"At every company I've been at, this brand thing never pays off," said the CFO to a CMO at a $125M SaaS brand. My mind buzzed with questions, starting with: Could all of these CMOs be getting “this brand thing” wrong?

Before we dig into that can of worms, I want to celebrate how this particular CMO handled the situation. “Rather than fight this battle, I don’t break out brand, demand, or other program elements in my budget,” the CMO shared. “Instead, I commit to delivering a certain percentage of pipeline for the year and ask them to let me worry about the executional details.”

That works for me. Would it work for your organization?

Now, back to the real question: Why does “this brand thing” so often appear to fail? Let’s unpack a few likely culprits:

1. The Expectation Gap

The CFO expected brand dollars to produce revenue within a set timeframe. When that didn’t happen, brand got blamed. Was the campaign poorly executed? Was it even a campaign at all? Or just a new logo and a splashy video? More likely, the problem was a failure to connect the dots between brand and demand. Too many CMOs run brand work in a vacuum, hoping it will “lift all boats” without anchoring it to pipeline or product. Brand doesn’t work in isolation. It should make every dollar of demand gen more efficient, but only if the messaging is aligned and consistent.

2. The Timeframe Trap

Brand building is a long game. CFOs want results in quarters. Brands grow in years. The disconnect is predictable and avoidable. A smart CMO sets expectations up front: “Yes, we’re investing in long-term equity. No, this won’t convert tomorrow.” Then, they start tracking brand health over time.

[Side note: If you don’t have brand tracking in place, either get one or join the CMO Huddles Leader program. Why? We are launching RepuTracker.org, a monthly brand reputation tracker that is free for the CMOs in our Leader program. Special thanks to the dev team at Growth Natives for building this incredible tool with us.]

3. The KPI Black Hole

Here’s the sneaky thing about brand: its first wins often show up internally. Employees get clearer on what the company stands for. They stay longer. They refer better candidates. They perform better. But if you're not measuring those outcomes, if you're not telling that story, guess what? Your CFO never sees the value. Great CMOs align their KPIs with business outcomes beyond pipeline. Think recruitment costs, employee engagement scores, win rates, pricing power.

The Bottom Line

“This brand thing” fails when CMOs treat it as a creative exercise instead of a business driver. It fails when there’s myopic measurement. No integration. No patience. It fails when CMOs don’t take control of the narrative.

But when done right? Brand becomes the moat (per my Warren Buffett post). The multiplier. The magnet for talent, customers, and growth. And yes, even CFOs come around.

Written by Drew Neisser