Creating a brand strategy to win
Creating a brand strategy is the foundation of everything we do. Our ability to build robust, market share-expanding brands depends mainly upon where we think brands live.
We explore possible places for brands to live when creating a brand strategy. And show how one of these places is better than the other places.
Our deliberate process allows us to find the highest emotional intensity, claim that position, and build all the brand’s elements from that single, most important idea. We all know we should try to be purposive in all activities.
Being process-driven is a recipe for disaster. But all strategy is a series of processes, not tactics. And we have a predictive brand strategy process that includes brand auditing, behavioral modeling, research, and competitive analyses.
These prerequisites to developing a powerful brand strategy allow Stealing Share to create a brand strategy devoid of guesswork. As a result, not a drop of energy or money is wasted on missteps.
Creating the brand strategy— questions
Most businesses believe brands live in the marketing department. They think that brands live in the packaging, the advertising, the merchandising, the posters, the billboards, and on letterhead.
It lives in business cards and other physical media that feature brand name signals and logos. Some other marketing experts believe that brands live in the brand name and logotype.
After all, we trademark them and take great pains to ensure they are treated with the utmost care and respect. But we disagree; we reinvented the process of creating a brand strategy. Strong brand strategy development is the foundation of everything we do.
Our ability to build robust, market share-expanding brands depends mainly upon where we think brands live. We explore possible places for brands to live to become a persuasive instrument in your marketing arsenal. After all, who can afford to have an essential element like BRAND underperform?
Your world has changed. So has brand strategy development
Over the past five years, brand strategy has undergone dramatic changes, driven by evolving consumer behaviors, technological advancements, and shifts in c. Here are some key ways in which creating a brand strategy has transformed:
Consumer-Centric Approach
Brands have shifted their focus towards a more consumer-centric approach. They increasingly invest in understanding their target audience, needs, aspirations, and preferences.
By leveraging data analytics and market research, brands can create personalized and relevant experiences, tailoring their messaging and offerings to individual consumers or specific segments. This shift has led to a more targeted and effective brand strategy.
Rise of Digital Platforms
The rapid growth of digital platforms and social media has revolutionized brand strategy. Brands now have the opportunity to engage directly with consumers, build communities, and create authentic relationships.
Social media marketing, influencer collaborations, and user-generated content have become integral to brand strategies, allowing brands to reach wider audiences and foster brand advocacy.
Digital platforms also provide valuable data for brands to analyze consumer behavior and measure the impact of their marketing efforts.
Purpose-Driven Branding
In recent years, consumers have shown a greater preference for brands that align with their values. This has led to the rise of purpose-driven branding, where brands take a stance on social and environmental issues.
Consumers expect brands to be socially responsible and environmentally conscious. Incorporating purpose into brand strategy attracts consumers and helps build trust, loyalty, and differentiation in a crowded marketplace.
Emphasis on Authenticity
Authenticity has become a key pillar of successful brand strategies. Consumers are increasingly skeptical of overly polished or insincere brand messaging. They seek genuine and transparent interactions with brands.
To build trust and credibility, brands showcase their human side, share stories, and be more transparent about their operations and values. Authenticity helps foster stronger connections with consumers and build long-term brand loyalty.
Integration of Experiential Marketing
Experiential marketing has gained prominence in brand strategies. Brands leverage immersive experiences, events, and activations to create memorable consumer interactions.
By providing unique and interactive experiences, brands can forge emotional connections and leave a lasting impact. Experiential marketing also generates valuable user-generated content, amplifying brand reach and engagement.
Agility and Adaptability
The rapid pace of change in consumer behavior, market trends, and technology requires brands to be agile and adaptable. Traditional long-term brand plans give way to more flexible strategies that quickly respond to changing market dynamics.
Brands are adopting iterative approaches, embracing experimentation, and constantly evaluating and optimizing their strategy based on real-time data and feedback.
Hyper-Personalization
Advances in technology and data analytics have enabled brands to deliver hyper-personalized experiences to consumers. Through AI-driven algorithms, brands can analyze vast amounts of data to understand individual preferences and provide personalized recommendations, offers, and content. Hyper-personalization enhances customer engagement, satisfaction, and loyalty.
When creating a brand strategy today, we adopt consumer-centric approaches, leveraging digital platforms, embracing purpose-driven branding, emphasizing authenticity, integrating experiential marketing, prioritizing agility and adaptability, and delivering hyper-personalized experiences.
These changes reflect consumers’ evolving expectations and preferences in a rapidly changing marketplace, where brands must continuously innovate and adapt to stay competitive.
Branding Responsibility and Creating Brand Strategy
However, these are not the places we should think brands live. We should think of brands as living in an entirely different space. Not in any kind of physical or organizational, or media space.
We should think of brands living exclusively in the psychological space of the minds of our prospects. (In addition, when we say prospects, we must understand that this also includes our existing customers, if only because they are prospects for future purchases.)
When creating a brand strategy, psychological space is intangible. It is an invisible personal space occupied by entirely “a-physical” and abstract phenomena, such as memories, perceptions, and feelings.
Creating brand strategy. A brand’s residence
And why should we think that brands live in this psychological space? Because brands are the cluster of conceptual memories, perceptions, and feelings. Feelings that prospects associate with the brand name and the brand logo.
And these memories, perceptions, and feelings are the result of all the cumulative communications and experiences related to the brand name or logo. This is why we should think of psychological space as the place where brands live.
This psychological space is the same space in which prospects’ preferences develop and where their purchase decisions are made.
Business is the reason
Why is this so important to think this? It’s simple. Because this is the heart of your brand strategy implementation, this is the CRUX of the whole issue. The most crucial function in business is the generation of revenue that comes from prospects’ purchase decisions.
So, what if brands live in the psychological space of people who can recognize the brand name and brand logotype? Because once we know this and acknowledge this, we are in a better position to build a brand.
Built around the very purpose for which brands exist. This is the WHY of creating a brand strategy.
Creating brand strategy in intelligent ways
Consider this for a moment. If we were to build a brand for a marketing department, how would we make the best decisions for creating it?
If we were to build a brand for the logo and logotype that we use, how would we make the best decisions for creating it? We would be groping around a lot because there is no direct traction between these aspects of brands.
Gaining preference and purchase decisions for our product. However, if we built a brand for the prospects’ psychological space, we would know that the brand has to be made to own the highest value perception—the highest emotional intensity among all the choices available.
A Different Perspective when Creating Brand Strategy
As a result, once we realize that brands live in the psychological space of prospects, we would have a much better chance to build a powerful brand that gains their preference and is persuasive.
(Read about brand persuasion here and how other brand agencies don’t think that is important) and ensures their continuing purchases. Let us now redefine the brand from this perspective. A brand is the constellation of conceptual and emotional residue.
The residue results from the accumulation of experiences that prospects associate with the brand’s signals, name, or logo. Our brands don’t live alone in our prospects’ psychological space. Our competitors’ brands reside there as well.
So, our prospects’ psychological space is where the crucial struggle for market share and revenue growth occurs. This is the key to creating a brand strategy.
Three Things to Consider
This understanding of where brands live tells us three things we must focus on to make the most of this perspective: We must always strive to improve our prospects’ perceptions of our product.
Relative to their perceptions of all the other products in the category that these prospects may choose to purchase. The best way to accomplish this is to manage every experience that the prospect has.
Everything they might associate with our brand name will establish or reinforce the superiority of our product. Power over those of our competitors in their psychological space. Preferably in the way that is most relevant to them.
All how this sense of superiority is established or reinforced are accomplished in concert. Creating a brand strategy means working together consistently without confusion or contradictions among the residue left by different experiences. The bottom line is creating a brand strategy.
Know that brands live in prospects’ psychological space as a residual constellation of memories, perceptions, and feelings.
You must convey the product’s superiority single-mindedly and consistently through a focused brand strategy implementation.
