How To Excel in Your Brand Strategy For Sustainable Growth

Brand Storytelling

Brand storytelling isn’t about spinning fairy tales or epic sagas. It’s more like connecting the dots to form a clear picture of who you are as a brand. It’s about crafting a narrative that weaves together your brand’s purpose, values, and personality into a cohesive and compelling story.

Think of it like a puzzle. Each piece – your mission, vision, and values – is part of the bigger picture. When you put these pieces together in a way that makes sense, you create a narrative that tells your brand’s story.

This narrative is a powerful tool for building a strong brand. It’s not about selling a product or a service; it’s about sharing who you are, what you stand for, and why you do what you do. It’s about creating an emotional connection with your audience, making your brand more relatable and memorable.

A well-crafted brand story can make your audience feel like they’re part of your journey. It’s about shared experiences, shared values, and shared aspirations. It’s about creating a bond that goes beyond the transactional and touches the emotional.

So, think about your brand’s story. How can you connect the dots to create a clear, compelling narrative? How can you make your audience feel part of your journey? Remember, a good story is worth a thousand sales pitches. So, start crafting your brand’s story today.

Brand Voice 

Imagine walking into a party. You hear a familiar voice from across the room, and instantly, you know who it is. You can’t see them, but that voice is so distinctive, so unique, that it can only belong to one person. That’s the power of voice, and guess what? Brands have voices too!

Your brand voice is like the vocal cords of your brand’s personality. It’s the tone, the style, and the words you use when communicating with your audience. It could be professional and authoritative, friendly and casual, quirky and offbeat, or anything in between. It’s all about expressing your brand’s character and attitude.

But why does it matter? Well, just like that distinctive voice at the party, a consistent brand voice makes your brand instantly recognizable. It’s like a sonic logo, making your brand stand out in the cacophony of the marketplace.

And it’s not just about being heard; it’s about being understood. A well-defined brand voice helps your audience get to know you. It makes your brand more relatable and more human. It’s like conversing with your audience, not just talking at them but talking with them.

Difference Between Brand Strategy and Marketing Strategy

While both are essential, brand strategy and marketing strategy serve different purposes. Brand strategy defines who you are as a brand – your identity, values, and purpose. It’s a long-term plan that guides all aspects of your business, including logo design and social media content.

On the other hand, marketing strategy is about how you communicate your brand to the world. It’s a plan that outlines how you will reach your target audience, what channels you will use, and what messages you will convey. It’s more flexible and can change based on market trends and customer behavior, whereas brand strategy stays consistent and irreversible over a long period of time.

Examples and Tips on Brand Strategy

Let’s take a look at some of the top brands and the brand strategies they excel in:

• TOMS – Brand Purpose: The purpose of TOMS is simple yet powerful – for every product purchased, they assist a person in need. This purpose, consistently communicated across all marketing channels, fosters a deep emotional bond with their customers.
• Tesla – Brand Vision: Guided by a vision to be the most compelling car company of the 21st century, Tesla is driving the world’s transition to electric vehicles. This vision fuels their innovative product development, striking a chord with their target audience.
• Patagonia – Brand Mission: Patagonia is on a mission to build top-quality products, minimize harm, and use business as a force for environmental solutions. This mission permeates their products, business practices, and marketing efforts.
• IKEA – Brand Values: IKEA values affordability and functionality in design, aiming to make good design accessible to as many people as possible. These values steer their product development and marketing strategies.
• Apple – Brand Positioning: Apple has carved out a position as an innovation and design leader. This positioning shines through in their products, marketing efforts, and customer experience.
• Harley Davidson – Brand Personality: Freedom, rebellion, and individuality define Harley Davidson’s brand personality. These traits are echoed in their products, marketing efforts, and customer experience.
• Old Spice – Brand Voice: Old Spice speaks with a voice that’s humorous, confident, and a touch absurd. This distinctive voice, consistent across all marketing channels, creates a unique and memorable brand experience.
• Airbnb – Brand Story: Airbnb tells a story of belonging anywhere. This narrative, woven into their marketing efforts, creates an emotional connection with their customers.
• Hermes – Brand Heritage: Hermes’s heritage is steeped in craftsmanship, quality, and tradition. This heritage is showcased in their products and marketing efforts.
• Nike – Tagline: Nike’s tagline, “Just Do It,” is more than just a slogan. It’s a powerful expression of their brand philosophy, a call to action that resonates with their target audience and sets them apart from the competition.

Measuring Brand Strategy Success

It’s important to measure the success of your brand strategy to understand its effectiveness and make necessary adjustments.

Key performance indicators (KPIs) such as brand awareness, recall, loyalty, and equity can provide valuable insights. Tracking these metrics can help you optimize your brand strategy and achieve your business goals.

Let’s take the example of Coca-Cola, one of the most recognized brands in the world, and how they measure their brand strategy success:

• Brand Awareness: Coca-Cola uses various tools and methods to measure brand awareness. For instance, they conduct surveys in different markets worldwide to understand how many people know about Coca-Cola. They also monitor online and offline mentions of their brand. With a high level of brand awareness, Coca-Cola is often the first brand that comes to mind when consumers think of soft drinks.

• Brand Recall: Coca-Cola has a high brand recall due to its distinctive logo, color scheme, and memorable advertising campaigns. They measure this by asking consumers to name soft drink brands from memory and noting how many people mention Coca-Cola.

• Brand Loyalty: Coca-Cola has a loyal customer base, many of whom choose Coca-Cola products over competitors. They measure brand loyalty through repeat purchases and loyalty programs. For instance, they track how many customers consistently choose Coca-Cola products over other brands and how many participate in their loyalty programs.

• Brand Equity: Coca-Cola has strong brand equity, as evidenced by its dominant market share in the soft drink industry and the premium price consumers are willing to pay for its products. They measure brand equity through market share data, pricing data, and customer loyalty metrics.

By regularly tracking these KPIs, Coca-Cola can understand the effectiveness of its brand strategy. If they notice a dip in any of these metrics, they can take corrective action, such as launching a new marketing campaign or improving their products. This ongoing measurement and optimization have been key to Coca-Cola’s enduring success as a global brand.

Challenges in Brand Strategy

Creating a successful brand strategy is not without its challenges. It requires a deep understanding of your brand, customers, and the market. It also requires consistency and commitment, as it’s a long-term plan that should guide all your business decisions. However, with careful planning and execution, these challenges can be overcome, leading to a strong and successful brand.

Consider the case of Nokia, a brand that faced significant challenges in its brand strategy:

Nokia, once a dominant player in the mobile phone industry, faced significant challenges in its brand strategy with the advent of smartphones.

1. Understanding the Market: One of the key challenges Nokia faced was a deep understanding of the market. When smartphones started gaining popularity, Nokia failed to recognize the shift in consumer preferences toward these new devices. They continued to focus on their traditional mobile phones, which led to a decline in their market share.
2. Consistency and Commitment: Nokia’s brand was associated with durability and reliability. However, as they tried to catch up with the smartphone trend, they released a series of products that were inconsistent in quality and performance. This inconsistency damaged their brand image and led to a loss of customer trust.
3. Long-term Plan: Nokia’s brand strategy lacked a clear long-term plan for the smartphone era. They switched operating systems multiple times, from Symbian to Windows and finally to Android, causing confusion among customers and developers.

However, Nokia has been working to overcome these challenges:

1. Understanding the Market: Nokia has invested in market research to better understand consumer preferences in the smartphone era. They have recognized the importance of features like camera quality, battery life, and app ecosystems in the current market.
2. Consistency and Commitment: Nokia has committed to improving the quality and performance of its smartphones. They have focused on their strengths, such as durable design and long battery life, to provide a consistent brand experience.
3. Long-term Plan: Nokia has adopted Android as its primary operating system, providing a clear direction for its product development. This decision has helped them attract more app developers and offer a wider range of apps to their customers.

Through careful planning and execution, Nokia is overcoming the challenges in its brand strategy and rebuilding its brand in the smartphone market.