Are You Doing Brand Strategy Correctly?
By Levina Kusumadjaja
Are you doing brand strategy correctly?
Look at process right now and all the tools that you have been using. Have you been using the right frameworks and concepts? And then look at your past clients and your portfolio. Do you have enough experience to even call yourself a brand strategist? And come to think about it, what is the right way to do brand strategy? Is there even a right way to begin with? And if there was, how can you make sure that your way is the right way? A rabbit hole of endless questions about the perfect template to use for brand strategy. The short answer to all of those questions above is: YES. There is only one right way to do brand strategy, which is whatever way that helps your clients get to their goals.
Yes, that’s what brand strategy (or any kind of strategy) is essentially about. It is about helping clients solve their problems so they can reach their goals. The templates and frameworks are merely tools to help clients get there. There is no one perfect structure or approach to do brand strategy. And it’s not because this approach hasn’t been researched or discovered. It’s because every client has a specific set of unique goals and every brand strategist comes with a unique set of experiences and skillsets.
This is why instead of asking about the right way to do brand strategy, start asking about the most effective way to help your client right here and now. Start from your client’s goal and begin to reverse engineering. How can you help your clients? What kind of plan will help them overcome their current struggles, and help your clients get closer to their goals? Your job as a brand strategist is to help them get there, no matter what approach you use in brand strategy. Some brand strategists prefer to use exercises on post-its to do the strategy workshops, while some others prefer to stick with keynote slides. Some prefer to include brand archetypes exercise, while some prefer to skip that. There’s no right or wrong, it’s completely up to you—as long as you are giving value and helping your clients.
It’s not about finding the one correct formula to do it. The correct way is the way that can help the client. Every brand strategist can give value through each of their unique approach towards brand strategy. You can call it anything you want, you can title yourself with any title that you’d prefer, but just make sure that what you do as a brand strategist gives value for people. Your focus should be on the verb, not the noun. The only right way to do brand strategy is the one that makes people’s lives better.
Cheers!
Levina
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About the author:
Levina is a writer based in Indonesia. Because of Melinda Livsey, she recognized the power of brand strategy for every creative. She is sharing about her learnings as she goes to help creatives have fun in their growth and journey of building brands. Connect with her on LinkedIn and say hi!