---
title: How to Make a Brand Narrative Stick
description: October 2026 newsletter, featuring tips on how to get a brand narrative to stick, even if you don't have billions of dollars and no soul.
---

[Propllr Blog | Onward & Upward!](https://blog.propllr.com)

# [How to Make a Brand Narrative Stick](https://blog.propllr.com/how-to-make-a-brand-narrative-stick)

 Written by [Brenna Lemieux](https://blog.propllr.com/author/brenna-lemieux) | Oct 5, 2026, 1:00:05 PM

If you’ve seen me IRL lately, you probably heard me rant about how a lot of the narratives around what's going on with AI are [more marketing campaign](https://www.piratewires.com/p/jacob-coxon-worked-with-ai-doomer-firm) than hard reporting.

If you haven’t, buckle up. I’m channeling my frustration into helpful tips for getting a brand narrative to stick, even if you don’t have more money than any other startup in history.

## Get any brand narrative to stick with money and a blatant disregard for truth

Let’s forget about AI for a minute. Remember when [that lady spilled her McDonald’s coffee](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liebeck_v._McDonald%27s_Restaurants) on her lap? The story in the media was that she was absolutely ridiculous for suing over hot coffee – of course coffee is hot! What did she expect?

And yet the jury awarded her more than $2.8 million (in 1994 dollars).

The media framed the case as the poster child for frivolous lawsuits. Today, cups still often say “Caution: hot.”

As many of us know, though, the media’s story didn’t quite reflect reality. McDonald’s actually kept its coffee dangerously hot because it could get a few more drops per bean that way; the woman got third-degree burns and her pants melded to her legs; she originally sued for only her medical costs because the spill required skin-grafting surgery.

But McDonald’s had the deeper pockets, so it went full-throttle on getting its preferred version of events out there.

The takeaway is that, if you have billions of dollars and no soul, you can tell whatever story you want about your brand and you’ll probably get away with it, at least in the short term.

But we have souls, don’t we? And besides that, we don’t have billions of dollars.

So let’s level set: the popular narrative about something is not always a reflection of reality. The best technology doesn’t always win in the market.

In the real world, the story we actively tell about a brand can shape people’s perception of that brand, for better or worse. So let’s talk about how you can get a helpful, growth-driving narrative about your brand in the market – on a budget and with your conscience intact.

## The “I have a soul” alternative: genuine connection, to the max

Let’s turn to another non-AI example for inspiration. Have you read [*Theo of Golden*](https://www.allenlevi.com/the-book)? It’s a runaway bestseller and its success is kind of shocking because it was a self-published debut that isn’t a romance novel (romance = [best-selling genre of fiction](https://www.theliteraturetimes.com/top-selling-book-genres/)).

So what's the secret of its success? This [WSJ article](https://www.wsj.com/arts-culture/books/theo-of-golden-allen-levi-e500d1c9?st=jkziA9) explains that the author and his niece did long-term, personalized outreach to people the author knew, responded individually to every incoming comment from the author’s website, offered free copies to bookclubs, and generally created a groundswell by building relationships.

After a while, the book was selling so well, a prominent literary agent reached out to the author to offer representation (that may not sound like a big deal to you, but as someone who has been trying to get a literary agent to represent my novels for a decade now, trust me: it is).

So let’s bring this home: what can B2B tech startups learn from all this?

## How to become inevitable on a budget: B2B tech edition

By this point, you’ve hopefully accepted that 1) you have control over your brand narrative; and 2) you don’t need a bajillion dollars to make sure it’s a good one.

In fact, with a modest budget and a generous amount of gruntwork / elbow grease, you can establish that narrative effectively.

As with *Theo of Golden*, the main work required is relationship-based.

Here’s what that might look like:

- Pitch reporters relevant stories, then deliver great work (via a contributed article or useful interview / quote).
- Share and support the work of reporters, editors, and others relevant to your space.
- Engage with customers. Answer questions, address feedback, fix bugs, and ask for reviews when appropriate.
- Highlight people in your network. Interview them for your company blog, repost their social media content, post a picture of them being smart on stage, etc.
- Share updates about yourself and your business. When your network knows what's going on with you, they feel more invested, which means they’ll care more when you announce news, which helps the news travel farther.
- Interact with other people on social. This is maybe the only “hack” I know for social visibility right now. Comment on other people’s posts. You build goodwill that also increases your visibility and ability to spread your narrative.

The most important thing to keep in mind: this is not quick work and it’s not easy. It’s not something you can automate. It requires you to pay attention and genuinely care about other people.

Among smart people who work hard (there are lots of these folks in the ranks of B2B tech leaders), there's often a misconception that, if you’re good enough, your success will be inevitable. If your product is good enough, it will earn the recognition it deserves.

That’s rarely true.

To get a brand narrative that matches the quality of what you’re building, you have to invest in building that brand narrative. You have to do good work, obviously. But you also have to talk about it. Not only that: you have to talk about it consistently. You have to repeat yourself.

You have to invest in your community, broadly conceived: be kind. Be helpful. Be supportive.

Repeat.

Do this long enough, and you won’t need a bajillion dollars. (Heck, maybe you’ll even *make* your first bajillion.)

[View full post](https://blog.propllr.com/how-to-make-a-brand-narrative-stick)

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