Brand Strategy

Brands need to state a position, elbow out the competition and when the mood takes them to be first to market. But to tell customers unequivocally why you are different, you must fully understand the competitive brand landscape. We also rummage around and find out stuff about your past, the future, dreams, aspirations, plans, hunches, failures, the competition, what you’re good at, what you’re not good at, explore your values, intent, essence, capacity, readiness, and much more...

We conduct audits for a range of reasons, e.g. to confirm a suspicion, better assess a repositioning opportunity, measure visibility, awareness and reputation, or measure the degree of alignment between the brand image and identity. Whatever the reason, ‘lifting the lid’ can pay big dividends.

We distil complexity, join stuff together, render, shape, polish and reveal the brand’s truth – its purpose, what it stands for, its difference and why it matters, positioning, value proposition, personality, the rules of engagement and the single organising brand idea. The interplay of these elements enables the brand to stand apart.

We develop architectural frameworks for families of brands or branded families and then classify these depending on market drivers, brand equity and reputation. The primary objective is to ensure each brand is resourced appropriately and all brand relationships are leveraged to maximum effect.

A brand positioning identifies what sets a business apart, relative to the competition. We envision the brand's future and find the sweet spot that resonates with customers and the market – a genuine and defendable positioning that translates into a succinct essence that defines the organisation’s unique place in the market. Then, we write a brand story – a narrative expression of the brand and it’s unique positioning – designed to entertain, influence and inform.

Employer branding creates an identity and manages the image of the organisation in its role as an employer. It is an organisation’s promise as an employer. It conveys to potential employees the overall culture, beliefs, goals and practices, and is a powerful driver that attracts and retains top talent and delivers measurable results. Internally, it helps to clarify brand behaviour, aligns HR practices with brand delivery expectations and builds loyalty and cohesion.

While strong brands are built on insightful and robust strategies, ideas bring the strategy to life so brands get noticed, engage and make enduring connections with customers and communities of interest.

The promotional part of your marketing plan may need a deft touch. We can help by developing the strategies, activities, media, channels, themes and messages that will make your brand turn heads, get talked about and keep people coming back for more.

The touchpoint planning process maps all brand interactions and communication so each touchpoint is shaped to deliver a positive and memorable customer experience, to build awareness, influence and positive perceptions of the brand. Touchpoint planning naturally leads to brand experience design. This is where we direct or manage brand interactions ‘by design’. The most potent brand experiences are people-to-people, so we start by plotting the customer’s journey and listening to their stories. Then, we build solutions that fulfil their needs, which create great brand experiences.

We create content plans that enable brands to attract and hold attention. Themes and messages are written, expanded, designed and then organised in a hierarchy so the content is cohesive, engaging and easily digested by different audiences across various channels.