The Main Purpose of Brand Strategy
This article was contributed by Levina Kusumadjaja
What comes to your mind when you hear the word “brand?”
What about when you hear the term “brand strategy?”
I think many creatives still fail to see the value and impact of a brand strategy for a business because so many people associate brand and brand strategy with the wrong things. For example, many people say that when they think of the word “brand” and “brand strategy,” they think of logos, web designs, and packaging. At the most, they think of a complete overhaul of a brand or a complete establishment of a business. Is this true?
To a certain extend, this association isn't entirely wrong. The application of a brand strategy may lead to the creation of logos, web designs, and packaging. Sometimes, it can also mean a total rebranding for a company. However, these items are called deliverables, not strategy. The brand strategy itself is actually the best possible “plan of attack” for a brand to connect with its ideal customers.
A brand strategy is the best plan of attack to connect with the brand's ideal customer. So as a brand strategist, this is what you are guaranteeing to your clients: a plan.
A strategy is the best educated guess. Whenever we use the word “strategy,” it's pointing towards a plan. It is meant to be a roadmap that can help us get to where we want to go. In the context of brand strategy, it is the best possible plan to build a certain brand. Because a brand is a customer's perception about the business as a whole, then a brand strategy is the best possible roadmap for a business to connect with their ideal customers or super fans.
Yes, you are not guaranteeing deliverables or victories, you are guaranteeing a plan. This is so important for creatives and brand strategists to understand because when you know the goal is to produce a plan, you will no longer place your biggest focus on producing deliverables that look nice. Many believe that the logos, websites, and packagings are what make a brand strategy; but that's not the case.
A brand strategy is developed to help a business create an emotional connection between the business with the ideal customer or super fan. A brand strategy isn't a list of deliverables that the client needs to connect with their ideal customers.
While the strategy will help your clients know what deliverables they need to reach their ideal customers, the strategy is bigger than just deliverables. The purpose of developing a brand strategy is to serve as the best educated guess that strategists can come up for the particular problems of the business, and sometimes this strategy doesn’t always point to making those deliverables. Remember: the most valuable thing that a brand strategist can offer is a plan, not deliverables.
Cheers!
Levina
Get the Brand Strategy 101 FREE Mini Course
Tired of being an order-taker? Start getting paid to think. Subscribe now to receive helpful content, plus instant access to this free video course. 6 days. 6 videos. 10 minutes a day.
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!