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Brand Strategy
The Ultimate Checklist You Need to Complete Your Brand Strategy.
Since you are reading this, we assume you are either:
- In the process of building a brand strategy for a business;
- Looking for areas to refine and improve yours; or
- Being thrown into the task without having a clue about what you are about to deal with, but you have to brave it.
Whichever situation you are in, this short article can provide you with a concise framework and idea about the elements you need to create a comprehensive brand strategy. Hope this will give you some sense of clarity and direction.
But first of all…
What Do You Need to Build a Brand Strategy?
Seriously, a village.
This simply can’t be done alone. You need both left and right brains: a team to craft, revise, and bring it to life at every level of your organization.
Without this designated team, the work you do here will likely get sidetracked, biased, and steamrolled.
Well, at the very minimum, two people - one left-brainer and one right-brainer - so long as they can cover the essentials and know how these things are done:
- Align brand & business goals and close any gaps in between
- Communicate with higher-ups and key stakeholders
- Craft and manage the identity, visually and verbally
- Craft marketing strategy and oversee execution
- Oversee content creation and communications
- Oversee sales, operations, and delivery
- Analyze data and feedback to refine strategies at all levels
How to Build Your Brand Strategy?
Here’s a waterfall, sequential process (as each builds on the prior) in terms of how you’ll end up with a comprehensive brand strategy that helps you share your story impactfully and effectively at every touchpoint.
Phase 1: Strategic Discovery
- Vision planning
- Goal prioritization
- Brand definition
- User profiling & journey mapping
Phase 2: Concept Development
- Value props
- Positioning
- Anchor experience
- Brand architecture
- Verbal and visual themes
Phase 3: Identity System Design
- Naming & tagline
- Story & narratives
- Glossary & keywords
- Headline specimens
- Campaign slogans
- Messaging Hierarchy
- Logo
- Typography
- Color palette
- Imagery
- Illustration
- Iconography
Phase 4: Asset & Touchpoint Development
- Imagery library
- Purpose video
- Website
- Social media
- Marketing collaterals
- Packaging
Phase 5: Stewardship
- Style guide
- Governance and process
We are DONE! Now what?
Be proud! A hell of a journey that you will never forget. Thanks to all your hard work, you officially have all the tools you need to communicate your brand story, align your brand and your business, and build the lasting relationships you need for long-term success. Of course, that work is never done. To ensure that your brand strategy shines…
Keep up with best practices. The market is a dynamic environment, so should your brand. Listen to your tribe and take feedback often. Revisit your brand strategy to ensure it is still relevant andcreate content that’s aligned to your brand.
Master your content design process. An immediate action to bring the brand strategy to life is to create content. This is where you can leverage the strategy and also validate what has been developed.
Tell a consistent story at every touchpoint. We mean it. EVERY single one of them, be it a press release, a blog post, a social media post, or a promotional video. It's not a copy-and-paste job, but you don't want any confusion for your tribe wherever they encounter you.
Maximize your content reach. This is where your marketing and media guys come in. They’ll know where your tribe is at and how’s best to engage with them on each individual platform. The “not a copy-and-paste job” is actually from them, too.
Of course, we know this can all be a lot for many, especially if you’re short on time or resources as a smaller scale up-and-comer (for now). If so, get help! It does take a village to craft a future. A trusted strategic creative agency is whom you want to knock on their door. We will share some pro tips around how you can find a trustworthy partner for crafting and nurturing you brand in the next one.
Stay Tuned!
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