C-Suite Leaders’ First 100 Days: How Brand Positioning Builds Authority
As a C-suite leader, brand positioning supports and strengthens your long-term authority. Here’s why and how to capitalize on it.
Power of First Impressions: Why Brand Positioning Matters in the First 100 Days
A new C-suite leader's first 100 days represent a critical window of opportunity, marked by high expectations, urgent decisions, and stakeholders seeking clear direction. It’s common to focus on operational, financial, and sales optimizations to make an immediate impression. These “quick win” decisions often take top priority while the brand and brand positioning are relegated to secondary status.
Yet, when executives take control of the brand narrative early, clarity replaces confusion, teams move confidently, and the company's vision takes hold faster. Small but meaningful updates—such as a refined message or subtle visual refresh—can simultaneously reinforce stability in a time of change while demonstrating swift momentum toward future opportunities.
Establish Market Confidence & Stakeholder Buy-In
The first 100 days are as much about sending a message as settling in. Every executive action signals something to stakeholders. Without a defined narrative, the market will create one. That’s why it’s important to define and communicate a game plan for the brand, whether it’s leaning into core strengths or pivoting to an underserved market. Here’s how we’ve seen executives succeed on this path:
1. Start with a Brand Audit
To confidently steer a brand in a new direction, knowing where it currently stands is important. A rapid brand audit identifies what's working, what's outdated, and what needs strategic adjustment within current competitive and consumer environments. Modern AI platforms can expedite this process by benchmarking positioning against competitors to identify gaps and opportunities.
Effective brand audits prioritize speed since hesitation undermines momentum during leadership transitions. Smart tools paired with direct conversations with employees and customers provide a quick, topline assessment of the brand's perception and positioning in the market.
Findings should be validated through conversations with key stakeholders—marketing team leaders, frontline employees, and trusted customers. Understanding what they believe the brand stands for and whether that aligns with the desired positioning reveals exactly where fine-tuning is needed.
Fortune 500 Merger
"I worked with one Fortune 500 company going through a merger; the leadership change left the marketing teams unsure of how to move forward. The fix was a decisive brand strategy that clarified messaging, aligned teams, and signaled confidence to the market. This showed me that you don't need a year's worth of data to make smart brand decisions—just a clear understanding of current brand perception and where it needs to go."
~Jackie Bebenroth, Muse Principal & CEO
2. Align Messaging Across Channels
Internal alignment is non-negotiable. If the marketing team communicates one message, the sales team another, and employees remain unclear about the brand position, the brand positioning is already compromised.
The solution is unified messaging:
- Establish a clear, compelling brand narrative that aligns with the leadership vision. At a minimum, this should include the basics:
- What does your business sell?
- How does your product or service deliver value?
- Why is this important to your employees, customers, and the community at large?
- Share it across all teams, not just marketing—every employee should understand the brand's mission and vision
- Update customer-facing language to reinforce consistency, from updated website copy to investor presentations
A well-aligned message creates clarity and builds trust. When employees and customers hear the same confident story from every touchpoint, they develop a belief in it.
3. Find Quick Wins: Small Changes, Big Impact
Not every brand change needs to be seismic. Strategic, visible shifts can achieve more than numerous press releases.
Mace®: Small Change, Big Results
"One of the most effective moves I've seen a CEO make in their first 100 days wasn't a sweeping rebrand, but rather a small but symbolic color shift that signaled fresh energy to both retailers and customers. When Mace's new CEO stepped in, he wanted to reposition the well-known self-defense brand in retail stores without alienating loyal customers. Mace conveyed a fresh, strategic approach by moving from an alarming red to a modern, energetic blue while staying true to its core mission. Retailers took notice, product placement improved, and revenue climbed—all within a year."
~Jackie Bebenroth, Muse Principal & CEO
Strengthen Brand Positioning Through Visibility & Thought Leadership
Cementing authority as a leader requires more than simply running the business—it demands owning the narrative. This means being visible, vocal, and aligned. Successful approaches include:
1. Leverage Brand Advocates—They're Already on Your Side
The most effective brand champions are already within reach: employees, customers, and industry partners who believe in the organization's mission. The more they amplify the message, the stronger the position becomes. A well-informed team speaks with confidence—and confidence sells. Executives can tap into this power by:
- Employees: Assigning a small team of “Brand Champions” or ambassadors. Give them a reason to rally behind the leadership by sharing the brand vision in a way that excites and empowers them. Provide unique experiential (retreats) or financial (bonuses) incentives for their efforts.
- Customers: Using their testimonials, which carry more weight than any press release, to reinforce the value the brand delivers. Customer perception studies completed through the brand audit stage can also be used to capture focused testimonials.
- Partners: Cultivating strategic alliances that elevate credibility. Well-placed endorsements from industry leaders can accelerate trust and open doors. Consider how these partners can show up in branded content or cooperative marketing initiatives.
2. Make Executive Thought Leadership a Competitive Advantage
Thought leadership serves as a powerful tool for executives and brands alike. When leaders stand for something meaningful, they must communicate it clearly and back it up with action.
Healthcare Leadership & Health Equity
"A major healthcare CEO I worked with had a strong personal commitment to health equity. She quickly gained traction in new communities by making this a focal point of her public messaging through speaking engagements, partnerships, and editorial content. This established positioning enabled her to immediately forge new relationships and partnerships in her first hundred days. The increased visibility created a halo effect that positioned the entire organization as a leader in health equity nationwide."
~Jackie Bebenroth, Muse Principal & CEO
3. Be Seen. Be Heard. Be Recognized.
Presence matters. Greater visibility in earned media, industry events, and leadership forums strengthens brand positioning. The first 100 days present the perfect opportunity to:
- Claim speaking engagements that reinforce the vision
- Secure media coverage highlighting the leadership direction
- Sponsor or align with key industry initiatives that resonate with brand values
Effective executives understand they don't need to be the loudest voice in the room—they need to be the clearest. Every message should align the executive mission with the desired brand positioning. The same themes communicated in presentations should be readily apparent in the strategic plan.
Measure Success & Sustain Long-Term Authority
While the first 100 days establish the foundation, brand authority develops over time. Sustaining momentum requires measurement, refinement, and reinforcement.
1. Track the Right Indicators, Not Just Vanity Metrics
Boards demand results, but brand positioning shifts perception over a long period of time, so returns aren’t immediately clear. In fact, companies that integrate brand building with performance marketing see up to 90% higher ROI* than those focused purely on short-term sales tactics. A strong brand enhances all other business activities.
Perception is measurable through the right indicators:
- Brand Sentiment: Are employees, customers, and media discussing the brand in a more positive, aligned way? Surveys, AI-driven sentiment analysis, and direct feedback gauge perception.
- Market Positioning: Has the messaging successfully differentiated the brand from competitors? Benchmark perceptions at the start of new leadership, then conduct the same survey 12- and 24-months in to note shifts.
- Customer Lifetime Value (CLV): A stronger brand drives higher retention, larger purchase sizes, and customers willing to pay premium prices.
2. Transition From Quick Wins to Long-Term Strategy: Bridging Strategy and Execution
Brand trust requires a concrete plan that bridges the gap between strategy and execution. Effective C-suite leaders ensure their marketing teams develop actionable roadmaps that extend beyond the first 100 days, with clear accountability for implementation.
Action steps for long-term brand strategy implementation:
- Align tactics with brand promises: Ensure all marketing tactics physically demonstrate the brand positioning. For example, if sustainability forms a core element of the brand promise, critically evaluate the use of printed materials in marketing efforts and consider digital alternatives that reinforce this commitment.
- Balance brand and performance marketing: Establish a clear allocation strategy between brand-building campaigns and performance (or product-focused) campaigns. Research shows these approaches work most effectively in tandem—brand campaigns build long-term equity while performance marketing drives immediate results.
- Create tactical consistency: Develop a brand governance system that ensures visual identity, messaging, and customer experience remain consistent across all touchpoints—from advertising to product design to customer service interactions.
- Establish measurement cadence: Implement quarterly brand health checks that track progress against established KPIs, allowing for timely adjustments to the strategy.
- Empower brand champions: Identify and train internal stakeholders who can consistently advocate for proper brand expression across departments, particularly in product development, customer experience, and sales.
Without this strategic-tactical bridge, even the most compelling brand positioning will fail to realize its full potential. Organizations lacking this expertise should consider bringing in appropriate support—whether an in-house team, consultant, or agency partner.
When executed effectively, this methodical approach transforms brand positioning from an abstract concept into a tangible business asset that defines how the brand thrives for years to come.
Turn the First 100 Days into a Lasting Competitive Edge
Strategic brand-building during the first 100 days creates momentum that fuels growth. Leaders who prioritize brand positioning from day one consistently develop stronger, more resilient brands. Balancing quick wins with a forward-thinking strategy transforms a leadership transition into a defining moment.
Starting strong, maintaining consistency, and nurturing the brand leads to long-term success.
About the Author
Jackie Bebenroth is Founder and Chief Brand Advisor of Muse. She works alongside leading brands and executives to develop strategic positioning and messaging strategies that set the stage for long-term success. Her work, from local restaurant branding to six-figure global initiatives, has flown her around the country to speak on the art of content marketing. Jackie has earned a number of accolades, most notably a SXSW Interactive finalist award, the American Advertising Federation’s 40 under 40 award and Content Marketing Institute’s Content Marketing Leader of the Year.
*WARC, The Multiplier Effect
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