The Inconvenient Fire Safety Check
Hey Brand fan,
No "Deep Dive" today—today we're featuring a mirror. 🪞
The Havas “Meaningful Brands” study surveyed 125,000 people across 25 markets again at the end of 2025, and the results are brutal: 78 percent of all brands could disappear tomorrow, and no one would care. Not “buy less.” Not “feel sad for a moment.” Simply: it doesn’t matter.
So today, here are 7 questions that no agency will ask you during an initial consultation—because they won’t win you any business. Answer them honestly, count your “yes” answers, and at the end, we’ll see where you stand with your brand positioning. Deal? Deal.
1. Would your target audience miss you if you were gone tomorrow? Not your mom, not your team—your customers. Would anyone send an email asking where you’ve gone? If you hesitate, the answer is no.
2. Can a customer explain in one sentence what sets you apart from your three biggest competitors? Not you—a customer. Without any preparation, and without having your website open. By the way, “They’re somehow nicer” doesn’t count.
3. Remove your logo from the website... would people still recognize you? Read your own text and mentally swap out the sender. Would the text work just as well for your competitor? Ouch. Then you have content, but no brand voice of your own.
4. Have you said “no” even once in the last 12 months? To a client who isn’t a good fit. To a trend everyone else is jumping on. To a project that would have brought in revenue. If you say “yes” to everything, you don’t stand for anything—it’s as simple as that, unfortunately.
5. Do you deliver on what your website promises? According to the same Havas series, as early as 2021, only 34 percent of consumers believed that brands actually kept their promises. That means two out of three people read your brand promise and initially think, “Yeah, right.” Your job isn’t to make promises—it’s to prove them.
6. Would you follow your own content? Be honest: If your feed weren't yours... would you like it, save it, or keep reading? Or would you just scroll right past it?
7. Do you know why your last customer actually made a purchase? Don't guess. Know. Did you ask? The answer is usually not what's in the brand deck, and that's exactly why it's worth its weight in gold.
Your evaluation:
6–7 "Yes" votes: Impressive. Either your brand is really sharp, or you weren't being honest. Either way, it's your call. 😉
3–5 “Yes” answers: Solid foundation, but you’re stuck somewhere between making claims and proving them. Pick ONE “No” question and make it your project for the next quarter. One is enough.
0–2 “Yes” answers: Okay, ouch. But honestly: The fact that you’ve read this far instead of clicking away says more about you than the score does. Most brands never ask themselves these questions… which is why 78 percent of them are dispensable.
And spoiler alert: Almost no one scores a perfect 7/7 here. The check isn't a report card; it just shows you where you want to focus next.
Stay bullish 🔥 Chantalle
P.S. I'm curious about your score. Just reply to this email with your score (it'll stay between us, I promise). And if you're stuck on a question and don't know how to turn a "no" into a "yes," send me that specific one. Then we'll take a look at it together.
