Strategy – Charting A Course To Brand Performance

What is a brand strategy, really? When one does the research and analysis required, and, of course, writes the final report, one is actually making a business case for why a product, service or company should be positioned in a particular way, vis-à-vis the competition. This is an important first step in any branding or rebranding effort. 

First of all, it’s a vital tool to get buy-in from the organization’s senior management. With a written brand strategy, one can assure nervous executivess that the branding initiative they’re funding will have some basis in fact. It can be made evident that this is not a change-for-the-sake-of-change situation. Any changes will be driven by actual needs, as indicated by market feedback, and not by someone’s whim or individual need to make a mark. Secondly, when the brand strategy is fully articulated, it serves as a guide for all the creative work that is to follow. All the names, logos, websites, etc. can be designed to be integrated with one another and “on-brand”, presenting a unified, consistent face of the business. The products of all the creative will actually work for the business and not be mere decoration. 

A brand strategy also spotlights exactly who are the customers that you can serve better than anyone else in the competitive landscape. Once you know who and where they are – let’s call them your perfect customers – you can also see the path to best reach them. Better yet, they can now see how to get to you.

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