Signal vs Noise in Brand Messaging

Improve Clarity

You say you hold the secrets to clarity

But a mathematician solved that decades ago

Claude Shannon was an American mathematician, computer scientist, and engineer who is widely considered the "father of information theory" and the "father of the digital age" for his groundbreaking work on digital circuits and communication.

His 1948 paper, "A Mathematical Theory of Communication," laid the foundation for modern information theory, and his master's thesis in 1937 showed how Boolean algebra could be used to design digital circuits, which are fundamental to today's computers and telecommunications.

Here’s the gist of what Shannon was trying to solve with regards to communication.

Before Shannon, communication was a bit of a mess:

Engineers had telegraphs, phones, radio, radar…
But there was no unified way to measure information.
Nobody knew how much information could be sent over a channel or how to improve clarity.

Shannon wanted one thing:

A scientific way to describe how information moves from one place to another.

He approached communication as a mathematical problem, not a linguistic or emotional one.

This means that Shannon was not trying to explain meaning, emotion, persuasion, or storytelling.

He asked a simpler question:

How many bits of information can be sent accurately, regardless of what the message means?
Shannon broke all communication down into five blocks:

Information Source – where the message starts
Transmitter – turns it into a signal (sound waves, electrical pulses, etc.)
Channel – the medium (air, wire, fibre, radio waves)
Noise – anything that messes up the signal
Receiver – turns the signal back into a message



Shannon also presented us with this piece of undying truth:

Noise is unavoidable. Your job is to design systems that defeat it.
Shannon’s solution to beat noise is simple.

Add redundancy.


Let’s quickly read the below to demonstrate how systems and redundancy work.

I love waterlemons.
You that read wrong.
You read that wrong too.
In the example above, proper spelling and grammar structures were ironically made redundant because they are systems that work so well. Our brains optimize for it even when they're absent.

Okay, that might not be the best example, but it was a fun one. I love adding noise to my content because I love destroying my personal brand.

A better example would be MP3 files.

MP3 uses the same principle on removing redundancy by removing what normal humans cannot hear or will not notice.

Imagine a jazz band is playing.

The saxophone starts a soulful melody.

Then the trumpet suddenly blasts in.

The MP3 audio recording of this jazz band will ignore the saxophone sounds at every moment that the trumpet is playing loudly.

Very high frequencies humans can’t hear → removed
Quiet sounds next to loud sounds → removed



Now let’s apply what we’ve learned to Brand Messaging.
You cannot reduce noise. Especially not today when content is being churned out and distributed in milliseconds thanks to generative AI.

But here are two things that you can do:

1. Build redundancies in your brand that defeats noise.
And this redundancy is achieved by consistent use of your distinctive brand assets.

Visual systems that scale beyond a single logo
Iconic phrases that scream you even when you’re whispering
Signature sounds and jingles that are unmistakably yours

It's easier said than done. Even after owning these assets, you need to ensure consistent usage.



The second thing you can do was introduced right at the beginning of this article.

2. You rise above the noise through meaning, emotion, persuasion, or storytelling.
This lesson needs to be drilled into more B2B businesses. If your content stays at “information” level, you’re basically just noise.

Emotion can bypass noise. Emotional encoding of any information makes it rise above noisy conditions.

Meaning, emotion, persuasion, or storytelling deserves its own article so stay tuned ;)



And finally, here are some other things that you can consider when it comes to communication blocks:

Information Source – Your Brand Fundamentals. Define the non-negotiables and the negotiables. If nothing is defined, your brand becomes a free-for-all. The overall aim is to guide rather than to restrict.
Transmitter – Your People. Before your external audience receives your ‘brand’, your internal audience must first be sold. Build that culture. Live those values. Or at the very least, fully understand your brand’s purpose and strive towards it.
Channel – Your Touchpoints. Every single owned interaction must be built with intention. Never start something just for the sake of starting it. If you start tilling the land and then leave it untended, a wild forest might pop up!
Noise – Is Noise. Consider and understand the quirks and limitations of every channel, regional and cultural differences, gradual shifts in culture, competitor movements, and the flood of generative AI slop. This state of constant flux itself is noise.
Receiver – Your Audience. Arguably the most uncontrollable part of the equation and the most fickle. You cannot fully dictate when, how, and where your audience interacts with your brand. You broadcast at 8. It gets clipped, edited, and turned into 50 viral reels organically by your audience. Sometimes, out of context. By 9, you have a full-blown PR crisis.

Practice active listening and have protocols to capture and contain any suspected fire-starters! Also note that it’s not all doom and gloom; some fires detected are worth fanning into a blazing cultural flame.
As always, if you need help doing any