2025 Brand Chaos Wrapped
December 22, 2025
As a creative studio, we take messy, ugly, disjointed visual language and whip it into a powerful, strategy-led solution. This year was particularly knotty (naughty?). Here are the top offenders and how to solve for them.
1. UNUSABLE BRAND GUIDELINES
If I had a hundred dollars for each time I was sent a PDF of trash guidelines I would not be typing this newsletter. No one on your brand team knows how to use them (or even opens them), the fonts don't work in a deck or on the world wide webs, the color palette is hideous not to mention inaccessible, and the logo is a non-transparent lo-res Jpeg.
How It Happened: You didn't invest in a reputable, experienced design firm who knows what they're doing.
What To Do: Pending the level of mess, BEST does a Sprint Refinement so you and yours can get back to business. Think of it like hiring a great house cleaner, leaving for 5 hours, and coming back to a spotless space you hardly recognize (in a good way) as yours.
Refined guides for a local institution.
2. THE TEAM IS BUST
A low performer is not a high performer, but often our partners don't even have one of those. They're spread too thin and the thought of getting a marketing salary approved, interviewing, onboarding and mentoring another headcount remains on the list to-do-next-quarter.
How It Happened: One by one your marketing team left / were laid off and now you are doing all the jobs for the same “Meets” salary.
What To Do: Bring BEST on as an extension of your team. Prioritizing, organizing and layering strategy into every creative deliverable.
Lindsay and I just interviewed one of my favorite brands for 'Kept, and she said the below that I will be using to describe BEST in the pitch deck I send to you after you reach out:
3. NO ONE'S A MARKETING GENERALIST
A few weeks ago I spoke to a colleague's art department who are all significantly younger than me in earth years. These kids are just starting their creative careers, looking for advice, for inspiration. I'd argue that in order to be a Marketing Generalist in 2026 (read: you absolutely must be a Marketing Generalist in 2026) you need to be culturally attune. You need to be leading, in, or at least aware of the conversation happening in the chat.
How It Happened: Well, you got old, babe. 20 years in and your IG is weddings and babies not the dissection of the best holiday campaigns. Priorities shift! You're tired!
What To Do: Expense a subscription to Feed Me, go to a museum and then look up your favorite artist, take 5 minutes to think about why The Grinch (Jim Carey version) still hits? Hint: the Whobilation is still relevant. Choose a creative partner that works smarter, not harder.
Ready to get it together in 2026? Let's talk: studio@keepitbest.com
