Clearer positioning for businesses that need to sharpen what they stand for, who they are for and why customers should choose them.
I help start-ups, scale-ups and growing businesses define or refine their brand strategy, proposition and positioning so the business is easier to understand, more relevant to the right audience and more consistent in how it shows up.
The work can range from repositioning an existing brand to shaping the strategy for a new proposition, offer or stage of growth.
When brand strategy or repositioning becomes important
Brand strategy becomes important when the business, market or competitive landscape has moved on and the current brand is no longer fully supporting the company’s ambitions. That might mean the business is targeting different customers, expanding into new categories, moving upmarket, adding new offers or finding it harder to stand apart in an increasingly crowded market.
The business has moved into a new stage of growth
The company is scaling, expanding its offer, entering new markets or pursuing a different growth strategy, and the brand needs to support that next phase.
Your positioning is limiting growth
The brand may be well known, but the current positioning no longer reflects the full value of the business or gives customers a strong enough reason to choose you.
The market has become more competitive
Competitors are beginning to look and sound increasingly similar, making it harder to maintain distinction and preference.
Your portfolio has become more complex
New products, services, sub-brands or acquisitions have been added over time, creating a need for clearer brand architecture and a more coherent relationship between the different offers.
You want to change how the market values the business
You may be moving upmarket, targeting a more valuable audience, entering a new category or trying to command a premium that the current brand doesn’t yet support.
You’re creating something new
A new business, product or proposition needs a strong strategic foundation: the audience, market position, proposition, personality and role the brand needs to play.
The aim is to create a brand that supports the commercial direction of the business — clearer in its positioning, more distinctive in the market and strong enough to guide everything from proposition and portfolio decisions to identity, experience and communications.
What a brand strategy project can cover
The scope depends on the business challenge, but the work typically connects commercial ambition, customer insight and competitive context to a clear strategic role for the brand.
Business and growth context
Understand where the business is going, what growth needs to come from, and what role the brand needs to play in supporting that ambition.
Customer and market insight
Clarify the audiences that matter most, what drives choice in the category, how needs are changing, and where genuine opportunities for relevance or differentiation exist.
Positioning
Define the space the brand should own in the market, the value it creates for customers and the basis on which it can compete more effectively.
Proposition and value story
Sharpen the core promise and the reasons to believe it, so the value of the business is expressed clearly and consistently.
Brand architecture
Define how the corporate brand, products, services and sub-brands should relate to one another, particularly where the portfolio has grown or become more complex.
Brand platform and personality
Set the strategic principles that guide how the brand behaves and shows up — including purpose where relevant, values, personality and tone.
Brand expression
Translate the strategy into clear direction for identity, design, experience and communications so creative execution is grounded in a strong strategic idea.
The output should give the business more than a positioning statement. It should create a strategic framework that helps guide decisions across the brand, portfolio, customer experience, marketing and communications.
Brand strategy that has moved businesses forward
I’ve worked on brand strategy across global businesses, challengers and growing companies — from repositioning established brands to creating new propositions and simplifying complex brand portfolios.
IG Group – global brand transformation
Led the development of a new positioning, identity and brand system for 7 brands across 17 markets, helping create a more consistent and distinctive global brand. Brand awareness increased 5% year on year and consideration 10%.
FishAways – repositioning for growth
Repositioning the brand to leverage the health aspects of seafood helped sharpen its relevance and differentiation, contributing to a 100% increase in revenue within three months.
NesQino – creating a new brand from the ground up
Helped shape the strategy, positioning, identity and product naming for a completely new Nestlé proposition developed for China.
Konsolidon – simplifying brand architecture
Redesigned the brand architecture to create greater clarity across the business and a stronger foundation for future growth.
These examples include work led by me in previous senior client and agency roles, as well as consulting engagements. They reflect the brand strategy and transformation experience I now bring to clients through Elevate Growth Solutions.
What you leave with
Depending on the brief, the work can give you:
- A clearer definition of the audiences that matter most
- A sharper and more differentiated market position
- A stronger proposition and value story
- A clear brand architecture across products, services or sub-brands
- A defined brand platform, personality and strategic principles
- Clear direction for identity, customer experience and communications
- Greater alignment across leadership, marketing and other key stakeholders
- A framework the business can use to make more consistent brand and marketing decisions
The aim is to create a brand strategy that is useful beyond the final presentation – something the leadership team, marketers, agencies and wider business can use to guide decisions as the company grows.
FAQs
How do I know if we need a brand strategy or just better marketing?
If the issue is mainly about campaign performance, channels or execution, you may not need to revisit the brand. Brand strategy becomes relevant when the positioning, proposition, portfolio or role of the brand is no longer supporting where the business wants to go.
Is brand strategy the same as a rebrand?
No. A rebrand is usually the visible expression of change — identity, design and communications. Brand strategy comes first and defines the positioning, proposition, audience, architecture and strategic direction that should guide any creative work.
Can you work with our existing design or creative agency?
Yes. I can develop the strategic foundation and then work with your existing agency or creative partners to make sure the identity and communications are grounded in that strategy.
Do you also create visual identities?
Yes. Where a new or refreshed identity is needed, I work with a network of trusted brand identity and design partners. I lead the strategy, positioning and creative direction, then brief and work closely with the right specialists to make sure the visual identity is grounded in the strategy and brought to life consistently.
Can you help with brand architecture?
Yes. This is particularly useful where the business has multiple products, services, sub-brands or acquisitions and needs a clearer structure for how they relate to one another.
Do you work on new brands as well as existing ones?
Yes. I can help create the strategic foundation for a new brand, including audience, positioning, proposition, personality and architecture, as well as repositioning established businesses.
How long does a brand strategy project usually take?
It depends on the scope and complexity, but most projects run over a number of weeks. A focused positioning project will usually be shorter than a broader programme involving research, brand architecture and multiple stakeholders.
Need to sharpen where your brand is going?
If the business has moved on but the brand needs to catch up, let’s talk about what needs to change and where the biggest opportunities lie.