I was driving my daughter home from school today. We were chatting away as two 7-year-old girls do (yes, I’m an Elsa fan, but don’t ask).

Then, mid-conversation, an ad on a bus stop caught both our eyes.

A mouthwatering cheeseburger, red background, and a yellow logo that barely needed an introduction.

Neither of us said a word. We just looked.

A few turns later, I asked my daughter if she saw the hamburger ad.
“The McDonald’s one?” she answered without hesitation.

That’s what brand recognition is all about.

Marketing Isn’t Just About Selling - It’s About Repeating

McDonald's didn’t need to put their name on that ad. The colors, the layout, the product—it all screamed McDonald's before our brains even processed it.

That’s the game.

Most businesses think they need to constantly reinvent their messaging, their ads, their visuals—like they’re going to bore people if they don’t change things up.

But in reality? People aren’t paying that much attention.

• They’re scrolling.

• They’re driving.

• They’re talking to their kids about Frozen.

Repetition is what makes brands stick.

Winning the Brand Recognition Game

To be remembered, you need to:

✔ Fix your message. One core idea. One positioning. Say it over and over again. If you keep changing it, you’re starting from scratch every time.

✔ Lock in your colors, fonts, and visuals. Consistency builds familiarity. Familiarity builds trust. Trust builds sales.

✔ Run the same ad angles, slightly tweaked, across multiple platforms. Because no one saw your first ad. Or your second. But by the tenth? You’ve got them.

✔ Think long-term. The brands that win aren’t the ones that make the most noise today. They’re the ones that keep whispering the same thing for years until it’s impossible to ignore.

Can Your Brand Pass the Moving Car Test?

Your brand needs to be so recognizable that someone can glance at it for half a second, mid-conversation, and still know exactly who you are.

If a 7-year-old can do it from the backseat of a moving car, you’ve won.

If not, keep repeating. Keep refining. Keep going.

Because in marketing, consistency beats creativity every time.

P.s. You can still be super creative, just make sure you do it over and over again every time (no pressure, right?)