Brand Rebels is a community for changemakers—leaders who use brand to drive real, meaningful change from the inside out. Rebels exists to bring fresh thinking, honest conversations, and bold ideas out of the marketing bubble and into the boardroom.
That spirit was alive and well in Houston, where we hosted our second Brand Rebels roundtable as part of the CHARGE Energy Branding conference: a candid, no-decks, no-script conversation with brand, marketing, and communications leaders across utilities, cleantech, oil & gas, policy, and fusion.
What emerged? An acknowledgement that in this moment of transformation, the energy transition needs more than new technology. It needs trust. And a shared conviction that brand isn’t a surface concern. It’s a strategic lever. One that builds internal alignment, public trust, and long-term resilience in a sector that needs to move fast and stay credible.
Safe messaging won’t move the needle
The consensus was clear: too much of the energy sector is still playing it safe. Legacy language, overused tropes, tired metaphors. In a time when trust is fractured and attention spans are shrinking, this sameness isn’t safe—it’s stifling.
“We’ve let the world tell our story. It’s time we reclaimed it—and told it better.”
Leaders around the table spoke of the disconnect between the groundbreaking work being done inside their organizations and the tepid way it’s communicated. “We’re so busy defending our right to exist that we’ve forgotten how to lead,” said one attendee.
The call to action? Stop sanitizing the message. Start humanizing it. Find your edge. And embrace the discomfort that comes with doing things differently.
We’ve let the world tell our story. It’s time we reclaimed it—and told it better.
The trust gap is real and growing
Brand rebels don’t see trust as a buzzword. They see it as the real battleground.
The challenge isn’t just misinformation. It’s disbelief. One attendee summed it up bluntly: “We’re not just dealing with misinformation. We’re dealing with disbelief.”
Externally, the volume of competing voices has eroded public clarity. Internally, employees question leadership motives when decisions shift without explanation. “If your own people don’t believe in what you’re saying, your message is already dead on arrival.”
The fix? Get uncomfortably honest. Share the setbacks. Own the gaps. “You can’t talk people into trust. You have to earn it. Over time. Through action.”
Your best communicators might not work in comms
Again and again, one truth came through: your people are your brand. Not just your spokespeople. The engineers. The field reps. The analysts.
“We’re sitting on a goldmine of stories,” one participant noted. “But we’re not digging them out.”
The opportunity is to move from cascading messages to crowdsourcing belief. Stop handing your teams a script. Start inviting them into the story. “Don’t just train people to say what you want. Ask them what they care about—and let them speak from there.”
We’re sitting on a goldmine of stories. But we’re not digging them out.
Transparency isn’t a risk. It’s the requirement.
Legacy energy brands still fear being too honest. But the cost of the opposite is far higher. As one participant recalled, their company publicly missed a sustainability target—but owned the story.
“It wasn’t spin. It was straightforward. And that built more trust than if they’d said nothing at all.”
This isn’t about being flawless. It’s about being believable. Because in a high-scrutiny environment, stakeholders don’t expect perfection, but they do expect a straight answer. And transparency, done right, builds resilience before a crisis hits.
“You build brand before the outage,” one brand rebel said. “That’s what earns you the benefit of the doubt when something goes wrong.”
Brand isn’t a campaign. It’s the connective tissue.
What tied every conversation thread together? The idea that brand is not cosmetic. It’s culture. It’s leadership. It’s how decisions get made and how actions are perceived.
In a sector being redefined by volatility, brand becomes the throughline. It helps employees see the why behind the what. It earns stakeholder confidence before the product is perfect. And it creates space for progress—even when the path forward is unclear.
You build brand before the outage. That’s what earns you the benefit of the doubt when something goes wrong.
What to do next?
1. Audit your brand in the wild
Go beyond campaigns. Look at sites, assets, and touchpoints. Do they reflect what you stand for or undermine it?
2. Crowdsource belief, don’t cascade messages
Invite your people to shape the story. Their language will land stronger than yours ever could.
3. Get uncomfortably honest
If your message feels safe, it’s probably not real. Go back. Sharpen it. Own it.
4. Make internal trust your first milestone
If your own people don’t believe the strategy, no external audience will either.
5. Challenge your brand to lead, not follow
Set an ambition that scares you a little. Then let the brand live up to it.
Because in this sector, change doesn’t just run on new tech.
It runs on trust.
Want to learn more about how to harness the power of brand to navigate the uncertainties in the transition? Read the latest issue of our energy magazine, Tension in the Transition—out now.
Energy magazine: Tension in the transition
How are energy brands navigating the energy crossroads?
Our latest energy magazine explores the complex balancing act energy leaders face as they work to deliver on today’s expectations while transforming for tomorrow. Inside, you’ll find insights from companies like Shell Energy, Galp, OneSubsea, Höegh Evi and more.
Brand Rebels is a community for changemakers—leaders who use brand to drive real, meaningful change from the inside out. It’s not just for marketers, but for anyone pushing for clarity, alignment, or momentum at pivotal business moments. A CEO can be a Brand Rebel. A product lead. A transformation exec. What unites them is a belief that brand isn’t just communications—it’s a lever for impact. Brand Rebels exists to bring fresh thinking, honest conversations, and bold ideas out of the marketing bubble and into the boardroom.
