Brand Strategy - What is it and why do I need it?

“Brand Strategy is a plan for systematic development of a brand in order to meet business objectives” - Marty Neumeier, Brand Gap

Your brand isn’t your product, your logo, your website or your name. Although these things do play a role in the branding process, your brand is what people think or feel about your business. I like to simplify it by thinking of a brand as being your business’s identity if it were a person.

Brand Strategy serves to shape the perception of your brand in people’s minds, influencing them to engage with it. People’s perceptions of your brand are shaped through the visual, physical and verbal touchpoints throughout your business’s communications, which should always remain aligned with your Brand Strategy. For this reason, building a strong brand should always start with creating a Brand Strategy first as this sits at the core of your business’s communications, creating a consistent experience internally and externally which generates brand loyalty, customer engagement and aids in business financial growth.

We begin the Brand Strategy process with collaborative workshops and research to surface unique insights about your brand and your customer. With these insights we then plot how to connect the two to attract, serve and delight your customer, resulting in business growth. 

Brand Strategy deliverables, at minimum, include a Brand Purpose Statement, a Brand Vision Statement, a Brand Positioning Statement, Brand Values, Target Audience Personas, Brand Personality shaping, Brand Tone of Voice guidance and a Tagline. These are then followed internally and influence things like your Marketing Strategies, User Experience, Customer Experience, Visual Identity Design and more to ensure that all business decisions, communications and touchpoints remain on-brand; providing your customers with a consistent Brand Experience.

Brand Purpose Statement: Defines why your brand exists and what valuable role it plays in people’s lives. After defining the greater good behind your brand’s work, you can leverage this to foster a connection with employees and customers. Research has found that millennials in particular prefer to engage with brands that have a strong sense of purpose.

Brand Vision Statement: Ensures that your brand is navigating in the right direction through a clear and aspirational long-term goal. With a clear vision of where your brand is heading you can make more meaningful business decisions that remain on-brand.

Brand Positioning Statement: Sets your brand apart from others in the marketplace. As a Business you can do or sell multiple different things but as a Brand you want to be known for doing ONE thing. This allows you to hold a specific position in the mind of consumers so that the next time they are making a purchasing decision you’ll help them navigate through their variety of choices.

Brand Personality: Gives a human side to your brand that your audience can engage with and build a long-lasting relationship with, as if it were a person.Your brand personality will direct all of your brand’s visual and verbal communications.

Brand Voice: An extension of your brand personality which sets the guideline for how you want your brand to sound to others through the use of tone and language.

Tagline: A consumer-facing statement that grasps your brand in a few simple words.

With this information I hope you now feel better equipped to build your brand and grow your business! Don’t forget to sign up to my newsletter below for bite-sized branding tips!