Why Most CEOs Misunderstand Marketing

In the next 10 posts or so, I am going to change the way I have been writing this blog for years. I am starting a new series. Called,

“What CEOs Get Wrong About Marketing — And How to Fix It”

Why Most CEOs Misunderstand Marketing

Let’s start with a simple truth.

Most CEOs especially in SMEs don’t really understand marketing.
They think they do. But they don’t.

They think marketing is that thing you do when sales are down.
Or when the competitor launches something.
Or when the board asks, “Why haven’t we gone viral yet?”

To many CEOs, marketing is decoration. Cosmetics. A wrapper.
It’s the brochure, the logo, the social media intern.

Here’s the problem:
If that’s your view of marketing, your business will always be stuck in reactive mode.

Marketing Is Not a Department. It’s the Business Itself.

You don’t “do marketing” after you’ve figured everything else out.
Marketing is how you define who you target, what you offer, and why anyone should care.

It sits upstream of sales.
It guides your pricing.
It determines your position in the market.

Marketing is not the cherry on top. It’s the base layer.
If you get it wrong, no amount of execution will save you.

The Delusion of Delegation

This is where many CEOs slip.

They treat marketing like something to outsource — to the agency, the junior team, the cousin who knows Canva.

They stay focused on finance, ops, and sales assuming someone else will “handle the branding.”

A CEO who doesn’t engage with marketing is like a pilot who doesn’t care about navigation.
Sure, the engine works. The cockpit looks fancy. But you’ll still end up lost.

The Cost of Confusion

When CEOs don’t understand marketing, three things happen:

1. Budgets get slashed at the worst time.
   Just when consistency is needed, the tap is turned off.
2. Tactics replace strategy.
   You chase shiny objects: influencer X, viral campaign Y, platform Z.
3. The brand becomes invisible.
   Not because you didn’t spend, but because you didn’t stand for anything.

Marketing isn’t just about growth. It’s about directional growth.
Without it, you’re just running hard without a compass.

Start Here

If you're a CEO, ask yourself:

• Do you know what your brand actually stands for?
• Do you know why customers choose you — and why they don’t?
• Are you building future demand, or just plugging this quarter’s hole?

If your answer is “not really,” you’re not alone.

But if you want your business to grow — not just survive — that’s where the shift must begin.

Next up: Marketing Is Not Just Advertising — It’s How You Compete.
We’ll dismantle the next big myth most CEOs carry.

But for now, if marketing isn’t guiding your business, who is?

Let us help. Call us now at +60378901079 or visit us at roar-point.com

Would Buffet Invest in Your Brand?

Warren Buffett built his investing empire long before anyone talked about click-through rates, CAC, or brand collabs. He rarely tweets. He doesn’t obsess over market trends. But somehow, the brands he bet on like Coca-Cola, Apple, American Express have thrived across decades, fads, and formats.

Would Warren Buffett invest in your brand today?
Especially if you’re a digital-first, fast-growing, algorithm-optimized business?

Let’s explore that because his criteria for brand greatness may be more relevant in this noisy, digital-first world than ever before.

1. The Illusion of Attention: Metrics Buffett Wouldn’t Trust

In today’s marketing world, brand managers obsess over:

• Engagement rates
• Impressions
• Influencer reach
• Creative virality
• App installs

But Buffett would ask simpler questions:

“Can you raise your prices without losing customers?”
“Will people still buy from you if you stop advertising?”
“Do your customers have to choose you — or do they just happen to right now?”

The difference is profound. In a digital world, many brands are chasing metrics. Buffett still chases moats.

2. Would Buffett Invest in a DTC Brand?

The DTC boom created hundreds of Insta-famous brands. But Buffett wouldn’t touch most of them. Why?

Because many are built on:

• Paid traffic dependency
• Trend-based products
• Shallow customer relationships
• Price promotions to drive volume

Buffett would pass.

But he would invest in a DTC brand that showed:
High repeat purchase rates
Margin growth without price cuts
A product that’s hard to substitute
Emotional loyalty that survives algorithm shifts

Think Glossier in its early days. Or Notion. Or Oatly (pre-overstretch). Brands where customers aren’t just buyers; they’re believers.

3. What a Moat Looks Like in 2025

In Buffett’s era, moats were built through distribution (Coca-Cola), habits (Gillette), and physical shelf space (See’s Candies).

Today, moats look different — but the principles remain:

Moat Type	Modern Example
Emotional Bond	Apple, Patagonia
Product Network Effect	Figma, Canva
Brand as Signal	Amex, Supreme
Habitual Use	Spotify, Starbucks App
Community Flywheel	Glossier, Duolingo

Buffett would love brands that:

• Are hard to copy
• Create switching pain
• Build brand memory without constant paid reminders

4. The Buffett Red Flags in Digital Brands

What would make Buffett run the other way? Probably these:

Branding that looks good, but isn’t linked to pricing power
Fast growth without profit discipline
High churn hidden by acquisition spend
Brands built on novelty rather than trust
Constant repositioning i.e., “new brand story every quarter” syndrome

Buffett would call this what it is: noise dressed up as value.

5. A Buffett Checklist for Modern Brand Builders

Would Buffett invest in your brand? Use this as a quick gut check:

Customers would notice if you disappeared
You can raise prices without apology
Repeat usage is emotional, not just habitual
Brand memory is strong even without retargeting
You can describe your brand’s edge in one sentence

If you tick these boxes, congratulations. You’re building a brand with a moat.

Buffett Never Logged Into Instagram. But He’d Still Win the Brand Game Today.

In a world where brand equity is confused with engagement, Buffett offers a different lens:

“It’s better to buy a wonderful business at a fair price than a fair business at a wonderful price.”

And a wonderful business, to Buffett, is one with a brand that:

• Defends its position
• Commands trust
• Compounds belief

Would Warren Buffett invest in your brand?

Let us help. Call us now at +60378901079 or visit us at roar-point.com

Building Buffett Brands in Asia?

Warren Buffett invests in brands with moats — businesses that can defend their margins, hold customer loyalty, and outlast trends. But Buffett doesn’t invest much in Asia. If he did, he’d find some powerful homegrown examples quietly applying his exact playbook.

Across Asia, brands like Haidilao, Mixue, and Jollibee are building Buffett-style moats — with their own cultural spin. They’re proving that durable, defensible brand strategy isn’t a Western concept. It’s universal.

Let’s unpack what they’re doing right and how their strategies mirror the very principles Buffett looks for in a world-class brand.

1. Haidilao – The Moat of Obsessive Service

What Buffett would love:

A customer experience moat so deep that competitors can’t replicate it without bleeding cash.

Haidilao didn’t win because of food. It won because of hospitality-as-the-product:

• Free snacks and manicures while waiting

• Personalised service for solo diners

• Staff trained not just to serve, but to surprise

The result? Fanatical loyalty, consistent repeat visits, and massive word-of-mouth. 

Buffett principle in action:

“Your premium brand better be delivering something special…”

Haidilao delivers that something special; every table, every time.

2. Mixue – The Moat of Price and Presence

What Buffett would love:

A brand that wins not by spending big, but by scaling smart and being everywhere that matters.

Mixue sells soft-serve ice cream and tea at almost unbelievably low prices and it still turns a profit. How?

• It started in lower-tier cities where rent and competition were low.

• It optimized the supply chain to the last cent.

• It built brand assets (like the red-caped snowman) that created instant recognition.

Then, once it dominated smaller towns, it scaled up across China and into Southeast Asia.

Buffett principle in action:

“In evaluating a business, the key is not the current profit margins but the durability of the competitive advantage.”

Mixue’s advantage is durable: low cost + ubiquity + familiarity.

3. Jollibee – The Moat of Cultural Relevance

What Buffett would love:

A brand that started niche (Filipino food for Filipinos), built emotional resonance, and scaled globally — without losing soul.

Jollibee didn’t try to beat McDonald’s on McDonald’s terms. Instead, it leaned into local taste, family positioning, and national pride:

• Sweet spaghetti, burger steak, rice with gravy. Comfort food for millions

• Emotional ads and stories that tie the brand to milestones and memories

• A deep connection with the Filipino diaspora abroad

It used that base to expand not just geographically, but emotionally. Jollibee is a love brand, not just a QSR chain.

Buffett principle in action:

“The best business to own is one that over time can develop into a brand with emotional resonance.”

Common Thread: They All Started Narrow, Built Deep, Then Scaled

Each of these brands:

• Began with focus — a clear niche, a targeted experience, a narrow demographic

• Built trust and distinctiveness — by showing up consistently and memorably

• Expanded only when the brand had the moat to defend scale

This is Buffett’s philosophy to the core:

• Start with something hard to replicate

• Build something customers don’t want to switch from

• Then expand from a position of strength

The Buffett Playbook, Asian Edition

If you're building an Asian brand (or working with one), here’s how to apply the Buffett Brand Blueprint:

1. Identify your moat: What makes your offer defensible beyond price?

2. Build trust through behavior, not buzz.

3. Create brand assets that work with minimal spend.

4. Don’t scale until you're unforgettable in one segment.

5. Make belief the foundation — and pricing power the reward.

Buffett Never Used Instagram. He Just Understood People.

This series isn't just about Warren Buffett. It's about enduring brand truths.

Whether you’re in Manila, Shanghai, or Kuala Lumpur, the game remains the same:

Win trust. Build a moat. Then let the brand do the compounding.

Because in the end, the best marketing is this:

A brand that people keep choosing — even when they have every reason not to.

Can you win trust?

Let us help. Call us now at +60378901079 or visit us at roar-point.com

Who would you follow?

Warren Buffett and Elon Musk are two of the most influential business minds of our time. On the surface, they couldn’t be more different.

Buffett is the steady hand of discipline.

Musk is the disruptor driven by vision.

Buffett builds quietly and defensively.

Musk moves fast and breaks things.

But here’s what’s fascinating: both built iconic brands that command loyalty, attention, and belief.

And despite their radically different approaches, they converge on one truth:

Great brands are built with focus, not flash.

Let’s break down their branding philosophies — and what they can teach us.

Warren Buffett: Brands as Moats

Buffett sees brands as economic moats — defensible, durable advantages that protect long-term profitability.

• He invests in brands that own mental space: Coca-Cola, Apple, American Express.

• He looks for businesses that don’t need to outspend to stay relevant.

• His favorite brands have pricing power, not just awareness.

Buffett bets on brands that win through consistency, trust, and staying power. He favors quiet compounding over loud disruption.

“You want a business that any idiot can run — because someday, one will.”- Warren Buffett

In short: Buffett brands don't need to be exciting. They just need to be unkillable.

Elon Musk: Brands as Movement

Musk takes the opposite route. He builds brands as missions — high-stakes, high-emotion stories that inspire belief before they deliver results.

• Tesla didn’t start with scale — it started with a niche vision: a no-compromise electric sports car.

• Musk builds public momentum before operational reality. Hype isn’t just a side effect, it’s a lever.

• He believes customers don’t just buy products, they buy purpose.

“When someone buys the Tesla Roadster sports car, they are actually helping pay for development of the low-cost family car.” - Elon Musk, 2006 Master Plan

In short: Musk brands don't sell features. They sell the future.

Two Styles, One Shared Belief

Despite their differences, Buffett and Musk agree on this:

A brand is a multiplier on business performance.

They both understand that:

• A strong brand earns pricing power.

• A strong brand drives belief and inertia.

• A strong brand makes marketing easier, not harder.

Buffett uses brand to protect.

Musk uses brand to accelerate.

Either way, the brand is central not peripheral.

What Brand Builders Can Learn

1. From Buffett: Build to Endure.

Don’t chase every trend. Focus on delivering consistent value, staying memorable, and defending your edge.

2. From Musk: Build to Inspire.

Give people a reason to care. Turn your product into a story. Let belief lead your brand — even if your product isn’t perfect yet.

3. From Both: Earn the Right to Scale.

Buffett waits to scale proven brands. Musk starts with high-end niches (Tesla Roadster) to fund expansion. Either way, start narrow. Scale smart.

The best brands today build with the discipline of Buffett and the ambition of Musk.

They play long-term games, but win early loyalty.

They defend their territory, but also ignite emotion.

They don’t just sell. They signal something greater.

Is your brand a belief system with staying power?

Let us help. Call us now at +60378901079 or visit us at roar-point.com

Do You Have Brands People Believe?

Warren Buffett doesn’t use marketing jargon. He never once said “emotional branding” in a shareholder letter.

But don’t be fooled.

Buffett understands deeply that great brands live in the heart, not just in the balance sheet. He invests in companies that people trust, admire, and perhaps most importantly feel something for.

This is more than sentimentality. It’s strategy.

“Your premium brand had better be delivering something special, or it’s not going to get the business.” - Warren Buffett

In Buffett’s world, emotional connection isn’t fluff. It’s a moat.

Why Trust and Familiarity Matter More Than Features

People don’t stay loyal because of specs or product claims. They stay loyal because of emotional shortcuts:

• Coca-Cola tastes like childhood.

• Apple feels like control and creativity.

• American Express signals status and safety.

Buffett understands that when people believe in a brand — its consistency, its values, its feeling they stop evaluating. They start repeating.

This belief turns brands into rituals. And rituals turn into cash flow.

American Express: More Than a Card

Buffett has held American Express stock for decades. Not just because of its financials, but because of its emotional gravity.

People don’t just carry the card. They identify with it. It’s about belonging. Trust. Prestige. That feeling of being looked after.

Amex is a great example of a business that created a halo of belief — and defended it over generations.

“The test of a brand is that you can charge a little more and still retain business.” - Buffett on American Express

That test is emotional. You don’t get it unless people believe your brand means something more than just access to credit.

Belief Builds Stickiness

Buffett doesn’t invest in brands that constantly need to convince. He invests in brands that people reflexively choose.

Why?

Because belief reduces churn.

Belief fuels pricing power.

Belief spreads one recommendation, one tradition, one moment at a time.

And most of all, belief makes customers less rational in the best way possible.

How to Build a Brand People Believe In

1. Be consistent over time, not clever in bursts.

Buffett loves brands that show up the same way year after year. That consistency builds comfort and comfort breeds trust.

2. Anchor to values that mean something.

Brands like Apple and Amex stand for something clear. Don’t confuse the market. Own an emotional lane.

3. Make the brand feel like a relationship, not a transaction.

Buffett’s best investments are brands that become part of people’s lives not just things they buy, but things they believe in.

4. Win the heart, and the mind will follow.

It’s not just about logic. It’s about identity, memory, and trust.

Would your customers defend your brand in a room full of critics?

If the answer is yes, you’ve built more than a customer base. You’ve built believers.

Would Warren Buffett likely approve?

Let us help. Call us now at +60378901079 or visit us at roar-point.com

How Do You Build an Imprint?

Warren Buffett loves strong brands.

In a world where brands burn millions on awareness campaigns, stunts, and influencer deals just to stay relevant, Buffett quietly reminds us that the best brands don’t need constant noise.

They rely on mental space. They live in our habits, memories, and reflexes.

“You don’t see any Coke advertising at Thanksgiving, but you still see Coke on the table.”
— Warren Buffett

That’s the power of a brand that sells itself.

Buffett is known for scrutinizing income statements. He’s also known for looking far beyond them.

When he buys a brand-heavy business like Coca-Cola, Apple, or See’s Candies, he’s buying permanent mindshare. Something that a constant budget to maintain relevance that has been invested over time and building a moat he talks about.

Why does that matter?

Because if you need to outspend your competitors just to be remembered, you don’t have a brand. You have a bill.

The brands Buffett admires don’t just earn margin — they earn inertia. They’re the default. They have been building a brand for years to stay chosen.

See’s Candies: A Classic Brand with Minimal Flash

Buffett often brings up See’s Candies when talking about “passive branding.” See’s doesn’t dominate social media. It doesn’t launch collabs with pop stars. It just shows up every holiday season, every birthday, every moment of thoughtful giving.

It’s not just about chocolate. It’s about memory. About consistency. About comfort.

“The brand means something special in the minds of people, and they’re willing to pay for that.” - Buffett on See’s

Before marketers talked about “mental availability” (thank you, Ehrenberg-Bass), Buffett was already investing in it.

Coca-Cola isn’t in your fridge because of the latest ad. It’s there because it’s always been there — in your childhood, in your travels, at every celebration. The brand’s salience isn’t powered by impressions. It’s powered by imprint.

The brands Buffett loves are ones where advertising may reinforce the relationship — but it doesn’t define it.

What Modern Brands Can Learn

1. Stop trying to win the algorithm. Win the memory.
   The brands that endure aren’t always the most visible. They’re the most remembered.
2. Build brand assets people recognize without logos.
   Coke’s red. Apple’s silhouette. Tiffany’s blue. These cues do the heavy lifting.
3. Spend less on convincing. Spend more on consistency.
   Buffett admires brands that are boring in the best way — reliably the same, year after year. Consistency compounds.
4. Earn fans. Don’t rent attention.
   If your brand disappears when your media spend stops, you never had a brand to begin with.

If you stopped advertising tomorrow, would people still choose you?

Let us help. Call us now at +60378901079 or visit us at roar-point.com

Is Pricing Power the Ultimate Brand Test?

If Warren Buffett had to choose one metric to judge a business by, it wouldn’t be revenue, margin, or even market share. It would be this:

“The single most important decision in evaluating a business is pricing power.” - Warren Buffett, 2011

Pricing power isn’t just about setting a higher price — it’s a brand’s ability to do so without flinching. Without losing customers. Without blinking in the face of competitors offering cheaper options.

Why Pricing Power Matters More Than Growth

Most companies obsess over growth. Buffett, on the other hand, obsesses over durability. A business that needs to discount, promote, and fight for every sale is a fragile business. A brand that can quietly raise its prices and still retain loyalty? That’s the kind of business he’ll bet on for decades.

Pricing power, in his view, is the signal of brand strength.

See’s Candies: The Sweet Lesson in Premium

When Buffett bought See’s Candies in 1972 for $25 million, it was doing $30 million in sales and $5 million in profit. It was a small West Coast candy brand, family-run, seasonal in nature.

But Buffett saw something others didn’t: pricing power.

Year after year, See’s was able to raise prices often without any major changes to product or packaging because it had built emotional trust. People didn’t just buy chocolate. They bought tradition. Ritual. Gift-giving moments.

“We’ve raised prices at See’s Candies every Christmas — and people still say thank you.” - Warren Buffett

The chocolate wasn’t revolutionary. The branding was classic. The trust? Unshakable. That trust enabled premium that over time, generated outsized profits.

 

What Modern Marketers Miss About Pricing Power

In today's world of discount culture and performance marketing, brands often mistake noise for strength. They conflate activity with loyalty. And they often default to competing on price especially when growth slows.

Buffett’s lesson is this: if your brand lacks pricing power, it’s just a commodity in disguise.

Great brands don’t need to race to the bottom. They build enough perceived value, consistency, and emotional relevance that customers accept (and even expect) price increases.

How to Know if You Have Pricing Power

Ask yourself:

• Can I raise prices by 5–10% without losing core customers?
• Does my brand create emotional or symbolic value beyond functional benefits?
• Are competitors pricing lower but still losing to me?
• Do people associate my brand with quality, trust, or status?

If the answer is no across the board, you're not yet a Buffett-style brand. You're still in a price-sensitive race — and that’s a race with no finish line.

Brand Builders: Stop Obsessing Over Discounts. Build Pricing Power Instead.

Buffett doesn’t care how clever your ad is or how viral your campaign went. He cares whether you can raise prices without a whisper of churn.

If you want to build a brand he’d bet on, don’t just win attention. Win trust. Win memory. Win perceived value.

Then quietly raise your price.

And if people still say “thank you” after they pay more then you know you’ve got something worth owning.

Can you raise prices now?

Let us help. Call us now at +60378901079 or visit us at roar-point.com