Sometime last year, I was referred to someone for a paid consultation and in the course of our conversation, I realized that his brand had stopped marketing campaigns. When I asked why, he said they had done “enough.”
Enough?
What do you mean enough, when global conglomerates are still advertising, still spending heavily, still fighting daily to stay top of mind? When brands that already dominate entire industries still show up, still remind you they exist, still protect their mental real estate?
So we talked. Properly. Then I went to work.
Sure enough, my recommendations included reviving their marketing strategy, restarting campaigns, and returning to advertising. Not for noise. Not for vanity. For relevance.
Yesterday, as I stepped out of my first exam, he called. We spoke. His feedback was simple, he was taking my advice. It took him five months to get to that point. But better late than never. Growth has its own timing.
So here is the lesson.
A brand must stay top of mind because people don’t buy what they don’t remember. You may have the best product, the smartest team, the most competitive pricing, but if you are not mentally available when the customer needs to decide, you might as well not exist.
Staying visible also builds trust by default. Familiarity signals stability. In markets like ours, where trust is scarce and skepticism is high, brands that show up consistently feel safer. Visibility becomes credibility.
Then there is the price advantage. Top-of-mind brands don’t fight dirty price wars every day. When people trust and recognize you, they are less sensitive to price and more loyal to value. That is not luck, that is strategy.
There is also the compounding effect. Brands that stay present enjoy momentum. Every campaign lands faster. Every message travels further. Every pivot is easier. Legacy still matters, and consistency is how legacy is built.
Most importantly, staying top of mind future-proofs relevance. Markets change. Products evolve. Leadership turns over. Brands that disappear during “quiet seasons” struggle to return. Out of sight is quickly out of relevance.
The hard truth is this.
Top-of-mind status is not achieved by one big campaign or occasional bursts of activity. It is built through clarity, consistency, and repetition over time. Same message. Same values. Same discipline.
Marketing is not something you stop when you think you have arrived. It is what keeps you from being forgotten.
And in business, being forgotten is far more dangerous than being criticized.