Alex Hormozi
May 27, 2026
Understanding Brand Strategy: Gaining More Than You Lose
BusinessThe Goal Of Good Branding
Key Takeaways
- 1Brand is fundamentally about creating associations between a name/symbol and an outcome through repeated teaching at scale
- 2Any brand change will cause some customers to leave while attracting new ones—this is inevitable
- 3Good branding aims to net gain more customers than are lost when making brand changes
- 4The ideal branding move maximizes new associations gained while minimizing existing associations lost
Chapters
1. What is Brand?
Brand is the association created between two things through repeated exposure and teaching. Using the example of teaching a child the word 'tree,' branding works through consistent repetition until people connect a symbol or name with a specific meaning.
2. The Math of Brand Change
When changing a brand, some existing customers will reject the new association while new customers will be attracted to it. This creates a loss-and-gain scenario that is unavoidable with any change.
3. The Goal of Good Branding
The objective of effective branding strategy is to ensure that the gains from new customer attraction outweigh the losses from existing customers who reject the change. Success means netting positive overall growth.
Glossary
- Brand Association
- The mental connection a customer makes between a brand name, symbol, or company and a specific meaning, quality, or outcome
- Brand Change
- A modification to an existing brand's identity, messaging, or visual elements that requires customers to adopt a new association
- Net Gain
- The result of gaining more customers or value than is lost; in branding, when new customer acquisition exceeds customer attrition