How can you incorporate brand design research into a larger brand management strategy?

To begin with, let's not lose sight of the basics. Brand design research answers three broad questions about the brand (what, how and why). The answers to these three questions sets the context for the brand to express itself and operate in - both tangibly and experientially. The tangible expression is the 'brand design' while the experiential part is the 'brand management'. Therefore, brand management strategy includes all the strategies and tactics that the corporation adopts to convey the brand experience to its customer TG. The success of any brand management strategy completely depends on how well aligned it is to the answers obtained during the initial brand design research.

When it comes to incorporating brand design research into your brand management strategy the key focus is on keeping your brand alive. While aforementioned factors are of equal significance, following ongoing processes help brands ensure they stay fresh in the mind of its audiences: -Brand Audit -Customer Research -Rebranding There are many success stories of brands, including: LEVIS that managed to defy age and had success in passing on the legacy from one generation to the other.

I suggest smoothly integrate brand design research into our brand management strategy, we should start by truly understanding how our audience perceives our current design elements, including our logo, color scheme, and typography. At the same time, conducting a thorough competitive analysis will help us spot unique opportunities by studying our competitors' design strategies. I also suggest that creating comprehensive design guidelines based on research findings will play a crucial role in ensuring a consistent brand image across all touchpoints. Embracing an iterative design approach will allow us to continuously refine our brand elements to keep them relevant and appealing.

Defining your brand goals and objectives isn't something that's typically done in one sitting or in a silo. Make sure key stakeholders are involved in these beginning stages and it's highly encouraged that you bring in professionals that can see your brand from a "helicopter view" to ensure that you don't have a biased perspective in setting these goals and objectives. So many times brands aren't realistic in determining these or just look at their competition for the answers. Bringing in a fresh perspective with experience in this will help brands do this in an efficient and highly effective manner.

This is also a great time in larger companies to see how other departments view the brand and how they communicate it to external stakeholders. The marketing/design/brand teams usually have the strongest understanding and advocacy for the brand, but there are other major points like sales, biz dev, etc that play a role with how the brand grows and is interpreted.

Be sure to intake multiple perspectives while conducting this audit— both internally and externally. It may take an outside perspective to help brands to see gaps that may need filling, new opportunities, or risks.

Use research to understand your target audience's preferences, behaviors, and needs. This can guide your design decisions to ensure your brand resonates with them. For example, if your audience values sustainability, you might incorporate green or earthy tones into your brand design.

Talk to your target audience. While research is good, don't rely solely on data. Get to truly know people in your target audience. Seek people out to interview them or just chat. Culture cannot be defined by data, and the more you know about your audience's culture, the better you can speak to them.

Tools like SWOT analysis, competitor matrix, and perceptual mapping are instrumental in this process. For instance, a SWOT analysis can unveil a competitor's strengths that you might emulate, and weaknesses you can capitalize on. I find perceptual mapping especially helpful as it visually plots brands on a matrix, highlighting their perceived qualities. While I agree with the emphasis on understanding competitors, it's crucial not to lose your brand's unique essence in the process. Take Pepsi and Coca-Cola; while both are colas, Pepsi positions itself as youthful and edgy, whereas Coca-Cola emphasizes nostalgia and universality. In essence, while competitor insights are vital, your brand's distinct voice should remain at the forefront.

This can help you identify your unique qualities of your brand. Is there something your brand is hiding? Is there an opportunity to reframe it or embrace it? Let this be a tool for your brand to identify opportunities for you to stand out.

Scenario modeling is a great exercise here to see how you can adapt your brand to various external factors. This helps exercise how your brand can stay nimble through disruptions. I.e., how does your brand leverage election season, AI adaptation, or increased consumer interest in climate action and values?

Don't limit these market trends to your industry. The best thing you can do in market research is look outside of your market. While that sounds counterproductive, you'll quickly find there are approaches you can "steal" from other markets that will work in your own, and ones that no one is actually doing. Just because your market has "always done it this way" or are all doing it a similar way doesn't mean that's what you have to do. Don't rebel for the sake of rebelling, but don't limit yourself to only studying siloed marketing tactics for your industry. Live a little.

Use research insights to develop a brand positioning statement. A brand positioning statement is a short statement that summarizes your brand's unique value proposition and how it differs from your competitors. Brand design research can help you understand what your target audience values and what makes your brand unique. Use research insights to create a brand identity system. A brand identity system is a set of visual guidelines that defines how your brand should be presented. This may include your logo, colors, fonts, and imagery. Brand design research can help you choose design elements that are consistent with your brand goals and resonate with your target audience. Use research insights to develop brand communication materials...

Starbucks is a leading coffee brand that has built a loyal customer base through its effective brand design research and brand management strategy. It uses brand design research to understand its customers’ lifestyles, preferences, and expectations, and to create products and services that meet their needs. It also uses strategies to establish itself as a social, ethical, and quality-oriented brand that stands for community, connection, and responsibility. Starbucks’ brand vision, mission, values, and story are communicated in its logo, name, slogan, packaging, website, social media, and more Apple and Nike are also great examples of of how brands use brand design research and brand management strategy to create memorable brands.