What Is Brand Strategy? Definition and Guide
Have you ever wondered what it takes to build a successful brand? If so, you'll want to look at the concept of brand strategy. A brand strategy helps create and maintain an attractive image for your business in the mind of your customers.
Do you want to discover the secret behind constructing a successful brand? Then, consider digging into the concept of brand strategy. With this method, you can craft and hold an enticing image for your business in the minds of customers. Brand Strategy is certain to be a game-changer for any company.
What Is Brand Strategy?
Brand strategy is an intricate and systematic plan designed to help businesses create a unique identity and increase their profit. It is a fundamental component of brand marketing as it allows companies to differentiate themselves from their competitors and make a lasting impression on their target audiences.
A strong brand strategy involves researching the company's core values and mission statement, setting goals for the brand, creating a messaging platform, understanding target audiences, building brand recognition, maintaining brand consistency across all platforms, identifying customer needs, and creating customer experiences. It also involves setting pricing points in line with the brand value proposition and determining suitable distribution channels.
Why Is Branding Strategy Important?
Brand strategy is essential to brand marketing and critical to any successful business. A well-crafted brand strategy enables businesses to build recognition and admiration among customers while positioning them for long-term success. By carefully choosing a comprehensive brand strategy, companies can ensure that they effectively communicate the right message to the right audience at the right time. Branding strategy is essential for increasing profits and building relationships with consumers that will last into the future. Let's take a look at some figures:
- Developing an emotional connection with customers can yield a staggering 306% higher lifetime value for your brand.
- To ensure your brand is consistent across all platforms, you must carry the same branding to every channel and media platform in which you have a presence. After all, customers expect 90% of their experience with your brand to be seamless regardless of the platform they use.
- According to a survey of expert marketers, brand awareness is deemed the most important goal, with an impressive 84% endorsement.
- Branded content can captivate and engage with your audience more than 22 times better than a standard display ad.
What Makes a Strong Brand Strategy?
A great brand strategy can be distinguished by several characteristics.
First and foremost, it should create an emotional connection with customers. This connection should be based on values shared between the company and its customers.
Second, it should stand out from its competition regarding product offerings or services.
Thirdly, a brand strategy process should be built around the core message that the company wants to convey to ensure that customers have easy access to information about the company or product.
Lastly, a strong brand strategy must constantly evolve to meet ever-changing consumer needs.
Elements of Brand Strategy
A successful brand strategy is made up of several key elements. These include creating a unique brand identity, developing a unified message, and conveying the values, tone of voice, storytelling ability, and overall feeling associated with your business.
Brand voice
Brand voice is an integral part of a brand strategy and refers to how a company communicates with its customers. It encompasses everything from the language used to the tone and style of communication. A brand voice should be consistent across all channels so that customers can easily recognize your brand wherever they encounter it. A strong brand voice will help you create an emotional connection with your target audience and build trust over time.
Brand values and brand identity
Brand values are the core beliefs and principles that your business stands for. They represent what is important to you and should be reflected in every aspect of your brand management. By defining a set of brand values, you can communicate who you are as a company and help customers understand why they should choose your products or services over those of competitors. Brand values should be used to guide all decisions related to customer service, product development, marketing campaigns, and more. They will also serve as an internal compass for employees as they strive to create an unforgettable customer experience with each interaction. When it comes to creating a successful brand strategy, having clearly defined brand values is essential!
Nik Sundin
Brand design
Brand design plays a vital role in forming a victorious brand strategy. It involves creating visual brand identity elements that give your business its unique look and make it stand out from the competition. The brand style guide may include logos, color palettes, typography, imagery, and more. These elements should be used consistently across all channels to ensure customers recognize your brand wherever they encounter it.
Brand story
A brand story is essential to brand strategies as it helps bring your company's values and identity to life. It tells the story of why your business exists, what it stands for, and how it makes a difference. A strong brand story should be told through engaging content that resonates with customers emotionally, such as videos, articles, or even customer testimonials. This type of storytelling can be used across all channels to ensure that customers recognize your unique identity wherever they encounter it.
Brand vibe
Brand vibe is a crucial element of a successful brand strategy. It refers to the overall feeling and energy associated with your business that customers experience when interacting with it. The brand vibe can be conveyed through every touchpoint, from customer service interactions to marketing campaigns. A strong brand vibe will also help cultivate trust as customers become familiar with your company's values and identity.
Quick Brand Strategy Template
- What is your brand striving to achieve, and how are you expressing those goals?
- What difficulties will your brand be able to solve, and how can it improve the lives of its target customers?
- Who are the people that you'd like to have as your customers [the Buyer Persona]? What traits do they possess, and how can you target them effectively?
- Who will be positively impacted by the brand? How do these customers feel, and how can we make them feel better?
- How do you recognize who your competitors are? Who is offering what potential customers need, and how are these services or products being provided?
- What personality and tone of voice will your brand need to adopt to capture the attention of potential customers? How can you create an engaging experience for them?
7 Types of Branding Strategy
Choosing the right brand strategy can be difficult, so it is essential to understand what type of brand you are trying to create and how to best communicate your brand messaging. There are several main types of brand strategies that businesses can utilize.
Product Branding
Product branding is when a brand focuses on communicating the features and benefits of its products to persuade customers to purchase them. Product brand strategies should focus on highlighting why customers should choose your brand over others, what makes it different from competitors, and how it can improve their lives. This brand development strategy relies heavily on effective marketing, such as advertisements, influencer marketing, and content creation. Branding a product is one of the most effective methods for creating name recognition and a strong brand identity. By connecting an image, title, colors, and visuals to your product or service, you can construct an exclusive identity that will help customers distinguish it from others in its category.
It's become almost a mundane part of our everyday lives - the iconic logos of businesses like Coca-Cola, Apple, and Starbucks. Such unforgettable products have funneled into society so profoundly that we scarcely take notice anymore.
Corporate Branding
Corporate branding is when a brand focuses on communicating its values to build customer trust and increase brand awareness. Corporate brand strategies should focus on conveying what makes the brand unique, how it can help improve customers' lives, and how it defines itself through its brand values. By combining the strengths of two different brands, a fused brand is born - otherwise known as a brand partnership. This strategic marketing ploy has allowed businesses to expand their customer bases and increase perceived value by joining forces. The advantages are plentiful, from increased awareness in the marketplace to skyrocketing sales figures!
Through a co-branding alliance, the music streaming app Spotify and ride-hailing service Uber are teaming up to bring customers "a soundtrack for their journey." This illustrates how two distinct companies with similar objectives — increasing user base — can collaborate successfully.
Attitude Branding
Attitude branding is when a brand focuses on creating an emotional connection with its target audience by conveying a specific attitude or message. Attitude branding strategies should focus on expressing the brand's personality and values to draw customers in and make them feel like they are part of something special. This brand strategy uses creative visuals, such as brand story, colors, fonts, and logos, to create its own brand identity.
Nike has long been at the forefront of attitude-driven branding, encapsulating it perfectly through their iconic slogan, 'Just Do It'.
Minimalist Branding
Minimalist branding is when a brand focuses on creating a simple and modern brand identity that can easily be identified. Minimalist brand strategies should use minimalistic visuals, such as white space, clean lines, and muted colors, to convey the brand's voice without overwhelming customers. This brand strategy relies heavily on sound design, such as brand guidelines and brand assets.
Apple has become the vanguard of 'extreme minimalism', revolutionizing how we view design.
Individual Branding
Individual brand strategies should focus on creating a brand identity for each brand, using visuals to help customers distinguish between products. This brand strategy promotes brand consistency and allows the company to appeal to multiple target markets. It also gives customers more options in product selection and provides greater visibility in the marketplace.
Procter & Gamble is an iconic company that boasts a massive collection of individual brands, such as Pantene, Olay, Vicks, and Pampers - just to name a few.
Brand Extension Branding
Brand extension branding is when a brand focuses on expanding its product offering or diversifying its brand to meet the needs of different customers. Brand extension strategies should focus on creating unique brand experiences tailored to each customer's needs. This brand strategy involves using digital platforms like websites, apps, and blogs to promote brand experiences.
Gillette's innovative decision to produce shaving cream, foam, and gel, in addition to its renowned safety razor blades, was brilliant. After all, it can be challenging to envision someone shaving without any of these items. Thus, Gillette made a wise move by creating an essential accessory for its primary product.
Service Branding
With service branding, companies can take their services and turn them into products that are uniquely marketed to expand reach and sales. This strategy is crucial in contributing to the creation of brand identity as well as promoting economic growth within businesses. Unlike tangible objects, services cannot be seen or touched. However, service branding enables providers to effectively promote such offerings successfully.
For instance, IKEA offers an exceptional service to design the interiors of any room in your house in 3D using the items from its collections.
Branding Methods
Effective brand strategies involve a variety of creative branding methods. These include:
- Advertising campaigns
- Content marketing
- Social media campaigns
- Influencer marketing
- SEO optimization
- Strategic partnerships
Each of these techniques can be used to create an attractive image for your business and reach out to potential customers. It's essential to research which methods will work best for you and find innovative ways to communicate your message.
Advertising campaigns
Advertising campaigns are a powerful tool that can be used to reach potential customers and create an attractive image for your brand. This branding strategy captures customers' attention and draws them in with engaging content.
Advertising campaigns are a vital part of any brand strategy. They provide an effective avenue to showcase your company's brand positioning and reach new customers. Through creative visuals, copywriting, storytelling, and strategic placement, advertising campaigns can draw out emotion from potential customers and create an unforgettable experience for them. These campaigns can be implemented on various platforms, from TV and radio to print, digital media, and beyond.
Content marketing
Content marketing is another essential element of any brand strategy process. It involves creating exciting content that resonates with potential customers and tells them about your business engagingly.
Content marketing is an effective way to boost brand awareness and promote your business's unique values. Content can come in many forms, such as blogs, videos, podcasts, eBooks, and social media posts.
Social media campaigns
Social media campaigns are a great way to reach potential customers and introduce them to your existing or new brand. These campaigns can involve running ads on social media platforms or creating content tailored for each social platform. The key is to find out which platforms your target customers are using and create engaging content for them.
Nik Sundin
Influencer marketing
Influencer marketing is a great way to reach potential customers and build a connection with them. Influencers have built an audience of followers on social media who trust their opinion, so if an influencer promotes your brand, it can have a powerful effect on potential customers.
SEO optimization
Search engine optimization (SEO) is optimizing your website to make it easier for customers to find you in search engine results. SEO involves optimizing your content, keywords, and page structure so that search engines like Google can easily find and rank your website. This is essential to any successful brand strategy, as it ensures potential customers can find you when searching for relevant keywords.
Strategic partnerships
Strategic partnerships are a great way to reach out to potential customers and build relationships with them. By partnering with other businesses or organizations, you can create a robust network of customers, promote your brand’s mission and extend your brand's reach.
Final Thoughts
Building brand value is essential for any business looking to thrive in today's competitive market. By leveraging powerful techniques such as advertising campaigns, content marketing, social media campaigns, influencer marketing, SEO optimization, and strategic partnerships, you can create an attractive image for your brand that resonates with potential customers. When done correctly, these strategies will help drive sales by increasing brand awareness and creating a connection between the customer and your company's unique values. With careful planning and implementation of these tactics, it's possible to build strong brand loyalty among users who trust your message.