You can spend millions perfecting your logo, building beautiful ads, and crafting the perfect tagline. But all of that can fall apart in a single moment. Especially when the person representing your brand doesn’t live up to it.
Let me explain.
Subaru has long been one of my favorite car brands. Outdoorsy, dog-friendly, inclusive. It’s a brand that, on the surface, reflects my values. I recently bought my second Subaru, and going into the purchase, I felt good. Seen. Like the brand represented who I am.
Then I picked up the keys.
After the usual excitement of signing papers and going through the car features, our sales associate pulled us aside to talk about the post-sale survey. She said if we gave her all 5 stars, we’d get a free oil change and tire rotation. Then she added, “You’ll be asked if anyone told you about the survey, just say no or it doesn’t count or help me out.”
Wait, what?
She was basically asking us to lie. To give predetermined feedback in exchange for a free service. No desire for real feedback or genuine curiosity if I had a good purchase experience. She followed up with a text just to remind me again: five stars only, say no one told you, don’t forget, do it now.
It gave me that “ick” feeling. Like I wasn’t interacting with the Subaru brand I thought I knew, but something way less authentic. The trust, the values, the “we do things right” image all took a hit, just because of one person.
That’s when it really hit me. A brand isn’t just what you say. It’s who says it. It’s how it’s delivered. It’s how it makes someone feel in a real-life moment.
People Are Your Brand. Especially in Retail.
If you’re in retail or anything customer-facing, the person on the floor or behind the counter isn’t just an employee. They’re the brand in action. Your advertising might say one thing, but the human experience is what actually sticks.
Look at Chick-fil-A. They talk about kindness and care, but the real reason people believe it is because their employees live it. The service is consistently polite and helpful. They show up in a way that reinforces everything the brand claims to stand for.
Same with Best Buy. They’ve positioned themselves as the go-to for tech help. That message only works if the person in the blue shirt knows their stuff and can actually help you fix your smart home setup or recommend the right gear. The moment that employee delivers on the brand promise, it becomes real.
Every Touchpoint Tells a Story.
People don’t judge your brand based on your latest campaign. They judge it based on how it shows up in their everyday experience. Every interaction tells a story, especially the ones that involve actual people.
This is why it’s so important to align what you say with how you act. It’s why great brands invest in training, support, and culture, not just in ads and design. Because the moment your customer meets your brand face-to-face, everything you’ve worked to build is either reinforced or undone. And that’s not something an ad campaign can fix.
So if you're working on your brand, remember this: the most important campaign you might run isn’t a Super Bowl ad. It’s the daily, unscripted, human interactions happening at your frontlines.
