Brand strategy is often thought of one thing. At Audacity, we describe it as the ability to imagine a future for a brand to look forward to. An anticipated history. The implication is that one set of strategic skills is needed. Except that, confusingly, brand operates in a range of settings– and the strategic skills to imagine a future are different for different types of brand strategy.
In this post, we look at three ways that the term “brand strategy” is used and examine why they are different and how they deliver different things. There are other types of brand strategy we could have included – place branding for example – but we’ve used these particular different types of brand strategy to explain why they have different outputs.
Organisational strategy
Brand strategy at an organisational level defines the corporate brand or the brand for the business. It positions the entity within a sector, choosing why, where and how the organisation articulates its place and offer within the context of that market. Brand strategy at this level takes its cues directly from the business strategy, developing a sense of identity that complements the overall commercial ambitions and that serves to position the company to the world.
To develop effective brand strategy at this level you need a strong understanding of sector and commercial dynamics, the ability to envisage what we call the “best future” and a clear sense of what defines the brand now and how that will need to evolve over time. That involves identifying things like what are the trade offs, and how do they resolve.
These strategies tend to be big set pieces that define a company’s standing or re-platform the organisation within the market. They also significantly influence the brand culture and the overall brand story.
Portfolio product strategy
Brand strategy at a product level is about ensuring that your product brand fits within a portfolio and fulfils a specific and valued role, in its own right and as part of the wider offering. Brand strategy at this level is about marrying function and story with need and price point – creating a place for your product in the market that reaches a specific market and attracts margin because it delivers value.
To develop effective brand strategy at this level you need a strong understanding of specific market dynamics, the ability to find clear air for the brand to compete in and a definition for the brand that positions it as intended inside the overall portfolio while offering the target market a compelling reason to prefer. Because markets can change quickly, these strategies tend to be more flexible, allowing the brand to adjust to whatever is going on around it.
Of course there are times when the product is the business – in which case, the brand strategy should look to resolve the elements at an organisational level.
Creative strategy
There are some who argue that this type of strategy is not real strategy. We argue that creative strategy is quite different from organisational or product-level brand strategy, but for brands in commodity or undifferentiated markets, the best way to distinguish themselves from others may be to follow the Byron Sharp philosophy and build distinctive assets.
We discuss the differences between brand strategy and creative strategy in more detail here.
A creative strategy, while more tactical than either of the strategies mentioned above, may well be a way to build mental availability. It enables a brand to plan and execute communications presence and experiences that cut through the noise to build front of mind. (There is of course ongoing debate, particularly in ad agency circles, about the value of creativity, but that’s another discussion for another day.)
This level of strategy works well for brands that choose to have what we call an iterative approach – that are looking to establish and reinforce market presence episodically rather than through a deliberate, adaptive or emergent strategy. That’s because creative strategy operates at a ‘campaign’ level. It’s about planning, creating and bringing to market a creatively-based initiative that stands out from what others are communicating: marrying the elements of the brand identity with strong and memorable messages that celebrate the product and position it to be a hit.
Ideally, organisations would look to resolve all three levels in the above order. Start with the organisational brand because it is the one that is most likely to be stable. Then work through to the product brand strategy, because it will need to be adaptive. Finally, address the creative strategy because it is the one that will change the most often to align tactically with marcomms plans.
We can help with different types of brand strategy
Our practice spans all three types of brand strategy described here. Our Plan to Thrive is an effective way to strategise your brand at an organisational or product level. To find out more, please take a look at how we can help you define your future. Or if you’re looking to develop a creative strategy, we can help you strategise and express your brand at a campaign level.
Acknowledgements
Photo by Rachit Tank on Unsplash.
Graphics designed by Fuller Studio.