In today’s Two-Minute Tips video, we’re answering the question: What is brand strategy? Click below to watch the video, or keep scrolling to read the transcript.

I’m a firm believer that when a business owner’s brand strategy is integrated and aligned with their marketing planning, it unlocks the business’s greatest potential. 

So I wanted to spend some time breaking down some of the most common questions around the term “brand strategy”. What is brand strategy? Is that the same as branding? How is it different from marketing strategy? Etc. 

So, let’s dig in … 

What IS brand strategy?

Let’s start by talking about what brand strategy IS. 

• Brand strategy is the articulation of the core components of your brand. This includes:
  • your mission
  • your audience
  • your brand position
  • and your message strategy

TIP: These are all of the internal things that help make up what your brand is, what you stand for, and how you serve the people you target. It’s used as the foundation for your graphic identity, your copywriting, and all of your external marketing material. 

• It is also the expression of your brand differentiator — it really distills down what your special sauce is, and why your business is important and valuable. 
• Most importantly, it’s an INTERNAL document. It’s not the external marketing content you share with the world. It’s an internal strategic foundation that serves as the guide and the compass for everything you do externally. 

What brand strategy IS NOT

Ok, so what is it NOT? 

• Brand strategy is not your external marketing content. It’s not an external document that’s meant to sound like copywriting. Again, it is an internal document used to guide what you do externally. 
• It’s not a running list of everything your company offers. It’s a distillation of all of that — meaning it is meant to really encapsulate your point of differentiation and not just be a running bulleted list. 
• It’s not an ever-changing fluid thing. Your brand strategy should be able to stand the test of time. Yes, it should be reviewed and revisited from time to time, but it should be based on unchanging truths about your brand that will stand the test of time. 
• Finally, it is not your brand identity. Meaning your brand strategy is not your colors, your logo, your fonts, your photography style, etc. Your brand identity should be created based on your brand strategy. Your brand strategy is that internal document that you should always use as your point of reference to start from. 

So, let’s recap. 

Brand Strategy IS … 

• The core components of your brand
• The foundation of your brand identity and marketing material
• The expression of your differentiator
• An INTERNAL strategy to guide external efforts

And Brand Strategy IS NOT … 

• An external marketing document
• A running list of everything you do 
• An ever-changing fluid thing that can’t stand the test of time
• Your brand identity — logos, fonts, colors, photography, etc

Want to learn more about brand strategy? Take a look at the Resources and other Blog Articles on my website, or feel free to reach out if you want to chat!