Brand strategy – what is it and how to build it?

A brand strategy is not just about a logo or trademark – it is a comprehensive plan that defines the heart and soul of your business. How can a properly built brand strategy transform your business, increasing its visibility, credibility and competitive advantage?

In this article you will learn:

• What is a brand strategy?
• What are the characteristics of a good brand strategy?
• What are the elements of a brand strategy?
• What are the types of brand strategy?
• How to create a brand strategy?
• How does a brand strategy affect the day-to-day operations of a business?
• What are the benefits of a good brand strategy?

Brand strategy – definition

Brand strategy is one of the most important branding tools, but it cannot be described without first outlining the concept of a brand. A brand is the collection of elements that make up a particular company or commodity – it is both a name and a symbol (e.g. a logo), but also an image or story that your company delivers to customers. In this case, a brand strategy will be nothing more than a plan of action with the goals of building brand awareness, differentiating your brand from others and gaining a competitive advantage over others.

It is worth noting that a brand strategy is not the same as a marketing strategy – the former relates solely to the brand, its elements and how to promote them, while the latter can and usually does cover a wider scope. Brand strategy can be part of a marketing strategy alongside an advertising or pricing strategy.

A brand strategy is a set of actions and guidelines to build and maintain the desired image of a company in the eyes of its audience.

Definition of brand strategy.

Brand strategy cannot be considered in isolation from branding and the two terms are often treated synonymously, although, as with marketing strategy, branding covers a different scope than strategy – it is understood primarily as a brand-building technique and more broadly as a type of marketing.

Although branding strategy seems to be a modern idea, its origins can be traced as far back as the 16th century, when the Old Norse word ‘brandr’ (literally ‘to burn’) began to refer to the marks burnt on the hide of cattle to indicate who owned a particular cow. The concept began to develop in the 19th century, during the industrial revolution, but only gained a modern dimension in the second half of the 20th century, when companies discovered that the product alone was no longer enough to achieve market success – other elements, such as the name, logo or the company’s mission, vision and values, were needed to make a mark in the minds of customers^[1].

Features of a good brand strategy

An effective brand strategy should be distinguished by several important aspects – without them, it may not have the desired effect. The most important are clarity and consistency. Here we are not only talking about messages to customers, but also about the visual identity, the brand identity and its experience by the audience. Consistency translates into ease of understanding, and from there it’s a straightforward path to being in people’s minds.

A good brand strategy should also clearly address the needs of your company’s customers. You can offer the best product in your sector, but if you don’t know who to target, it won’t be successful. The same applies to branding – both the elements and the brand as a whole must be targeted at specific people and must address their needs, problems and interests. It is worth remembering that people often choose products not because of their use, but because they associate them with certain values or lifestyles – your brand strategy should respond to this.

Your brand strategy should also clearly and distinctly differentiate yourself from others. Nowadays, many products offer similar opportunities, so you need to look elsewhere for ways to stand out and highlight your company’s uniqueness. This is where a brand comes onto the scene – its identity, image and story help to build consumer loyalty, which directly translates into greater competitiveness for your business.

Above all, however, your brand strategy should make your brand easy to remember. It should also create positive associations with your brand – if these are negative, even the best product and biggest promotions may not translate into business success.

Elements of a brand strategy

Any brand strategy, even the simplest, cannot exist without a few key elements. The first is its characterisation, i.e. highlighting the reasons that make it relevant to your company’s marketing and the objectives that can be achieved through its implementation. This section also often includes the challenges that your brand may encounter during the implementation of the strategy. The aspects listed influence two important elements of the strategy – the brand’s overarching purpose (brand purpose) and its vision, a picture of what it will be in the future.

Another element is the specification of the company’s mission statement and values. Their role is twofold – on the one hand, they influence customers’ perception of the brand and their experience of it; on the other, they define the possible scope of marketing activities. A company that prides itself on respecting the environment should not pollute it, as this will not be consistent with the declared value and will also negatively affect the brand image.

Any strategy should also include a description of the brand identity. This consists not only of values and objectives, but also technical elements such as the name, logo, colours used or typography. It is also built up by the style of marketing communication and the language used in official messages, both customer-facing and internal. A brand that is trying to target executives, for example, is unlikely to use youthful language. Brand positioning is an equally important part of this – it allows your company to stand out from the crowd and find a specific niche for itself to operate in.

Types of brand strategy

As many brands there are, there are as many types of brand strategy – they often overlap, creating further offshoots of brand architecture. However, the most common types of brand strategy are as follows, related to the way the brand is built:

• Umbrella branding (sometimes also branded house branding) is a strategy in which a single, main brand is built, but may include sub-brands. At the same time, smaller brands may share an identity with the main brand, but may also differentiate themselves from it, sharing only a name or logo. Examples include FedEx or the Marriott hotel chain.
• House of brand (literally house of brands) is a strategy in which there is one overarching brand with other brands that differ from it in identity, name or logo. This means that the master brand, although controlling the smaller brands, allows them to build their own independent images.
• An endorsed brand includes a parent brand that supports and adds credibility to smaller brands. An example of this type of brand could be McDonald’s – all its products contain the prefix ‘Mc’, which clearly indicates their affiliation.

In addition to this, brand strategies can be subdivided according to, for example, market activity (an example would be a niche market strategy in which the brand occupies a specific market segment), message creation (a distinction can be made here, for example, between value strategies) or, finally, positioning (here one encounters, for example, an economy brand and a premium brand). It is also common to come across the concept of a personal brand, in which a brand strategy can also be built, with the difference that it will not be about the company, but about a specific person.

Creating a brand strategy

Creating a brand strategy is similar to, for example, creating a marketing strategy. As a rule, it starts with defining the goals and the importance of the plan. When it comes to objectives, it is worth remembering that they should be measurable, achievable within a certain timeframe and specific, but at the same time ambitious and involving the team.

Next, market research and competitor analysis should be carried out – these will help shape the brand’s mission and vision, and the information gained from the audience is also important in shaping the brand identity. In this case, it is worth remembering that both the vision and identity should be inspiring and easy for the audience to remember, as well as consistent with the brand’s visual identity. It should also be looked at, as its shape influences the brand image and vice versa.

At the same time, it is worth examining your brand’s target audience – just as with product or advertising strategies, your brand should reach clearly defined people. This is the moment for demographic, psychographic and behavioural segmentation – customer information influences your brand as a whole.

The next stage is to create a unique value proposition (UVP, unique value proposition). This aspect is particularly important as it allows you to develop strategies for positioning your brand and also serves in the selection of features, tasks or products that differentiate your brand from others. At the same time, the UVP influences the process of creating a brand identity as well as its communication strategy – both elements should be consistent with the chosen value proposition.

You can then move on to the selection of communication channels (in this, it can be helpful not only to have data about your target audience, but also to identify the individual touchpoints where they come into contact with your brand), which in turn swims into the creation of content. A brand can be promoted through a variety of means – from content marketing and SEO, to search engine advertising, to influencer marketing and social media activities. Equally important will be PR or CSR and ESG activities.

Once the work on the earlier stages is complete, a timeline still needs to be developed, after which you can start implementing your brand strategy according to its provisions. As with all things in marketing, the timetable should be realistic, but at the same time flexible – sometimes unforeseen events can arise that can hinder the implementation of the strategy.

The implementation of the brand strategy is only the beginning – it is followed by a continuous analysis of the effectiveness of the developed activities. This depends not only on the objectives described in the plan, but also on the selected KPIs. Whether your company will measure ROI and conversion resulting from branding activities or focus on measuring brand awareness, the metrics should be clearly linked to the developed strategy. It is also important to select the right analytical tools for measurement.

It is also worth remembering that the implementation of a brand strategy practically never ends – the market is constantly changing, as are customer expectations and needs, so continuous optimisation is one of the most important elements of a branding strategy.

Brand strategy and the company’s day-to-day operations

Although brand strategy is most often directed outwards, towards customers and business partners, it also affects the daily operation of the company. First and foremost, it allows internal consistency to be maintained, as it defines a certain set of desired actions and values that all members of the organisation should know.

Brand strategy also translates into the quality of the customer service – the brand’s identity and communication language influence the customer experience, as well as the overall perception, which can result in market success. It should also not be forgotten that brand strategy influences business decision-making and innovation and new product launches – the elements mentioned are determined not only by business objectives, but also by the brand vision and identity.

Importantly, brand strategy also influences the organisational culture in a company – the mission, vision and values set out in the strategy are not just slogans, but also affect the day-to-day relationships between employees, management, owners, investors and business partners.

Benefits of the right brand strategy

The benefits of the right brand strategy are plentiful, but at the forefront is the increase in brand recognition. This in turn translates not only into a better brand image, but also into greater brand credibility, higher levels of trust with customers and, consequently, greater profits, especially if the brand delivers on its promises.

Building a recognisable brand can also increase the value of your business, because customers don’t just want products or services. They also want to identify with certain attitudes and values, participate in the stories your brand weaves or build their own positioning through interactions with your brand – all of which shows that brand strategy is one of the most important tools in the marketing arsenal.