What is a brand communications and optics strategist?

Messaging before marketing. This episode is how I define what I do, as a brand communications and optics strategist, and it is not the only definition, but it is mine. I share why I believe the messaging foundation has to come first: the wording of your company, your product and your services, something that could stand in a court of law, because in some ways that is what the algorithms and the audience are doing with it. From that foundation the marketing, the content and the consistency grow. Without it, I see marketing companies throwing darts, rewriting the bio every month, and chasing popularity that does not convert. I share the difference between a claim and an opinion, "we have the answer" against "we believe this could be an answer for some," and why that matters in medical, legal and business messaging. I share the man with a true, tested product that went nowhere because his ego would not let him adjust a sentence, and why I told him I could not help him. Optics, as I use the word, is how what you say lands with people who have already heard a thousand others say it. So: look at the comparative and the competitive, the negative connotations, the tone and temperature of what is out there, and plant small seeds of your own authority instead of one long stream of ad. Not a sales pitch. In a way, the ask is to become your own brand communications and optics strategist, and if you hire one, make sure they are the real deal. Written transcription, chapters and links: https://lorenweisman.com/2025/01/01/messaging-and-optics-strategist/Wait What Really OK is hosted by brand communications and optics strategist Loren Weisman.Episode pages with written transcriptions: https://lorenweisman.com/wait-what-really-ok/About Loren: https://lorenweisman.com/about-loren-weisman/Speaking: https://lorenweisman.com/speaking/Services: https://lorenweisman.com/services/Be a guest: https://lorenweisman.com/podcast-guest-info/Contact: speaking@lorenweisman.comOpening theme by RKVC. Closing theme by Doug Hinrichs. Both licensed.© 2011 to 2026 Loren Weisman. All rights reserved.