What is a brand strategy & why do you need one?

Branding is such an important aspect of your business.

It’s more than just an aesthetic or a logo, it is the very foundation that your business is built on. Before you create a logo, it is crucial that you have a solid brand strategy in place. What is a brand strategy you ask?

The basics of a brand strategy is where you define your brands core values, target market, customer avatar as well as your why and what problems you are solving for them as well as the solutions you bring to the table. Its also important to know what is your brands point of difference is, what sets you apart from your competitors?

I will expand more on these below. But first, why do you need to know all this before starting to create your visual branding identity?

Knowing these things is important, as your Graphic Designer should ask you to fill out a detailed design brief and these should be some of the basic questions asked in the brief to help your Designer do a deep dive into your brand in order to be able to begin creating the initial concepts of your visual branding identity.

Without this information, it is near impossible to create a visual identifier for your brand that aligns with your values and tells your ideal customer who you are and what you are about as a brand.

THINGS TO CONSIDER BEFORE WORKING WITH A GRAPHIC DESIGNER FOR YOUR BRAND

• What Are Your Brand Values – these are the guiding principles that are at the very core of your brand, they form your brand voice, are at the centre of your brands messaging and help form an integral part of your brands identity & personality.
• Your Why – what is your big why? Why are you in business, what is driving you?
• Know Who Your Target Market Is – who are you marketing to?
• Create Your Customer Avatar – who is your ideal customer? What is their age, gender identity, hobbies etc What problems do they have and how does your product or service solve those problems for them? This is a deep dive into who you will be marketing to, imagining them as a real person gives you something tangible to work with when creating your brand strategy.
• What Is Your Point of Difference – What sets your brand apart in the market from everyone one else?
• Future Scripting – Where do you see your brand in the next 5 or even 10 years, forecasting where you see your brand helps to form part of your overall brand strategy.
• Inspiration – share any inspo pics, mood boards or colour palettes with your designer. A great way to do this is using a pinterest board.

Once you have the foundations in place, then you can begin creating your brands visual identity or logo as most people refer to it.