Brand Strategy and Creative strategy - the Difference and Why it Matters?

The greatest blunder I did as a Marketer during the early phase of my career is presuming creative strategy and brand strategy are the same.??

Later I understood, many people in the industry are thinking similarly.?

Most of us hop into the tactics prematurely without pondering about the strategy.?

Am I trying to sound smart by pointing out the problem or is there any true distinction between brand strategy and creative strategy??

There is a difference.

Here we go.

Brand strategy must resolve the following questions;?

- How?Relevant?the brand is in the lives of the customers? (Category Relevance)

- How?Different?it is from the competition??(Perceived differentiation)

- What?Market segment?does the brand target & how it can be?positioned?

- What perception and association you want to hold in the minds of the audience?

- What is the brand’s?point of view?about the category?

?- What are the social issues that the brand represents? What it doesn’t stand for??

?Creative strategy, on the other hand, is the way to execute the brand strategy;?

- What visual brand identity would go well with the Brand strategy? (External appearance of the brand – tonality, logos, tagline etc.,)

?- Based on the brand’s positioning, what stories / messaging would resonate well with the target segment??

- What communication assets have to be created? (Website, collaterals, social media channels etc.,)

?- What media channels, influencers and celebrities have a high fit for the brand based on its strategy?

Most discussions only happen around the tactical side of things like Social media metrics, ATL, BTL, logos and so on.

But it has to begin with the strategy.

Otherwise, things go haywire.

A CEO's or CMO's role is to act as a custodian and ensure the entire Brand Strategy is in alignment with the tactical creative and media execution.

For this to happen, I usually recommend my clients have a Brand Strategy Document in place before getting into the tactical side of things.

This Brand Strategy Document needs to act as a brief to the communication agency.

In addition to that, Brand strategy can also drive the whole culture of an organization, product development efforts, hiring and training people and so on.?

Abraham Lincoln famously said, “If you give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe.”?

I would re-frame it this way for this context.?

“If you give six hours to handle a brand, an astute marketer will spend the first four hours understanding the business strategy andthe brand strategy.”

Jumping into the tactics without a strategy is like driving a bus without a clear destination in mind.

Each passenger would usher the driver in different directions.

And you know what happens.

As a marketing strategist, I help start-ups and growing businesses devise a brand strategy that can steer their creative, media and content strategy.