The goal of a robust brand strategy framework is to bridge now and an agreed point or points in the future. Without this reference it is too easy to get distracted and sidetracked. A successful brand strategy acts as a roadmap for cultural alignment, for long-term storytelling, for investment and for divestment.
Your brand strategy framework is, in effect, the business case for your brand. It should take its prompts from the overall business plan, and state how this brand – whether it’s your organisational brand or a product brand within your trading portfolio – will deliver you a future competitive advantage. It should set out the value that the brand will bring to the business in ways that marketers and non-marketers can relate to.
When’s the right time?
One of the biggest temptations for investors to time the market. Same goes for strategy. There will always be a reason why now is not an opportune time to focus on your brand strategy. Either because the market’s too good. Or it’s not good enough. In fact, in their minds, there’s never a right time because actions always speak louder …
When times are good, their argument goes, a strategy is unnecessary because the critical need is to meet demand. When times are bad, everything’s about pulling back, rescue and sales. No time then for what is sometimes described to us as “paperwork”.
And yet, despite all the misgivings, clear definitions and intentions make sense in the messiest and most volatile environments. Not the least advantage is that a robust brand strategy framework establishes a link between now and a point or points in the future. Here’s how to decide if you need a brand strategy.
Further reading: Why linking your brand strategy, culture and stories matters
A brand strategy framework is not a panacea
It certainly doesn’t solve all the complexities. Or absolve the need to confront them. And no, it’s not the actual plan. But what strategy should determine is what future success might look like, the visible choices available – and unavailable – from now, how you intend creating value above and beyond what those around you might do …
First thing’s first though. Before you tackle the brand strategy framework itself, start by agreeing these three strategic directions.
The brand strategy template we recommend
A timing-proof brand strategy framework should set out how you define and pursue your brand’s version of success. We think that looks like this:
Contribution
- Role of the brand – sets out how the business perceives brands and how they contribute to the business
Cue
- Fundamental driver for the strategy – states what has happened (or not happened) within the business to warrant developing a brand strategy now
Community of buyers
- Audiences – the group or groups that the brand believes it can best serve (current and future) based on their needs and priorities
Reality
- Where we are now – the situation the brand finds itself in, and the motivations to pursue the Best Future
- Known complexities – headwinds in the market and the category
- Current and potential tailwinds – advantages that the brand should look to work with
Influences
- Cultural drivers – things happening culturally that could work to your advantage with your audiences
- Commercial trends – ideas, technologies and shifts that could work to your advantage
- Criticism – reputational risks or areas of controversy that could adversely affect your strategy
Options for success
- Potential responses – different ways that the brand could respond to the Reality and Influences
Best Future
- Long term position – where the brand needs to be positioned within the market to make that happen
- What success looks like on that basis – the opportunity that generates once the brand reaches that position
- The potential to create new value from there – second and third horizon opportunities that could then follow on
Brand DNA
How the brand needs to come to life in order to deliver on its Best Future:
- Ambition/Purpose – your greatest intention for the brand in the world. This is all about how you intend to achieve change for the greater good through what you do.
- Vision – the strongest intention you have as a business in your sector. Your vision sets out what you intend for your business to mean for customers, investors and your people.
- Single organising idea – this is the singular thought around which your brand revolves. You have the vision and purpose you do because of this distinctive focus. This idea answers the question: What’s the key thing your brand stands for?
- Promise – the promise you make to customers that stands you apart from the other brands around you. It could be about quality, service, experience … the most important thing is that it is meaningful to your key audiences.
- Values – these are your driving beliefs. They forge how you think and behave, and provide go and no-go zones for your strategy and your culture.
- Personality and behaviours – these define how you show up, in how you communicate, the experiences you offer, the ways you interact with people. These are the aspects of your brand DNA that show up as “character”.
- Value proposition – this is the compelling reason to buy. It articulates in the strongest terms the reasons why audiences should choose your brand.
Experiences
- How audiences will benefit – what will audiences notice/receive that is markedly different from what they get now (from your brand and from competitors)?
- Competitive cues – what are other brands delivering that we should take notice of, react to, and learn from?
The journey
- What’s needed – an overview of the shifts in strategy, culture and story needed to move on from the current reality
- Pivot points and cues – the “turning points” along the journey that act as stage posts for the journey
- Expected pay offs – it’s important to quantify how, when and where the business stands to gain from this investment. Specifically, you should be stating how the wider business will benefit from redefining the brand strategy
Contingencies
- Current assumptions – last but not least. This acts as the risk framework for the brand strategy framework. Any changes in these assumptions should trigger reviews of the framework as a whole. If possible, it’s good to document the changes you are particularly sensitive to.
Why work with a branding strategy agency to do this?
Getting this right requires active participation from those leading the brand and from other stakeholders in the organisation. But you might want to think twice before taking it completely in-house. Firstly – because you need to make sure your assessments of your own situation are objective. And secondly, because a branding strategy agency will bring their learnings from a full range of projects to the evaluation of your situation.
Make sure too that those you choose have a genuine interest in brand strategy. Many consultancies will tell you they can help with this, but it’s not necessarily core business for them, rather than ancillary service that gets them to the stuff they’re really interested in. Just saying.
A range of ways to get there
Many people worry creating a brand strategy framework is going to be a drawn out process. It doesn’t have to be. We have a big-change programme available if you want to go there, but we also offer rapid-resolution strategy sessions if you want to focus on a particular aspect, and focused consulting if you need a starting point. More on how we can help here.
Acknowledgements
Photo by 愚木混株 cdd20 on Unsplash