Brand Strategy 101

In the last edition of The MKTG detox, I made the case for brand building. I cannot overstate the importance of a brand strategy for your business's long-term success. Your marketing strategy also depends on it. You might have a brand strategy, but when did you review it last? 

Signs of weak or no brand strategy

I have often seen, especially among startups (post-product-market fit), a tendency to change the proposition or a visual brand refresh every few months. I've even seen some prematurely drop their name and keep the logo as the brand. Unless you've invested millions in your brand over decades, you're fooling yourself into thinking your brand is that iconic for people to remember. People want to connect with brands they can recognise, understand and associate with. Changing your brand proposition or look and feel frequently makes it increasingly difficult for consumers to identify you. It also signals to customers uncertainty about who you are.

Another worrying trend is internal misalignment on what the brand stands for, which leads to campaigns with inconsistent visuals and messaging. Plastering your logo on buildings around town or sponsoring events without fleshing out the rest of the brand limits the effectiveness of such tactics; it's a superficial presentation of your brand and leaves too much room for interpretation. Misalignment often happens due to brand definitions assumed with little communication with the broader group of stakeholders, the absence of a complete document covering an entire brand strategy, and vague and abstract descriptions that can be misunderstood or misinterpreted.

Brand strategy components

Brand strategy has five key components:

1. Brand audit: this is arguably the most critical element. You must know where you are to determine where you want to go. Talk to employees and customers to understand how they view your brand. 

2. Brand house: The building blocks of your strategy start here. Check out the diagram below showing the various elements you need to cover. Use the audit insights to inform your brand house building. Talk to stakeholders to understand their POV further and see which elements need to be clarified, reworded, or refined to close interpretation gaps.

   

   Elements of a Brand House

3. Brand positioning: once you have your house in order, it's time to map the brand against competitors to visually articulate where you operate in the market and how you stand out.

4. Brand identity: By referencing the previous components, you can define and shape who your brand is. If your brand was a person, what would they be like? What object would they be and why? Such descriptions will also make for an excellent brief for creatives to develop the brand's visual identity and tone of voice.

5. Brand architecture: This is a long-term view of your brand building. If your business launches products regularly, you must consider this: will you launch them all under your current brand or as separate brands? Each approach has pros and cons, but the one watch out for the latter is marketing budgets; each will require its own budget and resources to build up the brand because you're essentially building a brand from scratch every time. Examine your category and see how brands are structured to guide your decision-making.

The outcome of your brand strategy is a brand book that acts as a constant reference guide for all stakeholders to internalise and convey across external touchpoints. The most successful companies have consistency in their brand presence across all touchpoints. That's not to say you can't try new things or innovate. The goal of a brand strategy is to provide clarity, not enforce rigidity. So, treat the brand book as a long-term guide for every part of your organisation that is reviewed and refined as your business or the market evolves.

Working on these brand strategy components will provide focus on your business direction and priorities. Involving stakeholders in the process creates a sense of ownership towards the strategy and a commitment to implement the aligned direction.

Happy Strategising,

Nagham

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