Branding is much more than just a logo or a visual design. It is how a company presents itself, how it is perceived by customers and how it stands out from the competition.
A strong branding strategy helps companies create a recognisable identity and build a loyal customer base. But how do you make sure your branding strategy is well executed?
A detailed branding strategy briefing is the key to success.
In this guide, we discuss 7 essential tips to prepare an effective branding briefing.
"A strong brand starts with a strong story." - Simon Sinek
A good understanding of your company is the basis for a strong branding strategy. Make sure you share the following information with your branding agency:
With this information, branding experts can develop a strategy that perfectly matches your company's identity.
Building a brand is something personal, with your company playing the lead role. It is therefore crucial that your branding agency understands your business well. Otherwise, chances are they will create something that is superficial and applicable to several companies within your sector. Strong branding highlights precisely what makes your company truly unique. After all, that is what sets you apart from the competition.
Apple has a strong brand story that is consistently communicated: innovation, design and usability. The company's history - from Steve Jobs' garage to global dominance - is an essential part of their branding. This is not a story they push hard, but it is also no secret. Knowing how it all started creates compassion for who they are. After all, everyone loves the rags-to-riches story. We like to associate ourselves with this classic success story, which gives the brand more humanity. And humanity is a powerful attribute that makes your target audience feel closer to your company, as opposed to a 'corporate', 'cold', 'emotionless' company.
Not every story needs to refer back to your company's origins. Be creative and build a compelling story around your product or your target audience. It's all about storytelling, because people remember stories, not facts. A well-told story touches, inspires and sticks.
"No Story, No Glory." - Theo Hendriks
What you offer largely determines how your brand is positioned. Give a clear description of:
Clearly articulating this makes it easier to develop a branding strategy that really resonates with your target audience and makes it clear how you are different from the competition.
Branding is not just about beautifying your products and services - that's a big misconception. Branding is a functional enrichment of your business that ensures that the added value of your products and services reaches your target audience more effectively.
So it is important that no matter how pretty and fast your branding agency wants to pitch your brand, it is ultimately about driving sales and making your business more successful.
According to research by Nielsen, 59% of consumers are more likely to buy a product from a well-known brand than from an unfamiliar one.
Not surprising - we are all sensitive to strong brands. Therefore, it is important to build a strong brand around your offering. Be careful though, there is a balance between communicating too much around your branding and forgetting to tell people what you actually do. Make sure it's immediately clear what your product or service is, because if someone has to figure that out first, you've lost that potential customer.
Keep your communication simple. Don’t make your audience work to understand it—they have more pressing things to do. You might feel the urge to want to share more details, but save those for later. Use a “More Info” button or a downloadable whitepaper for deeper insights, but keep the main message simple and clear.
"People don't buy what you do, they buy why you do it." - Simon Sinek
A strong branding strategy is based on a clear vision and mission. Define:
These elements help determine the right tone-of-voice, visual style, message and storytelling for your brand.
In all actuality, SpaceX ‘just’ builds rockets - not very different from the European Space Agency. But what sets them apart is the way they communicate their mission and vision. ‘We are going to Mars.’ ‘Multiplanetary species.’ That sounds like something out of a movie. Anyone who grew up with Star Trek probably feels instantly captivated.
And that is the power of inspirational branding: you not only inspire your employees, but also a much wider audience. From governments and investors to the general population, everyone catches on. And let's face it, you'd rather have everyone inspire and on your side, instead of against you. So don't be afraid to inspire.
A brand must match the needs and expectations of its target audience. To make your branding strategy effective, you need to know:
By understanding your target audience well, you can develop a branding strategy that speaks directly to them.
Be in tune with their fears and challenges and show that you understand them. People prefer to work with a brand that understands their world. Your target audience wants to feel heard, seen and understood. Then explain how you turn these fears and challenges into something positive that improves their lives, and you’ve convinced them that you are the right fit.
If you know your target audience inside out, you will know exactly how to make your branding fit seamlessly with them. Whether you discuss this internally or have your branding agency conduct customer interviews - it's a must. Because branding is ultimately about one thing: bridging the gap between who you are as a company and the value you offer your target audience.
Companies that use buyer personas achieve 171% more marketing ROI than those that do not (source: HubSpot).
And still, it is not uncommon to see a company advertising something that you are totally uninterested in. They fall into this trap, because they communicate from their own perspective - what they think is clever or special - instead of questioning whether their target audience cares at all.
The classics: "We are faster." "We are the cheapest." But what if that is not at all what your customer cares most about? In many cases, people are willing to wait a bit longer or pay just a bit more, as long as you explain why you take this approach. It will not only build rapport but make them question the intent of the competition. In many cases, your audience just wants to be taken care of, not forgotten, and get real quality.
Forcing yourself to meet the expectations of ‘fast’ and ‘cheap’, only puts extra pressure on your company, potentially causing mistakes and leaving an unsatisfied customer. So make sure you really understand what is important to your customer - and build your branding around that.
Building a strong relationship with your target audience starts with understanding who they are and what their personality is. But just as important is ensuring that they understand who you are and what personality your brand embodies.
Your brand identity should be predictable to make it easier for people to build trust and form a lasting connection with you.
One of the best ways to achieve this is by defining your brand personality using the Brand Archetypes methodology. Take the free test on our website or take a look at the 12 archetypes we’ve lined-up here [Insert link].
"You cannot be a leader by being a copy of someone else." Stand out by being unique." - Seth Godin
Your brand needs to stand out from the competition. A competitor analysis helps you to:
This analysis should provide the knowledge of how to make your branding different and more effective than that of your competitors. The last thing you want, is for your target audience to confuse you with the competition.
Got time? Make a simple SWOT analysis for yourself and of your competitors. Start with the top three and compare their strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats with those of your company. This will quickly reveal how you stand out and where your niche lies - the place where you add most value for your target group.
After all, it is much easier to sell something unique than the exact same thing as your competitors.
By having your SWOT clear, you make strategic choices that really make an impact.
TIP: No time or money, use ChatGPT to make a SWOT Analysis of your competitors (be critical but this is a nice easy way to start)
You are an innovator and have a product or service that is one of a kind. No one else has it, and therefore you might not have direct competitors. If so, then there are two crucial points to consider:
Even if your solution is unique, there might be other, more well known existing ways people deal with the problem. This could be a different product, service or an alternative approach such as a work-around. This can be considered your competition. Strategically, it would be wise to approach your market via that route and position yourself against it.
People may not even know your solution exists - or that they have a problem at all. It happens from time to time that you have become so accepting of a problem, that you no longer consider it a problem. Just to be clear, this does not mean that the problem doesn’t exist and a solution is welcome, it just means that we have become ignorant to the problem. In that case, your challenge lies not in competition, but in education: how do you make your target group aware of the problem and convince them that your solution is worthwhile?
Tip: Take a look at the Red Ocean vs. Blue Ocean Strategy to determine whether you are cleverly positioning yourself in an existing market or creating a completely new one.
Core values are the backbone of your branding and determine how your brand is perceived but also how you approach choices within your organisation.
Define:
Consistent and authentic core values make for a strong and credible brand. Choose carefully, because if your actions don’t align with your core values, then they are worthless.
Avoid the blatantly obvious such as “passion”, “reliability” and “quality”.
Of course you think these values are important, but that is true for almost every company. Turn it around: have you ever heard a company call itself “uninterested”, “unreliable” or “of poor-quality”? These terms are not distinctive core values, but basic expectations.
Choose core values that really show what makes your company unique.
Think beyond the clichés and look for values that are specific and distinctive to your brand. What makes your company truly special?
Limit the number of core values. Some companies have a list of 10, sometimes as many as 20 core values. This is counterproductive:
It is impossible to remember, let alone translate into concrete actions.
Suppose I ask you about your music taste and you list 15 genres. Then you don't actually have a clear preference, at least, not one anyone is going to remember. It works the same way with branding: the more specific you are, the easier it is to understand and the more memorable your brand becomes.
So choose 3, max 4, core values that are really relevant and position your company powerfully.
"Consistency in branding creates trust. And trust leads to loyalty." - Bernard Kelvin Clive
For an effective branding strategy, all branding must be consistent. Determine:
Clear guidelines ensure that your brand remains not only recognisable, but also professional and trustworthy in the eyes of your target audience. A strong brand identity does not occur automatically; it requires consistent application at all possible touch points, both online and offline.
When your branding agency has a clear overview of all your brand touchpoints—such as your website, social media, packaging, ads, physical stores, and customer service—they can turn each interaction into a powerful branding moment. Each of these branding touchpoints presents an opportunity to make the right impression and build the brand recognition needed to create impact.
Research shows that a potential customer needs to interact with a brand an average of seven times before recognition and trust is established. But that repetition is only valuable if the expressions are consistent. If your brand looks different or takes a different tone with every interaction, then that built-up recognition is lost and the process of building trust starts all over again.
This is why it is crucial to establish how your brand presents itself-from logo and colours to tone of voice and visual style. By consistently taking these guidelines into account, you will ensure that your target audience connects with your brand faster and more effectively. Allowing you to leverage your brand's added value more and more over time.
There's nothing wrong with adapting to the times. In fact, it is crucial to prevent your branding from becoming obsolete and your brand from acquiring an old dusty and dated reputation. But make sure you stay within the boundaries of the brand guideline you've established for your brand. That way, you not only ensure consistency across all touch points, but also over the long term, which will add to the recognizability of your brand.
A great example of this is Coca Cola. From their early beginnings in 1888, they have managed to always adapt to current trends whilst staying true to their colours, name and logo. Consistency is king.
A well-crafted branding strategy brief helps you and your branding agency build a strong and consistent brand. By gathering and sharing the right information, you give branding experts the tools they need to establish your brand in the best way possible.
Want to create a branding strategy brief that really works? Contact our branding experts for a free consultation! [Insert Link here]
What is branding and how is it different from marketing?
Branding is about building brand identity and creating emotional connections. Marketing focuses on strategies and techniques to promote that brand. Branding is the foundation, marketing is the means to strengthen that foundation.
How often should I update my branding strategy?
It is a good idea to review your branding strategy at least once every 2-3 years, or sooner if your company is going through a major change.
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