Brand strategy: Getting to grips with strategic brand planning
A brand strategy is a set of plans used to guide an organisation. Good brand planning can also be used to define audience perception and how a brand should look, speak and act.
This story is taken from our ‘How to build a brand’ guide.
An introduction to brand strategy
A ‘brand strategy’ is defined as a set of plans used to shape and direct how a brand operates. Like most strategies, these plans vary from business to business and generally consist of a system of goals, shared values and a vision for the future. Each component is typically defined during the branding process, where a strategist will work with brand owners to define the intended direction of the brand. A strong brand strategy should be well-researched, unique and actionable. When explaining brand planning, we often use the analogy of building a house. A builder would never construct a home without an architects plan — the same logic applies when building a brand. A brand strategy essentially acts as a blueprint for how a business is positioned, communicated, and (hopefully) understood by customers.
How is a brand strategy produced?
Before writing a brand strategy, an organisation should always undertake appropriate research. This research may include a company-wide strategic audit, a competitive overview and any relevant market research into their industry. A strategic audit will examine the materials and messages already used, defining the tools and materials that perform well. It will also identify existing issues and gaps in what is currently available. A competitive overview will look into the competitive set — rival brands that compete for your audiences attention. Market research will look to qualify these learnings with data, using direct and indirect methods to define the case for change. In theory, these insights should result in a detailed and unbiased picture of the brand. This picture will also uncover areas of strength, weakness, opportunity and threat.
From here, a strategist will work with the brand owners to disseminate the research findings before translating them into a meaningful set of strategies to be used by the business. Some of the outcomes that form a brand strategy include a single-minded brand proposition, clearly defined mission, vision and values statements, and a coherent portfolio architecture and naming strategies for all products and services. Brand planning will also likely include a messaging framework and a detailed summary of all target audiences.
How is brand planning used?
A strong brand strategy will always act as the ‘Northern Star’ for your brand. Once defined, the strategies are activated using a brand identity system and brought to life via various means, including print design, digital design and content creation. For example, a print campaign will use the information found within the planning exercise to decide who to target and what messages or USPs to use.
Recent examples of brand strategy work by LBD Studio include the rebrand of Halley Stevensons, sustainability consultation for The Feather Company and brand positioning for mental health charity Back Onside.
What’s involved in developing a brand strategy?
A brand strategy is usually produced during the initial stages of the branding process. The strategy itself does not have a specific pre-defined formula, however, it does usually feature some of the following processes, workshops and activities:
New Product Development
‘New Product Development’ or ‘NPD’ refers to the process used to create a new product, often in response to the identification of an opportunity or threat.
Naming strategy
A ‘naming strategy’ refers to a structured hierarchy of brand, product or service names in relation to an organisation. This strategy often takes the form of a set of names which deliberately relate to one another, for example iPhone, iPad and iMac.
Brand creation
‘Brand creation’ refers to the definition, design and launch of a new brand. This often takes the shape of a new product, business or service in response to an opportunity identified in a strategic audit.
Market research
‘Market research’ refers to focused investigation into the direct and indirect territories in which a company operates.
User testing
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‘User testing’ refers to a range of focused primary research activities employed during the creation or development of a brand, service or product.
Portfolio architecture
Portfolio architecture refers to the system used to order and categorise a collection of brands, sub-brands, services and products.
Strategic audit
A ‘strategic audit’ refers to the process of identifying and reviewing the various components of a brand with the aim of uncovering a clear, unbiased view of its current state.
Brand story
A ‘brand story’, ‘proposition’ or ‘purpose’ are all terms used to describe a statement which captures the true essence of a brand. This statement is then used to underpin all activities and messaging.
Mission, vision and values
Mission, vision and values statements are a combination of statements that build upon the brand story.
A strong brand strategy will help make the day-to-day running of your business much more straightforward. It also has the bonus of uniting everyone within an organisation under one banner, helping to iron out any misconceptions about the direction of travel. When working alongside a well-defined business plan, your brand strategy will help identify areas of growth and potential new sectors or categories in which you can expand.
All strong brands need a plan of attack
Regardless of industry or location, successful brands rely on good planning to achieve and sustain growth. Building brand value is an important goal as external opinions and perceptions can directly influence how a business or organisation performs. Engaging in meaningful brand development makes it possible to define a long-term plan to bring it closer to its audience while laying solid foundations for future growth.
Aiming for unity
The goal of a brand strategy is to unite all teams and departments under one cause. At LBD Studio, we use brand planning to create focused objectives that all parties can get behind. A good brand strategy should offer a roadmap to achieve your brand’s goals by closely aligning with the business plan. Team-specific objectives can, of course, come out of this. However, the main aim is to create a holistic program that helps shape the culture and direction. Actionable ‘brand level’ goals might take the form of new product development, marketing and advertising success, branded partnerships or simply better customer relationships.
Longevity vs the quick fix
Brand strategy is often wrongly compared with advertising or marketing campaigns. While there are similarities, we advise clients that brand planning will likely take 1–2 years before fully embedded. Unlike advertising exercises, a strategy is difficult to measure over the short term. It is important to remember that brand perceptions are not formed overnight, and brand planning aims to create a meaningful understanding of the brand.
Where do you start?
To define a successful strategy, we first look at the traits, goals, perceptions and truths already present within the brand. We then compare these to each area of the organisation, breaking down each service and product before agreeing on the commonalities and discrepancies. Stakeholders must discuss these topics openly from the beginning. A good brand strategy must achieve buy-in from senior team members if it is to be successfully adopted.
The first step in creating a brand strategy is to uncover the core purpose of your organisation. This statement is called a ‘proposition’ — the story that sits at the heart of all products and services. A proposition does not change every year, and nor should it: the classic example here is Nike’s ‘To bring inspiration and innovation to every athlete in the world’. This statement clarifies the type of work Nike is involved in while building a common goal for staff to get behind.
Once articulated, this message will bring perennial focus to all activities. It will inform advertising campaigns, define partnerships and help audiences relate to the brand. The value of uncovering the story at the heart of a business can not be overstated when creating a robust and recognisable brand.
Context is important, and a brand can learn a lot by exploring the competitive environment. It is also recommended to look into companies or organisations from other industries as there is always something that can be learned as the challenges facing brands are often shared. These learnings may take the form of pricing strategy, product naming, branded partnerships or new territories for product development. It can also help to guide decision-making to avoid pitfalls and mistakes made by other brands.
A clear portfolio architecture and naming strategies for products and services are also valuable. Following the brand audit, it often becomes clear that there is confusion or incorrect perceptions around certain products as they have grown or changed over time. By uncovering and using the brand proposition, we can define a clear strategy for how the brand names its various elements. Apple is a good example, having created a clear naming structure for products like the iPhone, iPad and iMac.
We recommend bringing in an external consultant or agency (like ourselves) to help with this process. It is often difficult to have an open and honest discussion free of bias without external advice. We find that an outside perspective will cut through the noise and get to the heart of the matter much more effectively. It can also help alleviate internal conflict if there are competing departments, products or sub-brands at play.
Next steps
If your business would benefit from a new approach to strategic development, please get in touch, and we will be happy to advise on the best route forward. We recommend that a strategic audit is undertaken before starting new strategic work to ensure it uses a solid evidence base.
