Defining brand strategy: meaning + examples & models

Introduction

The purpose of a brand strategy is clear: to ensure that your potential customers know that your brand exists and what it stands for. Having a sharp brand strategy also helps you maintain focus and make clear choices for your brand. The result is a strong brand that your target audience feels connected to.

What is a brand strategy?

What exactly is a brand strategy? In short, it is the direction of your brand. Your brand strategy tells what your brand 's mission, vision and values are. What your brand stands for, who your target audience is and what the goals of the brand are. Everything you do in your business should be consistent with your brand strategy. That long-term strategy gives you focus and ultimately ensures that your brand settles into the minds of the target audience you want to reach.

Why is a brand strategy important?

A brand strategy determines the success of your business because your strategy is the basis of everything that happens within your company. A good brand strategy is a mix of marketing and psychology. On the one hand, it is about making your brand and its unique characteristics known. On the other hand, your brand strategy plays into the thinking of your target audience. If you handle that well, people will start to feel connected to your brand. This is how you create brand ambassadors, who actively promote your brand's values.

Different types of market strategies

There are different types of brand strategies, which determine how a brand is set up:

1. Umbrella or family brand

An umbrella or family brand is one strong brand under which several sub-brands can be marketed. An example is Calvé. Calvé produces different product types under the same brand name. Convenient, because it saves the company from having to invest in a new brand each time. Unfortunately, this strategy is also vulnerable. If something goes wrong with one Calvé product, it reverts to all the brand's products.

2. Mono-branding

This involves attaching sub-brands to the main brand. Unilever has become big with this strategy. Unilever produces numerous products, all of which have their own name and brand.

3. Sub-branding

Sub-branding has one parent brand with several sub-brands. The difference with other branding strategies, is that parts and development are shared. The auto industry is a good example of this. Think of the Kia (Picanto, Sportage) or Fiat (Panda, 500). This allows sub-brands to cater to specific target groups, while still riding on the good reputation of the parent brand.

4. Endorsed branding

In endorsed branding, multiple brands also hang below the main brand. The difference is that the main brand is less visibly present. It only serves as the basis for a clear own identity of the sub-brands. A good example is Post-its. Everyone knows this brand, but not everyone knows that it is part of the big 3M.

5. Hybrid branding

You can also choose to combine two or more of the above brand strategies within your company. This can be useful, for example, if you are acquiring new brands. It depends on your company and brand which is the best strategy for you.

Here's how to define your brand strategy

Defining a brand strategy is a careful process. In the strategy, you answer some basic questions:

• What are your brand's objectives and how are they communicated?
• What problems does your brand solve?
• Who is your ideal customer? What does your customer need and how can your brand make them feel better?
• What do you want customers to think about you?
• Who are your competitors?
• What makes you different from others?
• How do you get your customer engaged with your brand? What is the character of your brand and how does your brand appeal to customers?

Defining your brand strategy in four steps

Using these four steps, determine your brand strategy:

1. Defining brand identity

No strong brand without a strong identity. Therefore, creating your brand strategy begins with defining your brand identity or brand identity. Who are you? What does your brand stand for? What are your mission and vision statement? What are your brand values, the character traits that define your brand and that customers can relate to? In doing so, choose distinctive characteristics that go beyond such container terms as "trustworthy" and "integrity.

2. Establishing the positioning of your brand

Step two is to establish your brand's positioning. Here, you determine your brand's end goal: what do you want to achieve? You map out the market, including your target groups and competition. In this way, you analyze what makes your brand distinctive and for which group of people your brand solves problems.

3. Develop brand concept and marketing plan

Once your brand identity is clear, you can have it translated into a logo, corporate identity and tone of voice. This is the look and feel of your brand, the way your brand shows itself to the world. This, too, is a very careful process. Colors, imagery, typeface, shapes: everything must fit seamlessly with what your brand wants to convey. The tone of voice is also very important. Do you address customers formally or informally? Do you use humor or puns, or do you keep it businesslike? All communication inside and outside your company must match what your brand wants to convey. In the brand concept you can also incorporate your marketing plan: how are you going to reach your target group, through what means and campaigns, how often and when?

4. The route to implementation

Your brand identity and positioning are clear. Then it's time for step 4: developing a practical pathway to bring your strategy to life and achieve your goals.

Your brand strategy is never finished

Developing your brand strategy is not something you do once. It is an ongoing process, because your company and the world around it are also constantly changing. You have to keep responding to these new trends and developments. Because only then will your brand remain future-proof.