Brand strategy is an important part of any branding design. If you’re getting your logo redone, be sure to hire a designer that’ll start with a strategy phase before diving into your actual design. Making sure that the money you’re paying is an investment and not an expense is paramour for any startup or company. The way to achieve that is to have a solid strategy behind the design that is based on facts and data. Before we even lift a pen or start looking at inspiration for the design, we’ll take you through your brand’s attributes, your client personas, your value proposition, your brand’s personality, your positioning, and many more elements.
«Design without strategy is simply art»
This is one of my favorite quotes. As mentioned in a previous article, the goal of strategy is to make sure that your design will perfectly represent your company and will speak to your clients. Even a beautiful logo won’t help elevate your brand and win sales if it doesn’t serve you properly. Plus, having a brand strategy document in hand will help you go forward and stay aligned during every following step, and with every collaborator you work with. It’ll ensure you always stay on brand and that you always keep your clients top of mind.
So what does a brand strategy normally include?
Previous identity
We’ll take a bit of time to look at your current brand identity and logo, if applicable, and analyse what we’ll be keeping or not, what worked or didn’t, etc.
Personality
Here, we’ll establish your brand’s general personality. Are you more corporate and traditional, or are you more modern and fun? Are you sophisticated or approachable? We’ll dive a little deeper when we get to the attributes section.
Attributes
At this stage, we’ll start sorting unique attributes that will help in defining your brand with precision. It’ll also help to start brainstorming on what you want to put forward and project as a company. We’ll then start working on more elaborate elements like your company culture, your voice, your x-factor, the impact you want to have, etc.
Client personas
We’ll create 2 or 3 personas that perfectly represent your current clients, or ideal clients. We’ll go into great detail, and establish their names, gender, age, job, education, salary, hobbies, typical day, goals, purchase barriers… Once you have these profiles, you’ll be able to always ask yourself: «Would Jessica be inspired by this? Would this fit into Dan’s routine?» You’ll always keep your clients front and center if you see things through their eyes.
Company profile
Next, your company profile. If you haven’t already defined your mission, vision, brand message, goals, tone… we’ll work on each, using your attributes and personas as a guide, until you’re satisfied with the alignement we’ve achieved.
Positioning
Where are you situated within your competitive landscape? Are you more expressive, reserved, modern or traditional? We’ll look at the competition within your market and analyse the strength of your positioning.
Value proposition
This is an important piece to work on if you haven’t done a BMC or business plan yet. You’ll want to know what your company brings to the table, if it directly helps solve your client’s pain points, and give them the gains their seeking. It’ll also help you find interesting opportunities to expand your services or product line down the road.
Ready to work on your branding?
The next step is to ponder on the importance of your branding, and to decide whether you’ll invest in getting it done right to make sure you’ll be getting a ROI. Get your needs evaluated by a professional, and take the first step into making your brand shine.
