Brand strategy
Decide what you stand for.
The essentials
What this is, and who it is for.
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01
What it is
Brand strategy is the written decision about what your business sells, to whom, and why a customer should choose you over the alternative. It is a commercial document, not a visual one.
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02
Why it matters
Without it, every later choice is arbitrary. Designers guess, campaigns contradict each other and the sales team improvises. Businesses rarely fail because their logo was wrong; they fail because nobody could say clearly what they were for.
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03
Who it is for
Businesses entering a new market, competing on price against similar offers, or growing faster than their message. Also any company preparing an identity or website: this comes first.
Scope
What is included.
- Branding
- Brand identity
- Brand positioning
- Brand guidelines
- Naming
- Corporate identity
Method
How we approach it.
We interview the people who actually sell and the customers who actually bought. Internal opinion is useful; evidence from the market decides.
We map the competitive set as a customer sees it, not as the industry describes itself, and find the position that is both true and unoccupied.
Everything lands in one document your team can use without us in the room. If it needs interpretation, it is not finished.
Outcomes
What you should expect.
- A position you can defend in a sales meeting
- Consistent messaging across every channel
- Faster, cheaper creative decisions afterwards
Questions
Frequently asked questions
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Is this the same as branding?
No. Branding usually refers to the visual system: logo, colour, typography. Brand strategy is the decision that the visual system expresses. One is the argument, the other is the delivery.
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How long does it take?
Two to three weeks for most businesses.
Next step: a conversation.
Tell us what you are trying to achieve and we will tell you honestly whether this is the right place to start.