A brand is a set of decisions
Before there is a logo, a campaign or a website, there are decisions: who the brand is for, what it promises, how it differs from the alternatives and how it sounds. Brand strategy is the work of making those decisions deliberately and writing them down.
Without that, every team member, agency and channel fills the gap with its own guess. The result is a brand that says slightly different things in every place it appears.
Who this is for
- Organisations entering a new market or launching a new product.
- Companies whose brand has drifted and needs a clear reset.
- Teams working with several agencies who need one source of truth.
- Leadership teams aligning around a shared story after growth or change.
What the work covers
- Audience and market research. Who you need to win and what they care about.
- Competitive position. Where you sit today and where there is room.
- Brand architecture. How the organisation, its products and its leaders relate to each other.
- Positioning and messaging. The promise, the proof and the language.
- Brand platform. A short document your team and partners can apply without a briefing.
How it works
- Briefing. A deep dive into your objectives, your audience, the competitive field and how you are perceived today.
- Strategy. A roadmap built on research and audience insight: messaging, platforms, content pillars and positioning.
- Execution. Content, campaigns and brand work go out, and the plan is adjusted as the audience responds.
- Report. Plain reporting on what worked, why it worked and what to do next.
Brand strategy and brand design are different jobs
I handle the strategy: the position, the message and the rules. A design studio turns that into identity, packaging and websites. I can brief designers and agencies so they start from a clear direction instead of guessing, which saves everyone a round of revisions.
If the brand in question is a person rather than a company, see executive and personal branding.
Common questions
How long does a brand strategy take?
Most take several weeks, depending on how much research is needed and how many people have to be involved. I give a timeline in the proposal.
What is the difference between branding and brand strategy?
Brand strategy decides what the brand stands for and how it should be presented. Branding, in the visual sense, is how that gets expressed: the name, logo, colours and design. Strategy comes first.
Do you work with start-ups?
Yes, as long as there is a clear audience and an offer to build on. A strategy needs something real to describe.