With over a decade and a half of working with global heavyweights and spirited startups alike, one glaring reality has become apparent: brand strategy is mostly considered an afterthought for many businesses. In organisations where the sales target dominates the boardroom agenda, bringing up stuff like “ethos” and “storytelling” will surely get you lambasted out of the typical sales room.
Contrary to popular misconception, brand strategy is more than just creative work. Organisations relate the word “branding” to a colouring book and strongly believe that real sales only come from picking up the phone and fixing a meeting. But what happens after that? You attend the meeting with a mere price sheet?
That's where brand strategy comes in, not only to swoon the prospect with compelling storytelling and captivating visuals, but also to clearly communicate real value.
But real brand development strategies focus on “the bad” and “the ugly” and not just “the good”. This includes both the internals of your organisation and the harsh realities of the industry itself. It is about fixing real-world problems with real-world solutions, instead of just telling your prospect you’re more cost-effective.
Beyond the Delusion of "Pretty" Branding
When we think of branding strategy, the mind naturally gravitates toward aesthetic appeal. Now, while that isn’t wrong at all, if the plan only focuses on the superficial, it is bound to crumble when tested by real-world market pressures.
A smartly laid out brand positioning strategy must also focus on the “ugly”. It isn’t merely a collection of emotions, messaging, and design. Instead, think of your brand strategy as a set of actionable X-Factors. These are the underlying structural components that give you a tangible edge over your competition.
Good strategy looks at the whole picture, refusing to shy away from the gritty realities of your market landscape. To illustrate this, let’s look at your brand's journey through the metaphor of a rose. To truly appreciate the flower, you cannot just focus on the bloom; you have to reckon with the entire plant - thorns and all.
The Rose Metaphor
To build a brand that resonates and survives, you must look at the entire ecosystem of your business.
Here is how the anatomy of a rose translates to a winning go-to-market strategy:
1. Thorn-y Confrontation
What are the thorns in your business? They are the scariest, most intimidating obstacles your product or service faces within the context of your specific industry.
Every industry has its thorns. It could be a highly saturated market, a notoriously difficult supply chain, shifting regulatory compliance, or deeply ingrained consumer skepticism. The natural instinct for many businesses is to carefully navigate around these thorns, ignoring them in their marketing and focusing solely on the positive.
However, industry leaders do the exact opposite - they grab the thorns. By confronting the ugliest parts of their industry head-on, they build resilience and authenticity into their brand DNA.
If your product solves the most painful problem in your sector, that thorn becomes your strongest unique selling proposition (USP). A well-designed brand perception strategy identifies these scary obstacles and transforms them into strategic stepping stones, proving to your audience that your brand is tough enough to handle the realities of the market.
2. The System
If thorns are the scary, looming obstacles, the stems represent the everyday grind. Stems are the daily challenges you have got to get a firm grip on in order to run your operations smartly and smoothly.
While they might not be as dramatic or terrifying as the thorns, the stems are the vital support system of your business. They include your internal culture, your customer service protocols, your logistics, and your consistent daily communication. A weak stem will not support a large flower.
In brand strategy, strengthening the stems means ensuring that your internal operations perfectly align with your external brand promise. Failing to do this is basically self-sabotage.
An effective brand strategy audits these everyday operations and integrates them into the broader game plan. It ensures that every touchpoint reinforces the brand's processes and core values so that when the bloom arises, your organisation will not snap under its own weight.
3. Capetalise
Finally, we reach the petals. These are the special opportunities you can leverage to evolve your brand offerings and truly captivate your audience.
The petals are what most businesses mistakenly believe to constitute the entirety of branding. But they mainly comprise moments of delight, the innovative product launches, the viral marketing campaigns, and the exceptional user experiences. But as we've established, petals can only flourish if the stems are strong and the thorns are confronted.
Once your foundation is secure, identifying your petals becomes a powerful exercise in growth. What unique cultural moment can your brand speak to? What new technology can you adopt to create a frictionless experience for your users? How can you evolve your offerings to not just meet, but exceed, market expectations? A holistic brand experience strategy uses these special opportunities to keep the brand fresh, relevant, and visually appealing to your target demographic.
The Big Picture
The most successful brands in the world do not just happen by accident. Luck does of course play a huge role, but apart from purely passionate execution, they are the result of meticulous planning, a deep understanding of their market, and an unflinching willingness to look at the whole picture.
They do not treat design and strategy as afterthoughts because they understand that having a strategy is a lot better than just winging it.
A winning brand strategy for business growth requires a delicate balance of confronting the ugly and capitalising on the beautiful.
That is what ultimately contributes to creating a betterment towards society.
What Are You Grabbing?
Take a moment to evaluate your current game plan. Are you only reaching for the petals, hoping that aesthetics alone will carry your business to success? Or are you bravely confronting the thorns and reinforcing your stems by building a comprehensive strategy that can withstand the rigours of your industry?
It’s time to stop treating your brand strategy as an afterthought. It's time to embrace the whole picture.
