What Is Brand Strategy and How Are They Planned?
The world's most successful businesses all have a unique and powerful brand. But that doesn't just happen by accident; it's the result of a focused and detailed brand strategy. But what is a brand strategy and how can it help you stand out in your industry?
What is a Brand Strategy?
If a brand is an audience's gut feeling and perception of a business or organization, then brand strategy is a plan that allows that to form. This should be a long term plan with defined goals. A brand strategy covers:
What a brand stands for.
How a brand wants to be perceived.
What a brand promises to its audience.
A successful brand strategy is usually created by someone with experience in the field, with the skills to plan it meticulously. It can be your greatest tool, or if used poorly - your downfall.
How to Plan Brand Strategy?
When planning a brand strategy, you should answer the following questions in detail:
What Are Your Organization's Values and Purposes?
The first step to determining a successful brand strategy is defining purpose and values. Your answer should include and go beyond just sales and finances. Think about what you want to offer to the world, what you'll stand for and what you will help your customers achieve. Maybe you stand for social justice, environmental concerns or helping people solve a problem. Be bold. These values will cover all areas of your brand.
Positioning - What Sets You Apart From Others in Your Industry?
This question can be tricky, but it opens doors to new ideas and helps you stand out from competitors. Carve out a niche in your market. How are your services or products going to affect your customer's lives? What specific goals will you make to get there?
No organization exists in a vacuum too. Competitor analysis is essential to know how rivals act and perform, so you offer something unique.
What Types of Marketing and Messaging Will Resonate With the Target Market?
Think about how you will communicate your brand to your audience in a captivating way. How will you draw them in and nurture their relationship with your organization? Perhaps you'll use social media, email marketing or billboards downtown. If you have a marketing specialist in your team, they'll advise you on data so you can get to work creatively.
What Is Your Brand's Visual Identity?
Once you've answered the questions above, you can get creative! It's time to plan out what you want your brand to look like. Here's a checklist:
Organization Name: A unique brand name needs to be easy to spell and say, while being different to anything else. Brands like Tinder and Uber utilize unusual words that are memorable without being boring.
Logo: Successful brands have spent millions on crafting a unique brand logo. A good logo gains meaning and power over time, staying in the mind of your customers. It should represent your qualities and values in one glance.
Color Palette: Select around three to five colors that will be used exclusively throughout all of your branding and marketing. This aids brand recognition and portrays a strong personality. Don't underestimate color psychology in fueling your brand's identity.
Font: Like your color palette, select two or three fonts that will be used on your website, emails and product packaging.
Voice and Tone: The way you use language cannot be underestimated. It convinces people or puts them off. Do you need to be fun, wise or motivational? Refer to your values.
Storytelling: Emotional stories grab the heart. Give your audience a backstory on how and why you started your business. What's your dream? Where are you heading to? Be personal and bold.
Website: If your business is mostly online-based, then don't cut corners with the website. Slow, glitchy or unprofessional looking websites are immediately off-putting. Thankfully, they're a dynamic way to convey everything you're about.
Branding Revamps
Existing businesses often use branding strategies to freshen up their image. By answering the questions above, you'll realign your organization's values with the current world and see what worked and didn't before. You should regularly be testing, refining and developing your brand strategy to judge if your tactics are working and so you can adjust in time.
Why Brands Fail?
The most common reasons brands fail are:
An unclear long-term vision.
No clear brand identity, values or purpose.
No visual brand guidelines.
Failure to understand their target audience.
Hiring poor, inexperienced brand designers.
Hire a Brand Strategy Expert
For over six years, I've helped leading businesses and organizations around the world to plan and define their branding strategy. From packaging to web designs, my work can help you stand tall in your industry with a strong and unique personality.
If your business needs a brand strategy expert, then contact me today to get started.
Email
info@benbrushdesign.com
Phone
902 890 8285