Your brand is your business’s most valuable asset. It sets you apart from your competitors and tells your target market who you are, what you stand for, and why they should buy from you. So, it’s no surprise that an effective brand strategy is crucial. But designing a new brand strategy presents a challenge; it can be costly and overwhelming.
Luckily, we have a comprehensive guide to creating brand strategy templates that you can try for yourself. We will also walk you through key concepts of branding and the brand strategy process, equipping you with a deeper understanding of what we do.
Let’s get started!
What is a Brand Strategy?
Brand strategy is a plan of action that guides a brand's journey to where it wants to be. It’s the big picture, the overarching roadmap for what a company stands for, how it communicates with its audience, and how to differentiate itself from competitors. The brand strategy involves setting goals, determining target audiences, crafting messaging and positioning, identifying the core mission of the business, and building an emotional connection with customers.
Take note that brand strategy is different from brand tactics. While strategy is the overall course taken to build a brand, tactics are every step taken toward it. Tactics are the day-to-day executions that support the overarching goals of the brand strategy. Examples of brand tactics include:
- Logo - Designing the color scheme, shapes, messaging, and theme
- Website - Landing pages, newsletters, call to action content, website speed
- Social Media - Influencer audit, social media posts
Why is Brand Strategy Important?
A winning brand strategy helps you stand out from your competition, build trust and loyalty with customers, increase sales and profits, establish yourself as a leader in your industry, and make it easier to introduce new products or services. Additionally, having a great brand strategy can help make the development of tactical initiatives, such as marketing campaigns, much more efficient and less costly.
Suppose you know your brand, mission statement, and key messages. In that case, it becomes much simpler to develop a successful marketing campaign because you have a clearer understanding of who you’re targeting and what message will resonate with them.
For example, Apple's brand vision and strategy focused on providing top-notch products with a luxurious design, intuitive user interfaces, and excellent customer service. This brand vision, in turn, has enabled the company to achieve tremendous success year after year and become one of the most valuable companies in the world.
How to Build Your Brand Strategy?
Here are the things to keep in mind first before building your brand strategy. Notes that this provides a brand strategy framework for your roadmap for building your brand..
Establish your Core Brand Values
The first thing to do is to know the backbone of your brand strategy. Answer questions like: What are the things I commit to doing?
Here are some of the ideas that established brands used as their value proposition and brand narrative that you might want to use for yourself:
Creativity
One of the things you can be creative about is making the personalization of your products or services one of your brand values. Oftentimes, customers are looking for an experience and creative agency of the things that they can call their own.
Cost-effectiveness
You can think of this as your brand promise if you have found a way to make a service or product cheaper or more accessible without risking quality.
Honesty
People are afraid of things they don’t know, and transparency is a welcome value in your brand positioning. People also want companies that are straightforward with their purpose.
Trust
Clients want to know if the services and products they have are consistent with quality and their core values are on brand. Putting this as a priority often builds brand loyalty.
Growth
People who invest in you see your growth potential. Put this in front and center in your brand positioning to make them see that you are confident in your pursuit as a leading brand in the market
Ethical/Advocacy
Philanthropic and emphatic causes as your value proposition evoke emotional attachment, especially if you have a larger target audience. People want to see a business that runs not just for profit but for something bigger.
Innovation
Development in technology is always something a lot of people look forward to. Let them know that you are willing to adapt to the progress.
Sustainability
This is when your investment in your values is for long-term development. This is often the case when you are seeking longevity or minimizing the negative impact of your operations, whether economical, social, or ecological.
No matter what you came up with, you have to ensure that they’re reflected in every aspect of your business, from operations to marketing. Consistency is one of the key aspects of building your brand value and unique selling proposition. After creating your core values, then you have to determine what sets you apart from the rest. Know your unique value proposition and identify what makes your product, service, or business unique; use this to differentiate yourself from the competition.
Identify your Brand Purpose
In extension, defining your value and unique value proposition is to determine your branding purpose. Your brand purpose is a statement that captures the reason why your company or brand exists. Here are some advantages to keep in mind when you decide on your brand purpose.
- Your brand values should encompass what makes you unique and show customers how you can solve their problems or improve their lives.
- The purpose must encompass not just your customers, but the whole of society.
- Your branding efforts should be beyond making a profit.
- Your brand purpose should elicit emotional investment from your clients.
Often the statement goes like “We believe in…”, “We want to…”, “We exist to…”, etc. Again, this has to be consistent with the brand's purpose and brand guidelines.
Perhaps the most well-cited existing brand example is Patagonia, which centered its brand mission on taking care of the environment. Moreover, its founder, Yvon Chouinard, is committed to donating his ownership of the company to address climate change issues. Your company brand position doesn’t have to be as grand as Chouinard's, but a purpose, especially things we deem helpful and emphatic, is effective in building your brand.
Identify your Ideal Customer
Understandably, you want to attract as many customers as possible, but brand strategy keeps track of your core audience - the group of people who will likely take an interest and buy your product. Knowing who you want to reach with your brand strategy efforts is essential to developing an effective branding strategy, as it allows you to keep a clearer picture of how to create your brand personality. Take note of some of the factors in choosing your target audience.
- Interest - knowing this makes your brand personality messaging more personalized and relatable.
- Purchase Intent - knowing this, know the specificity of products that target customers are looking for
- Subcultures - knowing this allows you to keep track of how a person’s interest in life affects their purchasing decisions.
Establish your target audience by creating your customer personas, and focusing on key pain points, so you can visualize a certain group of people who are more likely to purchase your product. Check out our niche differentiation strategy guide!
Establish your Brand Visual Identity
Your visual identity is how your customers will see and remember your brand personality. So, it’s important that your visual identity accurately reflects who you are as a company and conveys the brand messaging you want to send. Elements like your logo, color palette, typography, and imagery should all work together to create a cohesive visual identity that accurately represents your brand identity. Here are some features that create a one-of-a-kind visual identity for your brand:
Unique
A brand’s visual identity must set you apart from your competitors. You have to be recognizable at a glance.
Simple
You don’t have to overwhelm your audience with a grandiose design. Mostly, a simple statement in your brand's visual identity is powerful enough to convey what it is trying to say.
Appropriate
In building a brand’s visual identity, you have to keep in mind how to make a picture out of your core values, make a statement in your brand purpose, and stay true to the interests of your target audience.
As much as possible, a brand’s visual identity must stand the test of time, but rebranding is something companies have to look forward to in building their brand. Doing so keeps you relevant and tells a message in the market that you are willing to grow and adapt as a company.
Establish your Brand Voice and Messaging
One of the brand elements to let your audience know that you are keeping up with their trends is to know your brand's tone and voice. This is the personality, your brand personality, of how you convey your messaging in your social media post, mission statement, content writing, advertising, etc. Here are some effective brand voice examples:
Professional
This is a common brand voice to use if your target audience is the type that only trusts companies that know what they are doing. They use highly technical terms and specific messaging when they create content. You can expect brand personality in B2B companies.
Humorous
This brand voice is often used in rebranding, especially for brands that have a bigger target audience. Humor through knowledge from trends like memes and sass can be observed in social media posts from companies like Wendy’s fast food chain and language learning app Duolingo.
Emphatic
This is the common brand voice who have particular philanthropic advocacy like Patagonia, in its use of inclusive language and cultural sensitivity as its core message.
Remember, whatever your brand’s voice and tone are, it must be consistent across all channels, from website content to social media posts. If you seek to change it, it must be done so to rebrand your brand position and company.
Simple but Effective Brand Strategy Template
This simple brand strategy template is a concise way to outline the plan you will take to build your brand.
One Page Brand Strategy Blueprint
Brand Name: _________________________
Date: _________________________
1. The Core Purpose: Why We Exist Beyond Making a Profit
This is the heart of your brand: principles that guide every decision.
Mission (Our Purpose):
What we do, who we do it for, and how we do it every day.
______________________________________________________________
Vision (Our Dream):
The future we are working to create. The impact we want to have.
______________________________________________________________
2. Brand: How We Want to be Seen
Core Values:
The 3-4 fundamental beliefs that guide our behavior and culture.
(e.g., Authenticity, Customer Empowerment, Innovative Simplicity)
- Value 1: ___________________________
- Value 2: ___________________________
- Value 3: ___________________________
Target Audience:
Who we are truly speaking to and serving.
______________________________________________________________
Brand Personality:
If our brand were a person, how would we describe it? (e.g., The Expert, The Inspirational Guide, The Reliable Neighbor)
______________________________________________________________
3. The Plan: Our Pathway to Growth
This is our actionable plan to achieve our vision, built upon our core foundation.
Goal and Strategy
This is our actionable plan to achieve our vision, built upon our core foundation.
e.g., Increase brand awareness by 25% in 6 months by focusing on social media campaigns
- ______________________________ by ______________________________
- ______________________________ by ______________________________
- ______________________________ by ______________________________
- ______________________________ by ______________________________
- ______________________________ by ______________________________
What Success Looks Like
Once our goals are accomplished, we will have achieved:
- A brand known for: __________________________________________________
- A customer base that feels: __________________________________________
- A market position that is: _____________________________________________
- The foundation for our next big goal: __________________________________
How to Use This Template:
- Fill in the Blanks: Gather your team and brainstorm each section of "The Core" first. This is the most critical part.
- Set SMART Goals: Make your goals Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound.
- Be Specific in Tactics: The "Key Tactics" column should be clear actions anyone on the team could pick up and start working on.
- Measure Relentlessly: Define what data you'll track in "Success Metrics" to know if you're winning.
- Keep it Visible: Design this template, print this page, and put it on your wall. You can use Canva or other brand design tools to make it aesthetic. It should be a daily reference point for your decisions.
FAQs
How do you define a successful brand strategy?
A successful brand strategy is one that clearly communicates your brand’s purpose, values, and unique positioning in the market. It helps build recognition, fosters trust with your audience, differentiates your business from competitors, and consistently drives long-term customer loyalty as your brand evolves.
What are the three common branding strategies?
The three common branding strategies are:
- Corporate Branding – Focuses on the overall company identity, reputation, and values.
- Product Branding – Centers around promoting individual products with distinct names, designs, and messaging.
- Personal Branding – Builds the identity and reputation of an individual, often used by entrepreneurs, influencers, and thought leaders.
What are the seven key elements of a brand strategy?
The seven key components of a brand strategy are:
- Purpose – The “why” behind your brand.
- Core Values – Principles that guide your actions and messaging.
- Vision & Mission – Where you’re headed and how you plan to get there.
- Target Audience – Who your brand is for.
- Market and Competitor Analysis – How you differentiate from competitors.
- Brand Identity – Visual and verbal expression (logo, colors, tone, etc.).
- Consistency – Delivering a unified brand experience across all touchpoints.
Is brand strategy the same as marketing strategy?
No, brand strategy and marketing are related but not the same. Brand strategy defines your identity, values, positioning, and long-term vision. Marketing, on the other hand, involves the tactical execution—campaigns, promotions, and channels—used to communicate your brand to the audience. Brand strategy is the foundation; marketing brings it to life.
Final Thoughts
Creating a strong and lasting brand is hard. But with a few important steps and a better understanding of the importance of a brand strategy template to your success, you can create a powerful tool that will set you apart from the competition.
But you don't have to do it alone! Empower your brand with a team of expert brand strategists with experience in a wide range of industries, big and small. Let us know how Evolv can help you!
For more information on how to build a strong brand strategy, visit our blog for helpful tips and guidance on building power in your marketing efforts that keep you ahead of the competition!
