Brand strategy 101

You may have heard the term “brand strategy” and wondered what exactly it means. In a nutshell, it’s the plan of how to position your business in front of your ideal audience. Connecting your brand to your audience is the ultimate goal. Instead of taking things on that organically come through the door, a brand strategy will guide your business to specific points on the horizon which will align with your long term goals. Or to put it another way, instead of jumping out of the plane and assembling the parachute on the way down, you’ll already have one strapped to your back and you’ll be ready to turn on the GoPro and enjoy the ride.

What’s covered in brand strategy?

At the highest level, the way I conduct strategy work is to focus on 3 main subject areas:

1. The customer

2. The brand

3. The plan of action

Each of the main subject areas are drilled into through a series of exercises which help direct a conversation. The takeway from these conversations is a “roadmap” document which will organize the insights uncovered. Specific topics included will be: value proposition, targeted messaging, customer journey, and prioritization of business goals.

Why invest?

While it might feel more comfortable to skip the strategy work and focus your attention on the visual stuff, the real value in strategic brand development is clarity and efficiency. Understanding your audience, your unique positioning, and your long term goals will not only direct decision making, but also make it much faster and efficient. Being able to seize each opportunity to position your business will be easier when you have a defined plan of where you are heading.

Can I build a brand without a brand strategy?

Sure you can. My question would be, how much better equipped could that brand be if you had a complete picture of where it was heading vs tossing it an unpacked parachute? Do you want to be scrambling for the rip cord or enjoying the view?

A photo of me post-tandam parachute jump.

New Zealand, 1997.

Thankfully didn’t need to build the parachute on the way down!