A short guide on building a strong brand strategy
“It is in the roots, not the branches, that a tree’s greatest strength lies.” – Matshona Dhliwayo
Just as trees have a root system, so too must a business possess a brand system and strategy. An impeccable brand strategy anchors and sustains a viable business, nurturing its growth and helping it weather through tough times.
Good branding requires a deep understanding of the brand and the consistent translation of its elements to an external audience. By crafting a solid brand system, you are streamlining all your brand’s values and assets in a cohesive fashion, which will facilitate all your future endeavours.
This is why at Etereo, we believe that branding is the best investment you can make for your business. You learn to communicate naturally to your audience, avoid confusion in your messaging, align with your team, reduce effort in marketing campaigns, save cost, and grant yourself more time to focus for your own work. In other words, you are investing in yourself and the people you work with in the long run.
Discovering your Purpose
It all starts with your purpose.
Why does your brand exist? What are you trying to accomplish with your business? What inspired you to start this enterprise? What problems are you trying to solve?
When you answer all these questions, you will find your brand purpose and be able to lay foundation of your brand.
Many businesses underestimate the value of having a purpose and as a result confuse their target audience with their misaligned messaging and even lose sight of their vision. While every business has to be concerned about work and making money, profit will never be the sole reason a brand exists. People are driven to survive, but in order to thrive and make an impact, there must be more meaning than that.
Purpose gives that meaning.
We help brands uncover this through the auditing phase, where we get to know our clients and analyse their strengths and pain points through thorough research and honest conversation. Done well, everything should be smooth sailing from there.
Building your Brand Strategy
At this stage, the components that make up your entire brand strategy should come together. Applied consistently and accurately across your main touchpoints, your brand identity will materialise and be made known to your audience.
Our Approach in Practice
Think about the renowned brand giants today. Not only do you know IKEA or Starbucks, you know what to expect from them. These are brands that are clear about their purpose and stayed true to their identity, even one hundred years later.
In a more local context, what are the feelings the Kopitiams in Singapore bring you when you sit in their shops and have your toast and Hainanese coffee? There are many shops from this franchise, but you can count on them to provide a certain experience (warmth, familiarity, comfort, convenience and affordable, delicious food). In fact, here is what the tree root system of this heritage brand might look like:
Ready? Let’s get started!
Now that you have an idea about how branding is done, we hope we’ve given you more confidence in building your brand strategy. Try your hand at filling the template below as a quick little exercise to get started!
Of course, this is a very short and simplified summary of the process. Every brand journey is unique and complex, and we are happy to guide you along the way.
Drop us a message if you are ready to strengthen the roots of your tree and grow a viable and magnificent brand.
