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What Is a Brand Strategy? And How to Create One

Written by 糖心vlog官网观看 Staff 鈥 Updated on

Learn more about brand strategy, why having one is important, and the steps you need to take to create your own brand strategy. Review the elements of a brand strategy template to help you get started.

[Featured image] A marketing team discusses brand strategy in front of a whiteboard with sticky notes on it.

A brand strategy is a type of marketing strategy that focuses on how a business will present its brand to consumers and position itself within the marketplace. An effective brand strategy has the potential to confidently establish your business, attract your target market, and effectively articulate how your business differs from competitors.

Discover more about what a brand strategy is, explore your brand鈥檚 foundation, and begin the process of building a brand strategy. At the end, you'll find suggested cost-effective courses that can equip you with the insights you need to pull off an effective brand strategy yourself.

What is a brand development strategy?

A brand strategy is a framework that determines how businesses present themselves to customers and stand out among competitors. Your business鈥檚 brand is more than just its name, logo, fonts, and colors. Think of your brand as the sum of your business鈥檚 look and feel, personality, philosophy, values, and customer experiences.

Consistent and values-driven brand efforts inspire trust in consumers, who are increasingly purchasing from brands that offer quality while contributing to a better world. With a clear brand strategy, you can:聽

The importance of brand strategy

Brand strategy is valuable for any organization, as it can separate you from your competition and help you stand out clearly to your customers and consumers. With a consistent and steadfast brand, you can create trust and loyalty, helping your audience understand why your product or service is important. Having a unified brand strategy can also help your team have a cohesive approach as you work towards a singular vision and goal.

3 key steps to exploring your strategic brand development

Complete the steps below to establish a strong brand foundation and develop a strategy to present your brand to the world.聽

1. Build business plan elements.聽

A business plan is a formal document that describes a business鈥檚 goals and the strategies it will follow to meet those goals. Think of it as a roadmap you can use alongside a brand strategy to develop a thriving business. Follow the prompts below to compose a basic business plan, or refer to your existing business plan and explore ideas that will be fundamental to your brand.

  • What is your business鈥檚 mission statement?

  • What value does the business offer your target customer?

  • How would you describe your business model: the products and services you offer and their price points?聽聽

  • When you explore these details, what possibilities do you see for identifying a tone, mood, or set of concepts you could use to define your eventual brand?聽

Read more: Business Plan: What It Is + How to Write One

2. Refine your buyer personas.

It鈥檚 important to know who your business serves so that you can design a brand and deliver an experience that resonates with them. A full market analysis can offer a thorough look at a specific market, but for this brand exercise, consider the following:聽

  • What are your target customers鈥 values and beliefs?

  • What other brands do they admire, buy from, and stay loyal to?

  • What are their typical objections when considering whether or not to purchase a product?

  • How do they find out about new products?聽

  • How do their typical purchasing habits reflect their personalities, pain points, values, beliefs, goals, and needs?

3. Explore brand archetypes.

In your branding research, you might come across the idea of brand archetypes, which marketers and businesses have developed from psychologist Carl Jung鈥檚 concept of archetypes to describe the human psyche. Examples of brand archetypes include:

  • The creator, to refer to brands that encourage self-expression, innovation, and creativity to solve problems

  • The outlaw, to refer to brands that disrupt the status quo and inspire revolutionary attitudes

  • The sage, to refer to brands that position themselves as thought leaders and experts in their industry

Exploring brand archetypes and identifying one or several that align with your business goals can be a great way to generate fresh ideas for your brand鈥檚 potential. To gain these insights, take an online brand archetype quiz, such as the ones offered by or .

How to build a brand strategy

It鈥檚 time to use the brand foundation exercises to build a strategy. Each of the following components of your brand strategy will require you to be creative and systematic, appeal to customers鈥 emotions and reason, and reflect deeply on your business objectives.聽

1. Define your brand鈥檚 mission.

Your brand鈥檚 mission statement needs to communicate the purpose and philosophy behind the customer experiences you鈥檙e creating. Use the prompts below to help define your brand鈥檚 mission.聽

  • What inspires you to develop this brand for your business?

  • What impact do you want your brand to make?

  • What experiences do you want to enable for customers, including emotions, sensations, new thoughts, and possibilities?聽

  • What practical role do you want your brand to play in customers鈥 lives? What outcomes can your brand drive?聽

2. Define your brand鈥檚 vision.

Your brand鈥檚 vision statement is a long-term, future-oriented goal for what your brand will become, the presence it will have in the world, and what it will accomplish. To describe your brand vision, think about what could be possible for your brand. Write it as though there were no barriers or limitations keeping you from making this possible.

Use these three examples as models for how you can phrase your vision statement:聽

  • To provide all children access to education

  • To create a more connected world

  • To become a leading provider of entertaining experiences聽

3. Identify your brand values.

With your brand鈥檚 mission and vision clearly outlined, your next step is to identify the values. What does your brand stand for? What is the fundamental belief system behind every aspect of the brand? Answering these questions will determine how your brand behaves in the marketplace and the customers you attract.

To complete this part of your brand strategy, name and define the values you share with your ideal customers. Below are a few examples:

  • Empathy and compassion

  • Passion and enthusiasm聽

  • Tenacity and stamina聽

  • Trustworthiness and integrity聽

4. Determine your brand positioning.

Careful brand positioning can help you distinguish your brand from others in your industry and capture your target audience鈥檚 attention.聽

  • What makes your brand and its products and services unique in your industry?聽

  • What are the specific differentiators, and how do they compare to competitors鈥 offerings?聽

  • How will consumers who fit your buyer persona perceive and respond to these differentiators?聽

  • What will they believe about your brand and its products and services?

Use answers to the above questions to craft a brand positioning statement: [audience] will choose [product] to experience [benefits and outcomes], because [audience鈥檚 beliefs].

5. Develop your brand voice.

Your brand voice will determine how you use language to communicate your mission, values, and personality to the world. The brand voice will keep your messaging consistent, from paid ads and organic social media content to emails, product descriptions, and customer service portals. It will also help you foster relationships with customers and gain their trust.聽

Check out the below questions to start:

  • What do you want your brand to be known for?

  • What adjectives would you want customers to use to describe your brand?

  • How would you describe your brand鈥檚 personality?

  • If your brand were a person, what tone, words, and phrases would they use? How would they come across?聽

6. Design your brand鈥檚 identity.

Gather everything you鈥檝e put together so far to design your brand鈥檚 identity. The identity will include all sensory experiences associated with your brand, such as the visual design of the logo, fonts, and colors; the taste, feel, or smell of your physical products; voices, music, and images that appear on videos; and the brand name and tagline.聽聽

Subtle choices in font style, size, layout, shades of color, scents, sounds, and other design elements can influence how the world perceives your brand. Brainstorm ideas about how different design elements can do the following:

  • Represent your brand鈥檚 mission, vision, and values

  • Correspond to your brand voice

  • Evoke the emotions you want customers to experience

As you generate the look and feel of your brand, it鈥檚 a good idea to work closely with members of your creative team, including graphic designers and product designers, to finalize your brand鈥檚 identity.聽

What is an example of a branding strategy?

A strong logo is instantly recognizable and has the power to convey a company's values and personal identity to consumers in an instant. In the world of marketing, then, one of the most lauded logos is Nike's iconic swoosh, which was created by graphic designer Carolyn Davidson in 1971 while she was still a student at Portland State University.

Reviewing the logo, Nike co-founder Phil Knight reportedly told Davidson, "Well, I don't love it, but maybe it will grow on me."

For her services, Davidson charged only $35 for the design, which has gone on to become one of the most iconic logos in the world. When the company later went public, though, Knight gifted 500 Nike shares to Davidson for her stellar work.

7. Create your brand guidelines.聽

One of the most important tools for your business will be the brand guidelines鈥攖he definitive instructions, parameters, and standards that determine how you present your brand and everything it stands for to the world. Without clear guidelines, a brand can quickly become disjointed and thus dilute your message and weaken your business efforts.聽

According to the 2023 Edelman Trust Barometer, 59 percent of consumers say that brand trust makes them more likely to purchase a product [].

Besides listing the physical aspects of your brand鈥檚 identity, the brand guidelines might specify some of the following practices:聽

  • The instances in which you鈥檒l use your logo, as well as the maximum and minimum sizes it needs to appear聽

  • Messaging guidance, including keywords, phrases, tone, and voice, as well as language to avoid

  • Editorial guidelines聽

  • Social media and website layout options聽

  • Paid ad display options

You might find it useful to compile the brand guidelines in a single document, slide deck, or booklet and distribute them to everyone throughout your business. That way, marketers, sales staff, product developers, and the creative team can ensure that you鈥檙e providing a cohesive brand experience at every customer touchpoint.

Read more: Brand Marketing: What It Is + How to Create Your Strategy

Build your brand strategy with 糖心vlog官网观看

Taking an online course is a great way to gain experience with brand development and explore your business鈥檚 potential.

In Google's Digital Marketing & E-commerce Professional Certificate, meanwhile, you'll learn to manage digital marketing campaigns, attract and engage customers, and measure performance through analytics. In the IE Business School's Branding: The Creative Journey Specialization, you'll begin your career as a branding specialist by mastering branding strategies, branded content generation, image creation, and customer experience.

Article sources

  1. Edelman. 鈥, https://www.edelman.com/sites/g/files/aatuss191/files/2023-06/Edelman_BrandTrust_Top10.pdf.鈥 Accessed November 3, 2024.聽

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