What a Luther Vandross Song Taught Me About Making My Brand Unforgettable

I’m sitting on a plane headed to Miami. Tired but alert enough to browse the in-flight movie list.

 
I press play on Luther: Never Too Much—because how could I not?

And just a few minutes in, it happens.

“Never too much, never too much, never too much…”

It’s the kind of line you can’t help but hum.

And suddenly, I’m no longer just watching a music documentary.

I’m having a branding epiphany.

Let's Be Honest— Most Brands Are Easy to Forget

You can have all the right pieces in place:

But if people can’t remember who you are and what makes you different, none of that matters.

Forgettable brands don’t grow movements. They just fill feeds.

A branding hook is the sticky phrase, positioning, or emotional statement that makes people remember you—and talk about you.

It’s your brand’s chorus. The repeat line. The energy behind your message.

The right hook can:

Luther had his hooks in music.

 
You need yours in business.

Hooks tap into a deep human truth:
We’re wired to remember emotion, not explanation.

In music, it’s the line that gets stuck in your head.

 
In business, it’s the message that gets shared, screenshotted, and repeated on stage.

That’s the difference between a post and a platform.

It’s not about sounding clever. It’s about being clear and compelling.

Here’s where most people go wrong:

1. Tap into emotion

   Great hooks make people feel something: hope, confidence, urgency, desire.

2. Keep it short 

   3–7 words is the sweet spot. If it’s too long to say, it’s too long to stick. 

3. Make it about them 

   Your audience should hear your hook and immediately think, “That’s me.”

Inside my Celebrity Branding Inner Circle, I recorded a private 10-minute deep-dive training that walks you through:

This training is exclusive to members only, and it’s the kind of strategy that turns invisible experts into unforgettable authorities.