The carpenter works barefoot

The communications industry has a nearly universal paradox. The best communications companies at building brands for clients often have the weakest B2B brands for themselves. They know exactly what needs to be done, and they do it every day for others. But looking at their website, pitching presentations, or how they explain who they are, what appears is astonishingly bland.

Hammering syndrome

In English, there is the phrase "cobbler's children go barefoot." Marketers use a similar phrase for media companies: they are experts in building brands, but their own brand is neglected. This stems from three simultaneous pulls, not from a lack of capability.

First, there is a lack of objective distance. When working for clients, a communications company can ask tough questions directly: "What truly sets you apart from your competitors?" or "Who is the client you do not want to serve?" But when it comes to themselves, those questions touch on ego, history, and unresolved internal debates. As a result, the positioning is written in a compromise style. It is safe enough that no one in the team objects, but also vague enough that no one outside the team understands.

On Monday, personal relationships are still in play. When the founder makes a call, there is a project. When a former client refers someone, there is a contract. A weak brand does not feel immediate pain, so there is no urgent pressure to fix it. The media company continues to exist and grow slowly within a closed circle of those who already know them.

Thirdly, the priority is to chase client projects. All creative capacity, all the best working hours are poured into the client's brief. Their own work can always be postponed for another week.

A brand is not something you create for clients. A brand is the perception others have of you.

Marty Neumeier, The Brand Gap

When pitching, relying solely on relationships

A media company without a clear B2B brand often pitches in one way: storytelling. The founder meets potential clients, shares experiences, leads the conversation with personal credibility, and if it resonates, there is a contract. This model works, but it cannot scale.

When a communications company relies entirely on personal relationships to bring in projects, the sales pipeline is essentially the founder's meeting schedule. Each new contract requires the founder's presence. A good account director cannot pitch in their place, as they do not have the story to tell; only the founder does. When the founder is busy, the pipeline stops. When the founder is ill, the pipeline stops. When the founder wants to take a vacation, the pipeline stops.

This number is more common than people think, and it applies to both communications companies and their clients. Communications companies convince clients that consistency helps brands have long-term value. But they themselves pitch differently each time, telling different stories depending on who is sitting in front of them. That is not flexibility; it is a lack of positioning.

Invisible to those who are unfamiliar

The practical consequence is that the communications company cannot reach clients outside their circle of acquaintances. A marketing director at a new company does not search for a communications company by asking, "Do you know anyone?" They search on Google. They read case studies. They look at the website to see which industries the company works with, what problems they solve, and why they should be trusted.

There are three signs that indicate the company is invisible to those who are not familiar: the website is just a collection of beautiful images without arguments, the "About" page only says "we are passionate about creativity," and there are no case studies that tell specific business results. At that point, the company only exists in the memory of those who have met the founder.

For B2B clients, this barrier is even greater. A director considering a contract worth several hundred million will not sign just because the website is beautiful. But they can easily eliminate a communications company from their consideration list. The reason could simply be that the website feels unprofessional or does not clearly show what the company does best.

Blurred positioning leads to pricing issues

When a communications company lacks clear positioning, they cannot justify their pricing. Potential clients do not understand why they should pay more, as they do not see the difference. That company ultimately competes on price or promises to do more within the contract scope to win the deal. Both approaches lead to the same result: shrinking profit margins and an exhausted team.

Sharp positioning does what personal relationships cannot: it filters clients before the conversation begins. A communications company specializing in branding for Vietnamese F&B chains does not need to explain from scratch each time they pitch. Clients come to them because they have read the case study and seen this company solve the exact problem they have. The conversation starts from a much higher point.

Do for yourself what you do for clients

A media company does not need a grand branding campaign to address this issue. They just need to do for themselves what they already do for their clients.

The first step is positioning, not brand identity. The question to answer is: who do we serve, what specific problem do we solve, and why should that client choose us over dozens of other communications companies? The answer must be sharp enough to eliminate some potential clients. It does not need to be broad enough to encompass everyone.

The next step is to document specific evidence. A case study needs to be a structured story: the business problem the client faced, how the company approached it, and measurable results. If results are not measurable yet, describe the qualitative changes specifically.

The final step is to maintain consistency everywhere B2B customers truly engage. This includes online searches, the website, pitching presentations, follow-up emails, contracts, and even how the team introduces the company in casual conversations. Wally Olins reminds us that a brand is behavior, not a statement. The communications company talks about consistency with clients every day, but their own inconsistency sends a reverse signal.

A B2B brand for a media company does not need to be perfect to start functioning. It just needs to be clear enough for potential clients to understand what they are buying, and consistent enough that this signal does not change depending on who tells it.