Want to know how to produce a killer brand strategy to crack the Melbourne market, or anywhere else for that matter? While there’s no magic wand-waving solution, there’s a solid foundational formula you can follow. We also have some key tips from years of experience doing it ourselves.
What Does a Brand Strategy Do?
Let’s start with the basics. You need a brand strategy to get your business’ name out there and to establish yourself as the go-to in your industry. How you choose to do that, though, is up to you. What matters is that, with a good brand strategy, your messaging will be consistent, allowing you to better target your key audiences and convince them you’re authentic.
What Are the Components of a Good Brand Strategy?
If you were to break down the brand strategy of any big-name business, you’d find they all have four things in common.
They Tell a Story
No matter the society, no matter the age, no matter the content, people love a delightful story. It’s how we interpret the world around us and learn best. We are also more likely to connect with something or someone if there’s a relevant story attached. Along with that crucial connection, we’re also more likely to remember the story and whatever the story was promoting.
Your brand story doesn’t have to be long or complex. You don’t need to write an epic like Beowulf or The Iliad. Something short, simple and that creates emotion is all that you need. For instance, if you think back on ads that entered the cultural zeitgeist of Australia, everyone (of a certain age!) remembers ‘Not happy, Jan!’
This was a clever ad from Yellow Pages. They created a story around hapless Jan, who had to remember to get her business’ ad in the Yellow Pages. Poor Jan, though, forgot to get the ad in on time! The new Yellow Pages were delivered to her boss and suddenly Jan makes herself scarce before her boss yells the line that’s been happily shouted by Aussies for years since: “Not happy, Jan!”
The story here makes us laugh at Jan trying to escape under the radar while her boss tries to keep calm and fails. We never learn Jan’s boss’ name nor what the business does. But that doesn’t matter. We connect with the ad because of the humor, and the story of the angry boss and the in-trouble employee is one many of us can relate to.
This is just one snippet in the larger Yellow Pages story though. Yellow Pages’ story is about getting contact information to people easily — and it’s a brand for everyone. Therefore, having an ad that resonates with a lot of people helps to tell this larger story. It had, at the time, also positioned itself as the go-to for finding information, so Jan forgetting to put the ad in was important.
Your brand’s story may be that you’re dedicated and hardworking and want to make the world a better place. Alternatively, it may be that you believe in having the best of the best and want to sell the most superior products possible.
They Have a Clear & Unique Voice
The marketplace is noisy. Brands are constantly trying to be heard over competitors to attract and keep customers. But if you sound like someone else, or the rest of the pack, is that really going to work?
Unfortunately, no. That’s why another fundamental of any brand strategy is the brand voice. This is how the brand speaks to the world and its customers. Any communications, including advertising and website copy, will need to fit this voice to ensure it is strong and clear. Similarly, work needs to be undertaken to understand what the best voice for your brand is. This includes researching competitor voices; industry standards and what customers best react to.
For some brands, being approachable, friendly, and casual is a fantastic way to encourage customers to view them as trusted friend. Alternatively, other brands prefer to be a little more aloof, mature, and sophisticated. This can make consumers view them, their products, and their services as a status symbol that’s highly desirable. Whatever voice you choose for your brand, it needs to create that emotional response in consumers and get them coming back time after time.
They Have Considered Design & Imagery
Your brand’s imagery and design choices should align with this voice. While they may be more subtle than a story or written communication, design does impact how we feel. For instance, you only need to look at the psychology of color theory to see how critical the right colors, shapes, and images are. Many of us view red as an active but aggressive color. Therefore, this might not be the best choice for a spa and massage therapist. Alternatively, blue often inspires trust, so many banks and financial services use it.
They Have Defined, Relevant Values
In the last decade or so, there has been a definite shift to consumers valuing brands that are authentic. This means brands need to seriously consider their values and how best to represent them through their brand strategy. In their own way, your brand’s values can even be selling points. For example, consumers may be willing to pay more for a product if they know the brand values of giving back to the local community.
Like every other element of your branding strategy, emotion needs to be at the core of how you portray these values, and which ones you choose to promote. Do you value quality and manufacturing locally? This can encourage trust. Do you believe in closing the gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians? This can drive faith and commitment from consumers.
So, What Happens If You Include All This in Your Brand Strategy?
If you nail these branding basics, you start building up your business in three ways.
Achieve Consistency for Consumers
Firstly, you’ll have a strong definition and understanding of your brand. This then allows you to be incredibly consistent with all your marketing materials. Consumers respond well to consistency — change can make us feel uneasy. If we think we know a brand and then it does something unexpected, we may choose to go with a competitor.
Additionally, when you have this brand consistency, you are better able to set benchmarks and long-term goals for your business. This is because you’ll know what your values are and what story you want to tell, along with the foundations of how you intend to get there.
Gain Recognition to Help Build Your Standing
With this consistent message, you can start to make a name for yourself in your corner of the marketplace. Over time, with the right marketing strategies, you can really become a household name.
Create a Community for Further Growth
Behind every excellent brand is a community of like-minded individuals who believe in the brand. If you want your business to do well, you need a community of consumers who repeatedly return. They also can be a vital marketing tool, providing advertising opportunities (both paid and free), as well as creating content you can use to grow your following and reinforce your brand’s commitment to its values.
But How Do You Create a Really Effective Brand Strategy?
We’re going to let you in on some industry secrets now. Creating a killer brand strategy takes practice and plenty of work, but we’ve got some tips that will give you a leg up.
Try a Branding Workshop
If you’re struggling to define your brand and nail down those components, a brand workshop may be just what you need. In this workshop, you should have key stakeholders and creatives for your business. Together, you can brainstorm and discuss several aspects of your brand. The answers will help you better understand your brand and craft those brand strategy components.
Some things you can use the workshop to define include:
- What makes your brand different from others out there?
These are your unique selling points (USPs) and will be reflected in your values or story.
- Who is your audience? What do they want?
If your brand is going to be effective, you need to know who it’s for and what makes them act.
- Who are your competitors? What are their branding strategies?
Your brand doesn’t exist in a vacuum. It needs to respond to the world around it, including its competitors. To do so, you need to know what they’re doing. And while it’s unlikely you’ll be able to get your direct internal brand documents, you can get a clever idea of their strategy from looking at their marketing materials.
Build Out Your Findings to Reach the Heart of the Matter
The workshop isn’t over yet though. You need to take these definitions and descriptions and explore how they would work for a brand strategy. Number one should be working out how you convey your brand values. This should be multifaceted and underpin everything your brand does, even if it is at times subtle.
Similarly, you need to think about how you will connect with your audience. You have lots of tools at your disposal: design, voice, copy, advertising, and social media. Don’t be overwhelmed by the choice though. Remember, too, that some platforms suit certain messages better than others. This may be because of how it is set up or what level of interactivity your audience can have there, among other things.
Match Your Story to Your Values
We discussed earlier that a story is one of the key components of a good brand strategy. But it’s easy to stumble on this one and for your story to miss the mark. One way to minimize the likelihood of this happening though is to pick a story that more closely aligns with your values. For instance, if you believe in giving back to the community, your brand’s story may include elements like giving everyone an opportunity to try your products or services. Alternatively, if one of the values of your brand is only selling high-quality products, luxury and sophistication may be key parts of your story.
Find a Digital Marketing Agency That Gets You
It’s fair to say that a brand strategy is a lot of work, not only to create but also to maintain. When you’re in the thick of running a business, you may not have the time to sit down and figure out these big questions. That’s where a digital marketing agency can help you.
Many agencies offer branding services, whether you’re new to the market or want to reinvent your image. They can guide you through a workshop, with specially created activities to make finding those answers easy, as well as then refine them into the heart of a branding strategy, which you can go on and use for years to come.
Of course, not all digital agencies are equal. You need to be precise about who you trust your brand with. Ideally, you want an agency that collaborates with you and that takes the time to learn and understand your goals. They’re going to be helping you achieve them — they should get them and what they mean for your business. Just like any part of a brand strategy, it pays to take your time, think deeply, and consider your options closely.
Are You Looking for a Brand Strategy to Take Melbourne & Australia By Storm?
The sooner you get started on your branding strategy, the sooner you can see the results of it. If you’re wanting to fast-track your brand strategy, we recommend using Blank Theory. A digital marketing agency based out of Melbourne, they help brands discover their authentic selves and create high-quality brand strategies. They also offer a range of performance marketing services, and website design and development services too so you can ensure your brand strategy runs through every part of your brand’s online presence. Make sure to contact them!
