01.01|branding
Delivering your message with clarity is important. That’s why our proven approach is designed to uncover the evidence needed to build a brand that gets results.
Our DRIVE Brand Strategy approach creates clarity for you, and accountability from discovery to execution. We structure every branding initiative to communicate your brand’s goals, in the language of the customer, with distinction in the marketplace.
Understanding the connection points between these pillars allows us to build a strategy we can defend, from the logic leading our design decisions and rationale behind messaging.
Make your mark, with just a little help.
01.011|discovery and research
That’s why we make sure the work we do with you is guided by a user friendly process. If we can help it, we’ll avoid clever jargon, futile exercises and grandstanding. Sure, it’s nice to sound cool, but it’s even better to be understood. Here’s how we do that.
Understanding the goal
Before diving into a brand project, it’s important that we understand the difference between “a brand” and “branding”. In short, your brand consists of the history, traits and identifying characteristics that determined how people feel about your company, organization or cause. Branding is the proactive effort to influence that feeling through design, marketing and other communications. For more detail on the topic of branding, read this article.
To get the desired results, you’ll need to have clarity of the problem, and the targeted outcome. We work with your team to develop a goal based branding plan so there are realistic expectations and a clear path to success.
Understanding the landscape
Successful branding projects sometimes encounter difficult terrain. This may consist of internal stakeholder perspectives, public relations challenges, historic customer misconceptions or a crowded market. While every organization will need a unique solution, there are certain considerations every brand should take into account. The strategic goals of your organization, the interests and perspectives of your customers and the context of any marketplace dynamics.
Through our approach, DRIVE Brand Strategy, we address each one of these elements with a scalable process that tailored to you. With your team’s participation, we will help your organization to speak the key message of your brand in the language of the consumer with distinction within your marketplace.
A complete brand strategy will inform messaging strategy, design decisions and marketing approach. Connect with us here to learn more about our proven method DRIVE Brand Strategy.
What is a strategy?
Strategy is one of those words that everyone seems to define a little differently. Based on our years of experience in marketing, branding and change management, we’ve seen strategies from binders to one sheets. The most effective can be captured in a single statement supported by 2-4 concise action items.
When your strategy has the benefits of clarity and simplicity, your whole team is able to take it to heart and take action. Our job is to help you get there and when we get there together, we’ll help you execute.
Determine your brand health
The feedback we capture from your target audiences and other market research will uncover strengths and weaknesses. Market challenges can surface in the form of customer perceptions, or marketing priorities that are out of alignment. With this invaluable information, we can fine tune your marketing by focusing on the right message, or marketing channels.
Planning for the future
Annual budgets are annual budgets. That means that we cannot tackle everything at once. But thinking ahead can help optimize the performance of your future dollar. Our strategy work always incorporates future thinking, so that our deliverables today are design with growth and scalability in mind. We’ll always provide recommendations on what to do next, and what to think about for later.