What a brand strategy actually is (and what you get at the end)

Short answerA brand strategy is a short, written decision about who you are, who you serve, why they should choose you and how you say it. It is built from interviews with your team and key clients and one workshop, takes two to four weeks, and becomes the brief for the identity, the website and the sales material.

“Strategy” can sound like months of consultants and a thick report nobody reads. It shouldn’t be. A good brand strategy fits on a few pages, and your management team should be able to repeat it.

The questions it answers

Who are we today? Not twenty years ago, not in the brochure: today.
Who do we want to win? The clients, markets and people that matter most in the next five years.
Why us? What we do better than the alternatives, in terms the client cares about.
What do we want to be known for? One idea, in one line.
How do we sound? The tone that makes all of the above believable.

How it’s done

Initial interviews with management, sales and key clients.
One workshop to align the leadership team.
A deliverable session where we present the strategy and decide together.

Strategy usually takes two weeks to a month, depending on how complex the company is.

What you get

The positioning: who you serve, what you offer and why you are different.
The idea in one line. For Relats: “Staying ahead of the curve.”
The definition, one sentence anyone can use. For Relats: “We are your global trusted partner in innovative and safety covering solutions.”
Messages by audience: clients, distributors, talent, investors.
Tone of voice: how the brand writes and speaks.
Priorities: what to change first in the identity, the website and the sales material.

How to tell a good strategy

Management can repeat it without notes.
Sales uses it in the next meeting.
It says no to something.
A competitor couldn’t sign it.

Why skipping it costs more

Without strategy, the identity becomes a discussion about taste and the website becomes the catalogue, online. Every later decision takes longer, because nobody agreed on what the brand is for.

FAQ

Do we need months of consultants?

No. Two to four weeks, led personally by Cesc Callejas.

What do we need to prepare?

Access to people — management, sales and three to five clients — and the material you have today.

Can we do only the strategy?

Yes. Many companies start there and decide the rest afterwards.

Want to know what your strategy would say? Write to [email protected].