7 Tips for Writing Your Best Brand Strategy Case Studies
By Levina Kusumadjaja
Writing out case studies can feel overwhelming, but it doesn’t have to be. If you’re thinking about writing a brand strategy case study and you’ve never written one before, then you can read 10 Questions to Ask When Writing Brand Strategy Case Studies. In that article, you will find basic questions that you can start with when you write your brand strategy case studies.
If you’ve already used the 10 questions and finished writing your very first case study, congratulations! Now you’re ready for these more ‘advanced’ tips. Or if you’re stuck, that’s okay too. Perhaps these 7 tips below can help you dig deeper into your creative projects and get unstuck. Keep reading…
Here are 7 things you can keep in mind when you write your brand strategy case studies:
1. Ask yourself: Do you need a case study?
Just because you see other brand strategists publishing case studies on their website, doesn’t mean you have to. Try reflecting on these questions:
Is writing a case study something you need?
Think about the clients you’ve worked with so far. Are there projects you feel proud of and want to showcase?
Will writing a case study help you get to your goals?
Will you have fun writing it?
If the answers to the questions above are solid “yes”, then let’s write those case studies and move on to tip #2.
2. Know WHY you want to write those case studies
Now that you know you need it, now let’s get clear on your goals. It’s important to know your purpose behind writing case studies because it’s hard to define the approach that fits you without knowing the desired outcome.
What would make this case study a success for you?
How can we measure the success of this case study? What metrics can we use?
By having clear goals, you will have more clarity on what needs to be highlighted in the case studies, who you’re writing these case studies for, and what style would be best to help you get to your goals.
Think about this: Case studies that are written for award submissions should look very different to case studies that are written to show the human aspect of your process.
3. Start with the end in mind
If tip #2 is about looking at your case studies in the light of your brand and business, tip #3 is about the specific ones you want to write out. Before writing your case studies, define one key takeaway and action step for your audience.
What key insight do you want your audience to walk away with?
Do you want them to ‘book a discovery call’ or ‘read more about your services’?
The takeaway can be the fun and ease of your creative process or the value of investing in brand strategy before building out brand identity. The action step can be your ‘call-to-action’. Getting clear on your takeaway and action step will help you map out the flow of your case study.
4. Keep your target audience in mind
It’s important to keep your target audience in mind when you write your brand strategy case studies. You’re not writing these case studies for yourself, so it’s not just about what sounds good to you. If you want to actually connect with your audience, it’s helpful to know what they want to accomplish from reading your case studies.
For example, if they want them to know your creative process, you want to spend some time describing your behind-the-scenes. However, if they’re focused on the impact, you can include statistics that show how much brand strategy helped your client grow their business. If your clients are mostly busy and overwhelmed, you can provide a ‘TLDR’ so they don’t have to read the whole thing.
Here are some questions that can help you stay rooted on your target audience:
What would they be looking for when they read the case study?
What do they need to know to understand the value they’re getting by working with you?
What’s the problem that they’re looking to overcome?
5. Think of parts of the project that you are proud of
Case studies aren’t just about ‘marketing’ your services, but it’s also about showcasing things that you love and want to celebrate about your creative work. You’re allowed to have fun and be “you” in your brand strategy case studies, and sometimes that looks like highlighting your favorite parts about the project.
What was the best part about working with this client?
Which part of the strategy was the most challenging to figure out?
Which part was the most impactful for the client?
Some people want to emphasize the strategy workshops—what happens in the sessions and the key things they uncovered together. Some want to elaborate the thinking behind the brand identity. Some others simply want to highlight the cause that their client is fighting for. There are no rules—except to have fun and embrace your creative process and work.
6. Ask your client about the project experience
It’s one thing to describe the impact of your project on your own, it’s another (usually much better) thing to hear it straight from the client. You don’t have to “make up words” to describe the impact that your client experienced from working with you.
Prep a set of questions you can ask at your exit interview or project delivery, record the meeting, and use the transcript as your guide for the case study. Here are some question ideas you can use:
How do you feel about the process and results?
What’s the most valuable thing you got from working together?
What would you tell others who are on the fence about hiring me for brand strategy?
7. Have someone mirror questions about the project back to you
Similar to tip #5, the main idea is that you don’t have to do it all on your own. Sometimes it can be challenging trying to evaluate your work on your own. You have these thoughts and ideas tangled in your own head and you don’t quite know how to connect them together in a way that makes sense.
Consider asking a friend to jump on a call with you and ask questions about the project. Write out some questions that your friend can use, and have them mirror your thoughts back at you. (P.S.: This is exactly what I do for my clients and they’ve all loved the process!)
If you need ideas on what questions to start with, you can use these 10 Questions to Ask When Writing Brand Strategy Case Studies.
Golden tip: There is no one-size fits all.
If you forget everything else, here is all you need to remember: there are no rules.
Writing case studies can be fun and easy, but too often the pressures of getting it ‘right’ can make the process daunting. So keep going back to what you want to accomplish through your case studies and remember once again of your love for your creative work.
Writing your best brand strategy case studies mean writing the case studies that you enjoy writing and feel proud to showcase. You have the freedom to make it your own and explore your creativity. There’s no right or wrong way to do it—as long as you have fun!
Cheers!
Levina
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These are the types of topics we love talking about in the Brand Strategy Basecamp. If you’d like to join Levina and a community of other brand strategists (with all kinds of creative backgrounds) working to improve their process, click here to see if the Basecamp is the right fit for you!
About the author:
Levina writes case studies for brand strategists and designers. She loves having 1-on-1 deep conversations about life, eating desserts, and playing basketball. Say hi and connect with her here.