Master Your Brand Strategy Knowledge

Brand Strategy and the Importance of Starting with Why

• The speaker is Nora, a consultant for small businesses who focuses on brand strategy and growth.

• Nora's company is called Pitcher and she has helped many small businesses since starting 18 months ago.

• Nora believes that small businesses deserve to grow and that they should get more attention and funding.

• Simon Sinek's "Start with Why" concept is integral to Nora's brand strategy approach.

• The Golden Circle (Why, How, What) is the core of Sinek's concept and correlates to different areas of the human brain.

• The reptilian portion of the brain is the decision-making center and is where snap decisions are made based on identity, worldview, beliefs, purpose, and cause.

• Understanding psychology and the brain is critical to understanding why people make certain decisions and how to persuade them.

• The average attention span for humans is about 8 seconds, which means brands only have a short amount of time to catch their attention.

• Memes and visual shorthand are popular because they communicate quickly and effectively in a world of short attention spans.

• A brand is not what the company says it is, but what consumers say it is.

• Consumers are the target audience of a brand and interpret it in their own way.

• It's important for brands to understand their why and communicate it effectively to consumers in a short amount of time.Understanding Brand Strategy and Archetypes

• Brand strategy is the intentional and strategic approach to defining, creating, and maintaining a brand's identity, messaging, and positioning.

• Brand strategy involves understanding the audience, market, competition, and the brand's unique value proposition.

• Brands need to align their messaging and positioning with their audience's needs and desires.

• The Creator economy has allowed consumers to co-opt brands and create their own meaning around them, which brands cannot always control.

• Brands like Nike, Mercedes-Benz, Harley-Davidson, and Fenty Beauty have strong brand positioning and messaging that resonates with their target audience.

• Brand archetypes are a core concept in brand strategy, and there are 12 core archetypes identified by psychologist Carl Jung in the 1930s or 40s.

• The archetypes include the hero, outlaw, lover, everyman, ruler, creator, explorer, sage, magician, caregiver, innocent, and jester.

• Brands need to align with one archetype and stick to it to build recognition and establish a clear identity.

• Archetypes are a collective subconscious that we all have, and brands that embody an archetype tap into that subconscious recognition.

• By aligning with an archetype, brands hold up a mirror to their audience, showing them who they are or who they can aspire to be.

• Brand strategy involves a lot of thought and brainstorming to create messaging and positioning that will appeal to the target audience.

• Archetypes are just one way of thinking about brand strategy, but they are a powerful tool for establishing a clear identity and messaging that resonates with the audience.Core Tenets of Brand Strategy

• Understanding the brand by analyzing the current narrative, marketing messaging, and available assets, and interviewing the leaders, clients, and partners of the brand.

• Analyzing the competitive landscape to identify white space opportunities and differentiate the brand.

• Conducting research, including third-party desk research and consumer research, to understand the market dynamics, category, and target audience.

• Using frameworks like Buratta to map the brand's positioning relative to competitors and identify opportunities for repositioning.

• Conducting stakeholder interviews to gather insights about the brand and its unique attributes.

• Developing the brand's positioning, which is the foundation for all other brand strategy components.

• Writing a brand manifesto and brand essence statement to articulate the brand's purpose and values.

• Creating a creative brief that defines the target audience, problem, solution, and key benefit of the brand's product or service.

• Using archetypes to identify the unique attributes of the brand and differentiate it from competitors.

• Collaborating with designers to align the brand's aesthetic with its positioning and values.

• Using strategy to inform the brand's copy, including about statements and other marketing materials.

• Investing in brand strategy at the beginning to avoid the need for painful repositioning later on.Brand Strategy: Creating a Beloved Brand

• Brand strategy involves exploring and pushing the boundaries of design to build a beloved brand.

• Examples of brands that infuse a sense of wonder and wander in the experiential space were presented.

• Positioning of a brand is important to move from being a benefit or attribute brand to a role, attitude, or territory brand.

• A brand's role and attitude can be a guide, teacher, friend, or have a playful or friendly attitude.

• A territory brand evokes a place, like Corona Beach, and is harder to achieve.

• Content strategy cannot be done without brand strategy, which is like an umbrella that everything else sits under.

• Brand strategy is the first step and is necessary to come up with good content that aligns with the strategy.

• Brand strategy matters as it moves people through the marketing funnel from exposure to advocacy.

• A marketing funnel is an hourglass that kicks back out to build relationships and advocacy.

• Different marketing activities are required throughout the funnel to move people from the top to the bottom.

• A brand's archetype plays a crucial role in brand strategy, and the sub-archetype can reveal more about a brand's personality.

• The presenter's archetype is the lover, and the sub-archetype is the matchmaker, which is a connector of people and facilitator of multiple exchanges.