What the Best Financial Brands Know That Most Don’t

Today’s October 3rd. Nothing special. Just another Friday.

Unless you’re a Taylor Swift fan.

Because 10 + 3 = 13. Her number. Her inside language. A brand detail so small, yet millions notice. Even her fiancé’s jersey number—87—adds up with hers to make a perfect 100.

Taylor’s obsession with numbers, her craft, her art—it’s the reason her brand isn’t just a brand. It’s a cultural phenomenon. And it’s why the best businesses, pound for pound, never stop pouring into brand. Here are 13 reasons why brand matters most:

1. Obsession Beats ROI

The best brands don’t start with spreadsheets — they start with obsession. ROI comes later.

2. Inside Language Creates Belonging

Taylor’s “13” isn’t just a number. It’s a secret handshake for millions. Brands with an inside language create movements.

3. Details Become Legends

Friendship bracelets. Champagne in Tiffany boxes. Whole bottles of cognac left at your table. Details outlive campaigns and create shared moments.

4. Reputation Compounds

Every little thing you do adds up to the story people tell about you when you’re not in the room.

In wealth management, my favorite work has always been brand. Not logos, not campaigns—brand. Reputation. The way people feel about you when they walk away.

5. Experience Is the Brand

Your checkout process, your client call, your office vibe — it all tells the story.

6. Utility Is Forgettable

A soulless, utilitarian business fades into the background. Obsession creates memory.

7. Emotion Scales Faster Than Ads

A feeling is more viral than a Facebook or LinkedIn campaign can ever be.

8. Consistency Breeds Trust

Obsession repeated daily turns into reliability.

At Eleven Madison Park, instead of dropping off a check, they drop shots of cognac—and leave the whole bottle. Instead of pouring champagne for an engagement, they deliver it in Tiffany boxes, flutes and all.

Those moments live forever because someone obsessed over them.

9. Surprise Sparks Loyalty

Exceed expectations in moments that matter. Your clients never forget.

10. Culture Mirrors Brand

When your team obsesses over little things, clients feel it everywhere.

11. Brand Is the Moat

Products can be copied. Experiences cannot. Too many firms obsess in pockets—over a client here, an advisor there. Rarely does the obsession bleed across the whole company. That’s the opportunity: make brand everyone’s job.

Because the worst thing you can be is boring.

12. Boring Never Wins

Life’s too short to run a brand people forget.

Tonight two of my girls will watch Taylor’s newest film at our local cinema. They’ll wear friendship bracelets, relive Eras tour memories, and feel part of something bigger.

Taylor created that because she cares about her fans. Because she obsesses. Because she builds experiences that aren’t just remarkable, even when they’re corporate, even when they’re global—they’re personal.

13. Love Is Strategy

At the end of the day, brand is about caring deeply for the people you serve.

Where are you creating remarkable experiences? For your clients? Your team? Or the people who trust you?

All of it matters. The more we obsess over brand, the more we love people through what we build.

Have a great week,

Jud