What is brand strategy and how do you create a strong one?

What is brand strategy

Your brand strategy is a long-term plan to effectively communicate and promote your brand to your target audience. Everyone in your company — including C-suite leaders and employees from your design, UX, sales, and marketing teams — should understand and know how to execute your brand strategy.

A strong brand strategy encompasses several components:

• Your vision and mission statements
• An analysis of your target audiences and competitors
• Your brand identity
• A defined approach for executing your strategy
• Inclusion of your employees

Your brand strategy is dynamic and evolves. It’s a good idea to plan for an audit every year or two so your assets and guidelines are accurate and up to date. These audits are an opportunity to remove outdated collateral and resources, add new material, and organize your files so everyone in your company can find and use the correct branding.

Why you need a strong brand strategy

A strong brand strategy offers many internal and external benefits. Here’s how it drives a consistent and cohesive identity that engages customers and employees.

Improving internal alignment and brand consistency

A strong brand strategy defines your values and makes them accessible to all employees so that they can promote and discuss your brand. Essentially, internal alignment results in everyone working toward the same objectives and using the same playbook, which naturally leads to consistent representation.

Building customer loyalty

When customers understand and resonate with your brand’s values, they are more likely to feel a connection. In fact, a study by Sprout Social shows that 57% of customers will spend more with a brand they feel connected to, while 76% will buy from that brand over a competitor.

Differentiating between competitors

A well-crafted brand strategy determines the elements that make your brand one of a kind. This involves identifying your unique selling points (USPs), understanding your competitors’ strengths and weaknesses, and highlighting what you offer that they don’t.

For example, Dunkin’ focuses on speed and convenience with its bright, vibrant branding and straightforward product offerings. Starbucks emphasizes a cozy, premium experience with subdued interiors and a complex menu. These distinct identities and approaches are part of each company’s brand strategy.

Strengthening internal brand advocacy

When employees fully understand and embody your brand strategy, they become more effective and engaged advocates for your brand. We found that 69% of respondents to our State of Brand Ownership report (which focused primarily on brand, marketing, UX, and design professionals) want more ownership in the development and management of their brands.

Examples of strong brand strategies

Use examples of strong brands for inspiration as you establish or clarify your brand strategy. Uber and Patagonia, for instance, exemplify how a distinct strategy differentiates a brand in competitive markets and creates a loyal customer base.

Uber’s unified global branding

When Uber sought out Frontify in 2021, they needed to refine their global branding strategy. The goal was to make it less complicated for employees around the world to adopt the brand. By centralizing all their branding materials and assets in Frontify, Uber enabled global teams to quickly create on-brand materials for local audiences.

This approach is important because it ensures consistency and coherence in messaging across different markets, strengthening the brand’s global identity.

Patagonia’s distinct identity

Patagonia’s brand strategy is deeply rooted in environmental sustainability and ethical manufacturing.

The teams have built a strong brand identity around their commitment to preserving the planet, which their products, marketing, and corporate practices reflect. Patagonia’s “Worn Wear” program, for example, encourages customers to repair and recycle their gear, reinforcing their values of sustainability and conservation.

This consistent focus on environmental responsibility has fostered a loyal customer base that aligns with Patagonia’s mission.

5 key elements of a brand strategy

Creating a strong brand strategy involves several elements that build a cohesive and compelling brand identity.

1. Brand mission and vision statement

Your mission and vision statements articulate the purpose of your brand and guide employees and stakeholders toward a common goal. With clear guidance, you ensure that your activities align with your core values and long-term objectives.

Your mission statement explains what you’re doing right now, and your vision statement explains what you hope to do in the future. For example, LinkedIn’s mission statement is, “Connect the world’s professionals to make them more productive and successful.” Their vision statement is, “Create economic opportunity for every member of the global workforce.”

Make each statement about one or two sentences long. Consider displaying your vision statement prominently on your website, especially on the “About us” page, so it’s visible to anyone who visits.

2. Target audience identification

Understanding your customers allows you to tailor your product or service to meet their needs effectively. This connection builds trust and loyalty, setting your brand apart from competitors.

Here’s how you identify your target audience:

• Research pain points: Analyze comments on social media, customer reviews (yours and competitors'), calls, and sales notes to uncover common challenges.
• Collect data: Gather demographic information, interests, and behaviors of your potential customers to build a detailed profile.
• Create buyer personas: Develop detailed personas that represent your target market. Include demographics, goals, challenges, and preferences. For example, a persona might be "Tech-savvy Tina," a 30-year-old professional looking for efficient, innovative solutions.
• Plan communication: Use your personas to tailor your marketing messages and show potential customers that you understand their needs and provide solutions.

By identifying your audience using these steps, you can effectively market to the people who most likely want and need your product.

3. Brand positioning strategy

Your brand positioning strategy defines how you want your brand to be perceived by consumers. It involves harnessing your unique value proposition and differentiating your brand based on specific attributes, benefits, or market segments.

Effective positioning influences customer perceptions, drives loyalty, and guides marketing efforts. By defining what makes your brand stand out, your company can attract the right audiences, justify your pricing strategies, and build a strong, memorable identity.

Start by highlighting why customers should choose you over competitors. Articulate the specific benefits and features that set your brand apart. This differentiation will make it easier for consumers to understand and remember your brand.

Then, ensure all marketing and communication efforts reflect your brand’s positioning. Use a unified voice and visual style across all channels to reinforce your brand identity. Consistency builds trust and recognition among your audience.

You connect with customers on an emotional level by aligning your brand with their values and aspirations. Consider sharing stories and messages that resonate with your audience’s beliefs and lifestyles.

4. Brand values and personality

Your brand values are the guiding principles and beliefs that underpin your actions and decisions. Brand personality refers to characteristics attributed to your company — the traits that humanize your brand to consumers.

Brand values and personality shape your brand voice and messaging by providing a consistent tone and perspective. For example, a brand with a playful personality will use casual and fun language, while a brand with professional values will adopt a more formal tone. This alignment ensures that all communications resonate with your target audiences and reflect your brand's core identity.

Here’s how you establish your values and personality:

• Reflect on what principles are most important to your brand. Consider what your brand represents and what ethical standards guide your decisions.
• Based on your principles and values, choose characteristics that best illustrate your brand. Think about how you want customers to see you: Is your brand formal or informal? Bold or subtle? Assigning traits helps inform your content and marketing efforts.
• Document and share your brand's core values and personality traits across all levels of your organization. This clarity ensures consistency in how your brand is represented.

5. Competitive analysis

To create an effective brand strategy, evaluate your competitors to understand their strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT). Insights from a competitive analysis highlight gaps in the market that your brand can fill, reveal trends it can leverage, and uncover areas where it can differentiate itself.

By figuring out competitors' strategies, you refine your value proposition, adjust your messaging, and innovate your offerings to better meet customer needs. Here’s how to conduct a competitive analysis:

• List direct and indirect competitors in your market.
• Examine each competitor’s products, services, pricing, and unique selling points.
• Assess their brand positioning — their target audience, messaging, and voice.
• Review their marketing strategies, including advertising, social media, content, and promotional tactics.
• Read reviews and customer opinions on each competitor’s strengths and weaknesses.

With the insights gained from your competitive analysis, strategically position your brand to capitalize on market opportunities and effectively differentiate yourself from the competition.

How to create your brand strategy roadmap

A straightforward brand strategy roadmap is essential for guiding your growth. In this section, we explore the key steps to develop a robust plan of action that enhances your market position.

1. Set clear objectives

Objectives provide direction and act as benchmarks to measure progress and success, ensuring that every effort aligns with the long-term goals. Without clear targets, it's hard to track performance or determine effectiveness.

Use the SMART framework to ensure your brand objectives are well-defined:

• Specific: Determine what you want to achieve. For example, increase brand awareness in a particular market segment.
• Measurable: Establish criteria to track progress. Use metrics like website traffic, social media engagement, or sales figures.
• Achievable: Set realistic goals that are attainable with your resources and capabilities. Consider your current position and potential growth.
• Relevant: Ensure the objectives align with your mission and overall strategy. Focus on goals that drive your brand forward.
• Time-bound: Set a timeline for achieving the objectives. For instance, aim to increase social media followers by 20% within six months.

A SMART goal framework makes it easier for your teams to measure success and make informed adjustments to your marketing and branding campaigns.

2. Develop a brand messaging framework

A brand messaging framework is essential for ensuring that all communications are consistent, compelling, and aligned with your brand’s identity.

Think of it as a standard operating procedure for your voice and messaging. A solid foundation helps you to maintain a unified voice across all channels, making it easier for customers to connect. It also ensures that every piece of content — from social media posts to support interactions — reinforces your brand’s values and personality.

Develop guidelines that outline how to use your core messages and brand voice in various contexts. Include examples for different channels such as social media, email, and advertising. You may even incorporate copy templates for your channel or content types. Share the guidelines with everyone who creates, designs, and edits your marketing and branded content.

Lastly, keep your messaging framework updated so it’s always accurate. For example, there may be certain terms or phrases that no longer align with your brand. In this case, you could add new directives about these terms and phrases so your coworkers know not to use them.

3. Establish a visual identity and create guidelines for consistency

A strong visual identity is crucial for helping customers identify and differentiate your brand from competitors. It reflects your brand’s unique characteristics and reinforces your message at every touchpoint — your brand is easily recognizable and memorable, fostering a deeper connection with your audience.

Document your visual identity so it’s easy for everyone in your company to stay on brand. Include the following elements:

• Logo: Add variations for different uses, such as full color, black and white, and icon-only versions.
• Color scheme: Specify exact color codes (e.g., HEX, RGB, and CMYK) to maintain consistency.
• Typography and fonts: Include guidelines for headings, body text, and any special typographic treatments.
• Imagery: Define the visual style, mood, and themes that align with your brand.
• Icons and graphics: Ensure the symbols complement your overall visual appearance.
• Layout and composition preferences: Go over preferences for print and digital layouts.
• Templates: Provide templates for common layouts, content types, and assets that are recreated frequently.

4. Integrate brand strategy across channels

Maintaining brand consistency across all marketing channels ensures your audience experiences the same messages, values, and visual identity, regardless of where they encounter your brand.

These are our best practices for integrating your strategy at all customer touchpoints:

These are our best practices for integrating your strategy at all customer touchpoints:

1. Use a brand portal: With a centralized portal, such as Frontify, you can consolidate all brand elements and guidelines into one accessible location. This ensures everyone involved in creating content has access to the latest resources, helping maintain consistency. Additionally, a robust brand portal simplifies collaboration and updates in real time.
2. Create content calendars: Plan and schedule content for channels that require regular updates, such as social media, blogs, and emails. Content calendars help you maintain a unified brand presence across touchpoints and ensure you’ll have articles and posts ready to publish when you need them.
3. Follow guidelines: Whether it's long-form blogs, short-form social media posts, or videos, your visuals and messaging must be consistent with your brand guidelines.
4. Regularly review and update content: Review your website, social media profiles, and other marketing materials periodically to confirm they align with your brand strategy. Update content as necessary to keep your message coherent across all touchpoints.
5. Tailor content to each channel: While maintaining consistency, adapt your content to fit the unique requirements and best practices of each channel. For example, use SEO-focused content for blogs, engaging visuals for social media, and personalized messages for email campaigns.

How to implement and measure the success of your brand strategy

Now it’s time to launch your brand strategy, and monitor the success by tracking metrics like engagement and asset usage.

Successfully implementing your brand strategy takes careful planning and execution. Here’s how to get started

Step 1: Internal launch and employee engagement

Your teams need to be deeply involved to embody your brand and execute its strategy. Start by conducting comprehensive training sessions that explain your brand goals, core messages, and visual elements and styles. Create an open environment where employees can ask questions and provide feedback to foster a sense of ownership and alignment.

Step 2: Use a brand-building platform

A brand-building platform consolidates all resources into one accessible location, making it easier for everyone to stay consistent and informed. Using a platform like Frontify allows employees to collaborate in real time, access the latest guidelines, and use tools effectively. This ensures your brand strategy is applied uniformly across all touchpoints.

Step 3: External launch and communication

Prepare a plan for rolling out your brand strategy to the public. This includes updating your marketing materials, websites, and social media profiles to reflect the new brand guidelines. Announce the new approach through press releases, email newsletters, and social media campaigns. Double-check that all external communications consistently convey your new or updated message, values, and visual identity.

Start building your brand strategy

A strong brand strategy is crucial for aligning your team's efforts and building a recognizable, trustworthy brand. Key elements such as a clear vision, a thorough understanding of your target audience, a unique positioning, and consistent brand messaging help differentiate your brand and foster loyalty.

To build or refine your strategy, get a group of stakeholders together. Include people from your brand, marketing, and executive teams. Consider who else needs to buy into your brand strategy. For example, if your sales and customer success teams are heavily involved in creating or distributing assets, you could collaborate with representatives from those teams, too.

Once you’ve assembled your team, you’re ready to get started!