Own Your Brand or Lose It: The High Cost of Getting It Wrong
- The Cigar Profit
- Feb 24
- 9 min read
Brand Protection is Proactive, Not Reactive
Your brand is more than just a logo, a tagline, or a product—it’s your reputation, your market identity, and your competitive edge. And if you’re not actively protecting it, you’re leaving it vulnerable to legal challenges, brand confusion, and financial losses.
Brand protection isn’t just about securing trademarks or fighting off counterfeiters. It’s also about making sure your brand doesn’t accidentally infringe on someone else’s—because when that happens, the consequences can be severe. A poorly vetted marketing campaign, a too-familiar product name, or a tagline that sounds too much like a competitor’s can lead to legal action, rebranding expenses, and irreparable damage to credibility.
For many businesses, brand protection is an afterthought rather than a built-in strategy. They don’t take proactive steps to ensure their branding and messaging are airtight until they find themselves in trouble. By then, the damage is done, and they’re scrambling to fix an issue that could have been avoided with the right processes in place.
The premium cigar industry, where branding is everything, is particularly susceptible to these challenges. Unlike commodity products, cigars carry a strong sense of identity, heritage, and exclusivity. Customers don’t just buy a cigar—they buy into the brand’s story, its craftsmanship, and its image. This means that any misstep in branding, marketing, or messaging can erode trust, weaken positioning, and even lead to legal disputes with competitors.
Smaller businesses, including many cigar brands, face even greater risks when it comes to brand protection. While large corporations may have in-house legal teams dedicated to trademarks and compliance, many cigar businesses don’t. This makes them far more vulnerable to branding mistakes that could result in lawsuits, cease-and-desist orders, or costly rebrands.
So, what happens when a brand doesn’t take protection seriously? A product name might be too close to another company’s, triggering a trademark dispute. A marketing agency might launch an ad campaign without ensuring that its tagline isn’t legally owned by another business. A lack of oversight might lead to a company putting out conflicting messages across different platforms, confusing customers and diluting brand strength.
These mistakes aren’t just embarrassing—they’re expensive. They can lead to lost sales, legal fees, and a tarnished reputation that takes years to rebuild.
The good news is that all of this is preventable. Brand protection is a leadership function, not just a legal or marketing issue. If leadership isn’t actively involved in ensuring branding and messaging are properly vetted, then mistakes are inevitable.
This is why a structured brand protection process must exist at every level of the business. Whether you’re a multinational cigar manufacturer or a small brand, the principles remain the same:
Define clear brand ownership and accountability.
Establish a marketing and branding approval process.
Ensure that legal or external advisors review all major branding decisions.
Educate internal teams and agency partners on trademark compliance and brand alignment.
Failing to put these systems in place is like playing defense without a game plan—sooner or later, you’re going to get burned.
Brand protection isn’t a one-time task—it’s an ongoing process of strategic oversight, legal diligence, and proactive decision-making. The brands that thrive aren’t just the ones with the best cigars—they’re the ones that control their message, protect their identity, and operate with precision
Who Owns the Mistake When Branding Goes Wrong?
Branding mistakes don’t happen in isolation. Every marketing campaign, product launch, and messaging decision comes with an owner—someone who approved it, signed off on it, or allowed it to move forward unchecked. When things go wrong, the question isn’t just “What happened?” but “Who allowed it to happen?”
In many companies, accountability is vague when it comes to branding and marketing decisions. A mistake gets made, and suddenly, nobody is sure who should take the blame. Is it the CEO, for failing to create a structured approval process? The marketing director, for signing off on an idea without proper legal clearance? The external agency, for pushing an ad that wasn’t thoroughly vetted? Or should the legal team have caught the issue before it became a public embarrassment?
The reality is, if there’s no clear chain of responsibility, then leadership has already failed.
This is especially problematic in smaller businesses, including many premium cigar brands. Unlike massive corporations with layers of approval and dedicated legal teams, most cigar brands operate with a leaner structure—sometimes with just one or two people making key branding decisions.
Without a defined system of checks and balances, these businesses are far more susceptible to branding missteps. And while a large company may have the resources to recover from a lawsuit or a forced rebrand, a small business could be financially devastated by one mistake.
There’s also another layer of risk that many businesses overlook: reputational damage. Even if a branding mistake doesn’t result in legal action, it can confuse customers, weaken brand positioning, and make a company look unprofessional.
For example, if a cigar brand fails to differentiate itself from competitors, it risks blending into the background instead of standing out. If an ad campaign uses language that contradicts the brand’s established identity, it sends mixed signals to consumers. And if a company has to backtrack on a marketing decision, it can look disorganized and reactive rather than confident and in control.
This is why accountability needs to be built into the branding process. The person empowered to approve marketing, product names, and advertising materials must also be the one responsible if a mistake is made.
Every company—large or small—should have a defined approval process that outlines:
Who is responsible for approving branding decisions.
How branding is reviewed for legal and strategic alignment.
What happens if an issue is caught before or after launch.
A brand without clear oversight is a brand vulnerable to mistakes. Leadership must take full ownership of brand protection and ensure that every decision goes through the right processes before it reaches the market.
Small Businesses: You Don’t (Necessarily) Need a Legal Team, But You Do Need a System
Brand protection isn’t just a concern for corporate giants with massive legal teams and dedicated compliance officers—it’s just as crucial, if not more so, for small businesses. The difference is that larger companies usually have robust systems in place to mitigate risks, while smaller businesses often operate without the same safeguards. That means when a branding mistake happens in a small business, the consequences can be devastating.
For premium cigar companies—many of which are entrepreneurial brands or family-owned operations—brand protection is often an afterthought rather than a built-in process. Unlike corporations that may have in-house or retained legal counsel, entrepreneurial cigar brands tend to rely on gut instinct, informal approvals, and minimal legal oversight when it comes to marketing and branding decisions. That’s where problems start.
While small businesses might not have the luxury of a legal department, they do have the ability to implement a system that keeps their branding in check. And the good news? It doesn’t have to be complicated.
The first step is assigning a brand gatekeeper. This is the person responsible for overseeing all branding, marketing, and messaging decisions. In a small cigar brand, this could be:
The owner or founder, if there’s no formal marketing team.
The CMO or brand manager, in businesses with a structured marketing department.
A trusted consultant who understands brand protection and regulatory risk.
Regardless of who holds the role, they must be empowered to say ‘no’ when something doesn’t align with the company’s brand identity, legal positioning, or overall strategy. They are the first and last line of defense against branding mistakes.
But a gatekeeper alone isn’t enough—there must also be a process in place to vet branding decisions. Before any slogan, tagline, product name, or marketing campaign is publicly launched, it should go through a structured review process.
A basic pre-launch vetting system should include:
A trademark search (using USPTO.gov or a low-cost legal service) to flag potential conflicts.
A competitive review to ensure branding doesn’t closely resemble other businesses.
An internal approval process where at least two people sign off on a decision before it becomes final.
Proper documentation to track approvals, in case issues arise later.
Beyond internal processes, external marketing teams and agency partners must also be aligned. It’s a common scenario: a brand hires an agency to develop an ad campaign but fails to review it thoroughly before launch. Suddenly, the company finds itself with an ad that looks too similar to a competitor’s, uses legally protected language, or sends the wrong message to consumers.
This is why every business—no matter how small—should establish clear brand protection guidelines that both internal teams and external partners must follow. Agencies, designers, and consultants should be required to understand and respect the company’s trademark restrictions, messaging strategy, and brand positioning.
Even with the best processes in place, mistakes can still happen. That’s why small businesses need to act quickly when an issue is caught. If a branding mistake is identified before it goes public, fix it internally and quietly. If it has already been released, the company must:
Own the mistake immediately—trying to justify or cover it up makes it worse.
Take swift corrective action—whether that’s pulling an ad, renaming a product, or adjusting messaging.
Use the experience as a learning opportunity to strengthen the approval process and prevent future issues.
The bottom line is that brand protection is about foresight, not damage control.
A strong system doesn’t necessarily require a legal team—just discipline, structure, and leadership that takes branding seriously.
The Cigar Profit: Helping Brands Stay Protected
Building a strong, distinctive brand doesn’t happen by accident. In the premium cigar industry, success comes down to consistent messaging, strategic positioning, and disciplined oversight—areas where many brands fall short. Smaller operations, often running lean, face even greater risks because they frequently lack dedicated oversight to ensure branding remains clear, compelling, and strategically aligned.
This is exactly where The Cigar Profit steps in.
At The Cigar Profit, brand success is our top priority. We believe effective branding isn’t just about crafting attractive packaging or clever taglines; it’s about building a strategic foundation that ensures your brand resonates consistently with your target audience, differentiates you from competitors, and maintains your market position long-term.
As part of our CMO and Brand Management engagement levels, every partnership begins with a comprehensive branding audit. This audit is critical to ensure every aspect of your branding—from product names and packaging to advertising campaigns and social media messaging—is aligned with your brand’s identity, values, and strategic goals.
Our branding audit focuses on three key areas:
First, we look closely at your brand messaging. Is it clear? Is it consistent? Does it align with your business objectives and customer expectations? Many cigar brands unintentionally dilute their message by using inconsistent or conflicting language across different marketing channels. Through our audit, we ensure your brand voice is cohesive, powerful, and unmistakably yours.
Second, we evaluate your market differentiation. In the crowded cigar marketplace, blending in is a recipe for invisibility. Our audit helps identify and strengthen your unique selling points, ensuring your brand stands out distinctly from competitors. We provide actionable insights to sharpen your positioning, solidify your market niche, and capture your audience’s attention more effectively.
Third, we analyze your overall brand presentation and visual consistency. Consumers make purchasing decisions based on perception and emotion—particularly in the premium cigar industry. An inconsistent or unclear brand identity can confuse potential customers or undermine the message you're trying to convey. Our audit pinpoints areas where visual consistency can be improved, providing clear guidelines to ensure your branding supports a unified and professional image.
The audit isn’t merely a report—it’s a strategic roadmap designed to give you clarity, confidence, and control over your branding efforts. After completing the audit, we collaborate with you, offering guidance on the best strategies to implement improvements effectively and efficiently.
Simply put, engaging The Cigar Profit at the CMO or Brand Management level means you have dedicated branding oversight integrated into your strategic planning. Our aim is not just to help you avoid costly mistakes, but to help you seize opportunities that drive growth, enhance customer loyalty, and reinforce your brand’s long-term success.
Because at the end of the day, great cigars deserve great branding—and great branding starts with strategic clarity.
Final Takeaway: Leadership, Process, and Accountability
Branding isn’t just about creativity—it’s about control. A strong brand doesn’t happen by chance; it’s the result of deliberate decisions, structured oversight, and leadership that takes brand management seriously.
The most successful businesses don’t guess their way through branding. They have a system, a process, and clearly defined ownership over who makes branding decisions and how they’re executed. They understand that branding mistakes—whether they stem from inconsistent messaging, weak differentiation, or a lack of oversight—can cost far more than just money. They can cost credibility, market position, and long-term trust.
At the core of strong branding is leadership that prioritizes strategic oversight. This means:
Defining clear brand ownership. Someone must be responsible for ensuring all branding efforts align with the company’s goals and market positioning. Without accountability, branding becomes reactive instead of intentional.
Establishing a structured approval process. Whether it’s a new product launch, packaging update, or marketing campaign, branding decisions must follow a defined process that ensures consistency and alignment with the brand’s identity.
Educating internal teams and external partners. Everyone involved in branding—whether internal staff or agency partners—must understand the company’s positioning, messaging guidelines, and strategic goals.
At The Cigar Profit, we help premium cigar brands take control of their branding by ensuring their strategy is clear, consistent, and built for success. Whether through branding audits, market differentiation strategies, or messaging refinement, our approach is about strengthening brands from the inside out.
Because in the premium cigar industry, branding isn’t just marketing—it’s survival. And the brands that thrive are the ones that lead with clarity, execute with discipline, and never leave their brand strategy to chance.
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