A clear brand strategy lies at the heart of all successful organisations, guiding everything they do. A brand strategy defines your purpose, brand positioning, values and personality. It defines not only who you are and what you do, but importantly, why you do it – and what sets you apart from your competitors.
Our brand strategy services include:
- Brand positioning
- Brand story, tone of voice & key messaging
- Brand architecture
- Brand portfolio analysis
- Customer value proposition (CVP)
- Employee value proposition (EVP)
- Brand naming
What is a brand strategy?
Your brand strategy clearly outlines your brand’s unique characteristics, values and attributes. Your brand strategy is comprised of your brand positioning – the unique, relevant, credible and sustainable position in the market that you own – along with your brand story, values, personality and brand tone of voice. It should also include your employee value proposition (EVP), which is closely linked to your brand. If you have multiple brands, it may include a brand architecture framework and brand portfolio strategy. And if you have multiple brand audiences, your brand strategy may also include customer value propositions (CVPs).
The benefits of a clear brand strategy
A well-defined and executed brand strategy affects all aspects of a business. It is the compass that guides business strategy and decision-making, from which mergers and acquisitions to undertake, to which new products to launch, to which employees to hire, to how and where to speak to your customers.
A clear and well-executed brand strategy leads to a strong connection with customers, employees and other stakeholders, a consistent brand message and ultimately, higher brand equity.
Our brand strategy services
Brand positioning
Your brand positioning – sometimes called brand essence – is the unique, relevant, credible and sustainable position you own in the market. It builds trust, and it’s the reason people choose you over your competitors.
Our brand strategists apply their creativity and intuition to your brand insights to define your brand’s unique essence. They tap into our proven thinking, tools and techniques, and design workshops with you to refine their ideas. Your brand positioning and pyramid is then documented and presented to you. We can also create and document supporting elements of your brand strategy. Read more about brand positioning.
Brand story, tone of voice & key messaging
Communication plays an important role in building a strong, enduring brand. Any communication coming from your brand needs to be clear, single-minded, consistent, and reflect your brand’s personality.
At MIETI Studio, we can develop your succinct brand story, including who you are, what you do, how you do it, why you do it and what makes you different, and this can be summarized into an elevator statement. These are very useful tools for your stakeholders, to ensure everyone has the same understanding, and can consistently speak about your organisation.
We can also define your brand’s tone of voice in alignment with its brand positioning, and develop a set of key messages against each of your audiences – key ingredients in any copy-writing brief.
Brand architecture
Brand architecture is the way you organize, manage and go to market with your brands. It defines how your brands are presented at a corporate, divisional, product and service level. Our expertise and objectivity allow us to ask the right questions and negotiate the complex hierarchies, history and relationships that can often exist within organisations. We’ll present you with a clear brand architecture framework and strategy – for your current brands, as well as any new brands you may create or acquire in the future. Read more about brand architecture.
Brand portfolio strategy
Portfolio strategy refers to the way businesses with multiple brands organize those brands to ensure that they have the right number and type of brands to achieve their business objectives. Having a defined portfolio strategy will enable you to answer two key questions: which parts of the market do you want to cover, and, how will you use your brands to cover these? The benefits of a clear portfolio strategy include:
- Increased brand equity: the ability to optimize each brand’s offer, making it credible and appealing to the maximum number of target consumers
- Decreased brand investment: you are investing in fewer brands with clearly defined strategic roles
- Increased consumer clarity: having fewer, clearer, stronger brands makes it easier for customers to navigate choice
MIETI Studio can conduct brand portfolio analysis, prepare recommendations, and create the optimum brand portfolio strategy for your organisation, which matches your growth / investment strategy – with the fewest number of brands; covers the key market positions; and ensures each brand is healthy and able to play its defined role.
Customer value proposition (CVP)
A CVP explains how your brand positioning turns up for a particular target audience. You may have several CVPs – one for each of your brand’s defined target audiences – especially if these audiences are quite different. A CVP firstly defines the target audience and their specific need or problem. It then describes how your brand solves that problem or addresses that need differently to your competition, and the proof points, or reasons your customers can believe that.
We use proven tools, techniques, workshops and stakeholder engagement to define and refine your CVPs.
Employee value proposition (EVP)
Strong, enduring brands are built from the inside out, by motivated and committed employees who understand an organisation’s brand, vision and values and the role they play in delivering to them. An EVP shapes the culture of your organisation and is central to the employee experience. It allows each employee to see how he or she fits into the grand scheme of delivering on your brand promise. It enables your brand positioning to shine through every employee, affecting the customer experience. And it will help you to attract and retain the best new talent.
At MIETI Studio, we can translate your brand positioning and values into an effective EVP that explains your offer to employees – and what you as an employer expect in return.
Brand naming
Your brand name often delivers the first impression of your business. People see it on signage and collateral. They hear it and use it in conversation. They touch it on screens. A strong brand name is enduring – so it’s critical to get it right. Your brand name is an opportunity to reflect your brand essence, and make a real impact on your target customers.
Creating the right brand name requires brand insights, a proven process and imagination. Our team is experienced in writing naming briefs, generating long lists and applying filters and screens to derive a recommended short list. Read more about brand naming.
