is to establish meaning—to be relevant and different. Creativity should amplify meaning (even 12x if it's excellent), but not substitute for it. That’s the difference between strategy-led brand building and creativity-led noise. The reframed takeaway: creativity is a means, not the meaning!

Brands that endure — think Apple, Nike, Patagonia — aren’t just creatively packaged. They are built around meaningful ideas, great stories, that resonate with people’s values, needs, and desires.

• Apple is not just sleek design; it stands for empowerment through technology.

• Nike doesn’t just make sneakers; it embodies the spirit of human potential.

• Patagonia isn’t just a rugged aesthetic; it’s about responsibility for the planet.

• IKEA isn't just affordable furniture; it's about the democratisation of design.

• Airbnb is about belonging anywhere and Volvo is and will always be about safety.

These meanings make the brands relevant and different — the two essential ingredients of brand strength.

Creativity: A Means, Not the Meaning

Creativity plays an important role in branding, but it’s a tool, not the destination.

Creative executions — whether in storytelling, design, or activation — serve one ultimate purpose: to communicate and amplify the brand’s meaning in a way that breaks through noise, grabs attention, and earns a place in hearts and minds.

Without a clear meaning, creativity becomes decoration. At worst, it becomes confusion. The result? Expensive campaigns with no long-term equity.

The Role of Branding: Clarity of Meaning

Great branding starts by answering one simple but profound question: Why should people care about this brand — and why should they choose it over others?

That answer lies in crafting a relevant and differentiated meaning — something that:

• Connects with real human needs, values, or beliefs

• Sets the brand apart in a distinctive and memorable way

• Can be delivered consistently across touchpoints

This is strategic work. It’s not born from brainstorming sessions alone, but from understanding audiences, markets, culture, and the company’s truth.

A World Full of Meaningless Creativity

Scroll through social media, and you’ll see countless brands chasing likes with clever wordplay, AI-generated art, or stunt marketing. It may catch the eye — but does it build the brand?

The truth is: meaningless creativity is disposable. It might entertain, but it doesn’t build equity. It doesn’t build preference. And it definitely doesn’t build value.

American Eagles much debated campaign with Sydney Sweeney is an interesting case. Many say it's not very creative, however it's certainly meaningful. Whether you see in it a classic example of using sex to sell (attractiveness), an essential expression of Americanism (freedom), or pure evil (Nazism), it's all very meaningful.

The big question however is how this all relates to what the American Eagle brand stands for? And we should not take it too seriously. All business is also a little show business. Or, to even quote Sir John Hegarty on Times Radio: "The people making a fuss about the Sydney Sweeney American Eagle ad are ridiculous. We’ve become the new Taliban. If you don’t like the ad, don’t buy the jeans.”

Brand Builders Must Be Meaning Makers

If you’re serious about brand building, stop asking first, “What’s the big creative idea?” Start asking:

• What does this brand stand for?

• What does it offer that matters?

• How is it different in a way that resonates?

Then — and only then — let creativity do its job: to bring that meaning to life in a way people can see, feel, remember, and believe.

In Summary

Branding is not about being clever. It’s about being clear. Not about being loud. But about being relevant. Not about gimmicks. But about meaning.

Creativity without meaning is noise. Meaning without creativity is invisible. But meaning powered by creativity? That’s brand magic — the kind that lasts.

Let creativity do its job—capturing attention—but anchor your brand in a differentiated, deeply meaningful idea. That’s what endures.

Andy Mosmans is the CEO and Founder of VENGEAN

Follow Marketing Report on LinkedIn