Q: Why do people buy what they buy?
A: They choose brands that mean something to them.
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We build meaningful brands.
For many, brand strategy is a catch-all phrase that includes insight work, brand building, and tactical execution. We know the difference. Research and insight work is not a substitute for the hard work and thinking that leads to brand strategy. Go-to-market plans and tactical implementation do not make up a brand strategy.
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In reality, most people who call themselves strategists are either consumer insight experts (researchers) or tactical and creative specialists (marketers). A few are true brand strategists. Strategists create the foundation of a brand and a sustainable path forward for the brand. They leverage the insight to create a strong strategy, and then use the strategy to drive marketing execution and tactics.
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We apply our RAD brand strategy framework to build meaningful brands.
How RAD is your brand?
Every strong, meaningful brand is three things at once: Relevant, Authentic, Different. You take any one away, and the brand becomes either redundant, useless, or fake.
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The three perspectives together define the brand opportunity, or brand white space. What does the market need? What can the brand genuinely offer? What are others doing (or not)? The three perspectives illuminate a meaningful and sustainable value proposition and positioning. Brands that fail, typically have not done their homework of honestly considering all three perspectives.
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There is a reason, role and place for brand strategy in the overall process.
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Insight
Insight feeds strategy.
Brand strategy is informed by consumer and competitive insight.
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Do you understand your customer and the market? Do you really know not just WHAT is going on, but WHY is it happening? Why do they act the way they do, how do they make decisions, what is important for them? Data, statistics, observations describe the WHAT. They don’t tell you the WHY. Deriving and identifying the relevant insight is as much art as it is science. Do you understand the WHY and is your brand ready to respond? What are the sources of emotional connection for your brand with your customers?
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We discover insight that matters and use it to inform the brand strategy.
Brand
Strategy
Strategy defines your brand.
Brand strategy is your brand; it is your brand’s response and the vision for success.
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Is your brand meaningful? Is it Relevant, Authentic, and Different in ways that matter? Are you clear about who your brand is and what it means to others? Do you know your brand’s identity inside-out and what it offers to its audiences?
Do you know how to present your brand to the world outside through values it stands for and delivers, as well as visually and verbally? How is your brand going to create emotional connections and move people, inside your organization and outside?
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We build a brand strategy as the foundation for near-term marketing plans and long-term business growth.
Execution
Execution breeds on strategy.
Brand strategy informs the marketing plan and tactical execution.
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Does your marketing plan truly bring your brand to life? Are your go-to-market execution tactics reflective of the brand strategy? What creative and tactical decisions will be on brand and strategic in nature?
Is your leadership aligned and are your teams motivated, empowered to behave in sync to bring your brand to the world across all brand touchpoints? Is your brand creating emotional connections and customer engagement at every touch moment, including product portfolio and communications?
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We inspire go-to-market plans and lead the execution that maximize on the brand strategy.
Brand insight.
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Brands are not created in a vacuum; they are not created in lab environment, in isolation from the reality. Brand success depends on its ability to emotionally connect with people it interacts with – consumers, employees, partners, competitors, regulators, etc. Understanding all these people – beyond statistics and market data – is the first step towards a building meaningful brand.
Brand insight is a co-product of art and science, and can come from multiple sources, but is not substituted by:
+ Customer feedback and observations
+ Deep-dive market analysis
+ Primary and secondary market research
+ Business analysis and sales data
+ Industry data and reports
Brand strategy.
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The idea behind a brand.
Over the recent years, the definition of brand has shifted from ‘a promise’ to ‘a purpose.’ In its core, brand is a representation of values it delivers to the people it comes in touch with. Brand is an idea that transcends trends, time, and changes in the world.
We start with the RAD brand strategy framework to identify your unique brand white space or brand opportunity. We then can define your brand foundation, starting with brand idea and turning it into a strategy.
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Brand foundation.
After a brand white space (or brand opportunity) and the value proposition is defined, a brand needs to build its foundation. It means bringing clarity to everything that will come next, by answering such existential questions as ‘why do we exist?’ and ‘who are we?’ – ultimately articulating the brand idea – as an entity in the market and in interactions with people the brand touches across its lifespan.
Brand identity.
Brand is expressed visually and verbally. Brand visual identity includes its logotypes, design language, iconography, packaging, signage, illustrations and photography. Brand verbal identity is reflected in the type of language, tone, and approach it uses in communications of all forms.
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Brand architecture.
The breadth and depth of the brand offerings is represented through brand architecture. It is representative of the way a brand wants to be seen and how the brand wants to be thought of. For example, brand architecture can represent types of products, types of customer segments, or types of technology or solutions it delivers.
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Messaging architecture.
The brand story is told in aggregate through various forms of communication, at different times and in different places, through collection of key messages. Each message the brand turns into a key takeaway received by a person in the audience. Brand messaging architecture creates a purposeful structure and an intentional collection of messages, with narratives and proof points, that build the brand story.
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Brand brings clarity and alignment.
In modern business thinking, brand strategy drives the business growth strategy and the creative strategy. Not the other way around. Brand foundation, together with the business vision or ambition, gives the clarity and serves as the north star for operational design, investment decisions, competitive practices and marketing execution. Brand is the driver of business model and innovation.
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Brand aligns an organization in multiple ways:
+ Leadership alignment (priorities, decision-making, behaviors)
+ Business alignment (operations, innovation, product portfolio, support functions)
+ Team alignment (goal-setting, accountability, budgets and P&L, development)
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Single-Minded Idea.
Brand foundation is mostly used internally; it is the DNA that remains under the surface. The single-minded idea (SMI) is an articulation of the brand above the surface. The SMI is the strategic burst that launches a thousand ideas across the spectrum, from innovation, to brand marketing, to go-to-market execution and customer engagement. The SMI oftentimes finds its way into creative briefs as the creative idea and serves as the common thread binding together all brand communications in all possible forms, channels, and touchpoints, across all audiences.
Brand execution.
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A clear, well-understood brand strategy makes marketing planning and tactical execution nearly intuitive. While marketing needs to be timely and respond to current dynamics in the market, brand strategy enables teams to make the right decisions and choose between options that are going to serve the brand in the long-term.
A clear brand strategy informs and makes execution intentional across the board:
+ Annual marketing plans
+ Audience segment alignment and targeting
+ Creative strategy, content, copy, advertising, and design
+ Go-to-market strategy, channels and tactics
+ Content development, social media strategy, CRM strategy
+ Campaign goals and measurement
+ Brand experience, environments
+ Touchpoints and touch moments
+ Partner programs, sponsorship, events
+ Shopper marketing
+ Innovation, product portfolio strategy
+ Product design, packaging
Our work in action.
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We have applied our approach to brands ranging from corporate to product branding, from global companies to entrepreneurial start-ups, from consumer to B2B and B2B2C, from grass-roots to multi-million budgets.
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Our approach has made a lasting impact in vast variety of brand challenges:
+ Rebranding and new brand creation
+ Repositioning and value propositions
+ Product Marketing and go-to-market strategies (GTM), content marketing
+ Leadership alignment, employer branding, culture branding
+ Product portfolio, innovation
+ Advertising campaigns and social media strategy
+ Shopper marketing and promotions
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We have transformed brands and learned in diverse industries:
+ Technology
+ Consumer products and services (including CPG, FMCG, lifestyle, fashion, sports)
+ Financial (including fintech, banking, wealth management, accounting)
+ Outdoors, travel and recreation
+ Healthcare and wellness
+ Food & beverage
+ Industrial manufacturing + Retail and restaurants
