Brand Strategy for Modern Businesses

A good brand strategy positions you in your future customers’ minds and aligns your organisation’s goalposts.

Have you ever noticed that the world’s best brands don’t reposition every couple of years; they evolve in line with their brand strategy?

Since its conceptualisation, Coca-Cola has been synonymous with ‘Happiness and Sharing’.

Defining what’s at your brand’s core allows you to remain coherent over time by zooming in and out on specific topics while staying on-brand as the world changes around you. Brand strategy isn’t just imperative for how you engage customers, but, more importantly, for why you are doing it in the first place. A purpose-driven brand strategy means all internal and external stakeholders understand where they are going and why.

The best brand strategy is, in essence, simple: we like to distil your brand’s core into five concise statements that everyone can understand.

Imagine your brand on a single page so everyone can understand it.

1. Your brand’s purpose. Besides making money, why does your business exist? 

Yes, you’re in business to make money, but so is everyone else.

Consumers today desire a greater connection with your brand; your customers (and you!) want to be inspired. We are in the midst of a significant change in how and why people connect with brands. We’re all seeking a higher sense of fulfilment from the products and services we use, and this starts with your purpose.

2. Your brand’s vision: What does the future look like for your business? What are the short, medium and long-term goals of your brand?

This is a long-term view of your path forward. It pushes you to consider the direction your company is heading in. It’s intended to be future-oriented, so consider the next five years, then challenge yourself to consider the next twenty years.

3. Your brand’s values: What truths underlie your business? How do things get done?

Brand values are critical to your brand strategy and can seem like corporate mumbo-jumbo. Unfortunately, they were spoiled by businesses that derived their values from what consumers want to hear rather than what they believe. When this hasn’t worked, brands have chopped and changed, ending up with values that meant nothing to anybody.

4. Your brand positioning: What will your brand be famous for?

Brands stand out by being clear about what they sell and who they sell it to. Typically, people don’t want to lose customers, so they keep their positioning message vague and all-encompassing. When they need to exclude specific customers from positioning themselves as experts within a particular group, it’s time to find a niche!

5. Your brand promise: What phrase captures it all?

Some call it a Tagline, others a Slogan, but that’s just jargon for a promise your brand is making. A brand promise makes an all-encompassing emotional statement to customers, which must be the 100% authentic truth about what they will experience with your brand.