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Example:
Thomas Kinkade was a painter of landscapes and “idyllic” scenes of Americana. He advertised himself as “The Painter of Light” (as a double-entendre for his skill with painting and for his relationship with God), a devout moral man of Christian faith and small town tastes, and signed most of his paintings with a Christian fish symbol. He posed with his family for nice photos and sent ads and catalogs to church groups across America talking about “Family Values” and “The Good Old Days” and he sold very well and built a small empire with over 30 galleries nationwide just for his own art.
But then he did the following (all things you can Google): He lied about edition numbers of his paintings to encourage collectors (he would sell 100 prints of a painting and then print another 100 and change one thing – destroying any collectibility). He lied about prices – saying things were one price and then send people invoices for second and third installments. He would appear at his own gallery events, get drunk, and urinate in public – sometimes ON GUESTS AND COLLECTORS. He even did that at Disney (Yes he did.) He molested women at his events as well – grabbing them (everywhere), telling them to sleep with him, etc. His family stopped appearing with him, too. Eventually, his actions drove his business into the ground and he lost everything. He was sued many times over and countless people threw his paintings into the garbage. It was so bad, that when he died of (of alcohol and drug abuse), his own family released a scathingly terse statement for his obituary – not even saying he will be missed.
So…What was his Brand? Was it “The Painter of Light” and the good Christian he told everyone? Or was it “The Scumbag”?
History has declared that, despite his skill at painting, his brand is the latter.
Here is one of the many articles about him:
https://www.thedailybeast.com/the-drunken-downfall-of-evangelical-americas-favorite-painter