BRAND STRATEGY
Read Time: 3-5 Minutes
Brand Strategy - An explanation and demonstration of brand strategy at work.
When I talk about brand strategy I'm talking about the behind the scenes work that goes into unifying your brand's key ideas and then positioning it within the marketplace. This could be anything from creating an identity system to embody power and emotion to a brand representative of a tech-savvy industry leader. Regardless of your goals, the strategy will be what supports the core elements that surround that goal. To help illustrate this point let's take a look at a fictitious company in the finance sector. We'll call them McDougal Wealth Management. They have recently started to grow and want to put their best foot forward as they begin competing with larger firms. However, McDougal doesn't have a very strong or distinctive brand.
At this point, we will need a framework to understand the components that will go into McDougal's brand strategy. Keep in mind there could be a dedicated blog post for each component. For the sake of brevity, I'll highlight them the best I can.
Mission Statement - This should explain the very purpose of your company. Why do you exist outside of making a profit?
Target Audience - Who is your ideal customer? What are their highest-level needs? You should also look at their inspirations and challenges.
Value Proposition - This should be the highest-level benefits you provide that will meet the highest-level needs of your customer.
Values - What is your company's core beliefs governing your day to day decision making and culture.
Personality - Personify your brand. Use words that describe your brand's voice and personality.
Competitors - Who are your leading competitors who serve the same market as you?
Products & Services - What are you offering? This should describe the deliverables to your customers.
Big Idea - This is your core concept that underlines the other concepts above. It should be memorable yet concise.
Now that we have established the framework for our strategic elements, we need to see how we can use it to form the foundation of McDougal's brand. At this point, we would distill all of the gathered information thus far and begin to fill out the skeleton. Let's go ahead and supply some facts about McDougal Wealth Management and furnish a little information about the shape they would like their brand to take.
McDougal Wealth Management has been in business for over 40 years. They started in a small West Virginian town and have expanded locally over the past decade. Many of their current clients are skilled blue-collar workers with families of 4-5. McDougal has described themselves as friendly, trustworthy, simple, and professional. They would like for their brand to be approachable, comfortable, and relaxed.
Using this information, we can start to narrow in on and define the direction of their brand.
McDougal Wealth Management
Big Idea - Side by Side
Mission Statement - Families helping families prepare for the future.
Attributes -
Loyal - We gain your loyalty by giving you ours.
Caring - Devoted to our sense of community, backed by our sense of caring.
Friendly - Always there when you need us.
Expert - Giving you years of experience under one roof.
Target Audience - Devoted Parent - Loving yet stern, they always know what's right. Through a lifetime of hard work, they've learned the value of a dollar. They spend responsibly and save even more wisely.
Value Proposition - We will put our best foot forward to make the most of your hard earned dollar, for you and your family.
Now that we have fleshed out our skeleton, we can see how it is representative of a much more comprehensive brand. There are a few things that have been taken into consideration. We have taken into account who McDougal is currently, and what section of the market they serve. We have also accounted for what McDougal desires to be in the future, and how they would like their brand to be received. The choices outlined above serve as the core differentiators between their company and similar companies. They serve a very specific market, and at this point, we would begin to create a visual language influenced by strategic choices. That is the essence of branding and the role strategy plays.