brands need to tell a story, their reason for being

Whether a corporate, product or service branding issue, brand strategy and positioning is the start of the story. I define brands by highlighting their core truths, bold ideas, values, and unique personality.

Desk research and market mapping
Competitor audit
Internal and external audience interviews
Management and staff workshops
Positioning concepts
Brand model

Brand architecture takes a holistic view of a portfolio from a customer perspective and with business and brand strategy as priority. Building or rebuilding a brand must have your customers and their journey in mind and ultimately, we form a united (or intentionally disunited) whole.

Business/brand strategy review
Management interviews
Audience research/interviews
Portfolio assessment

Naming guidelines 

Brand workshops are a collaborative tool that aim to pool combined learning and ideas. Some problems are best cracked or blown open in a room together. I plan and facilitate high-energy sessions, often to kick-off a strategy or creative project or involve your people in the brand work—think senior management or a cross-section of departments.

Defining project parameters and deliverables

Delving into culture, business strategy, brand territories

Execution plan

Staff engagement and internal brand cascade

Ideation and name concepting

No name, no brand. Corporate, brand and product naming is really hard. The name is one of the most important decisions you will make on behalf of your brand so it’s worth proper strategic and creative attention at the start. 

Defining the brief and creative positioning

Naming workshops 

Name creation
Advising on name research and due diligence

Collaboration with design teams
 

A tagline starts to tell the brand narrative, with audience insight and brand personality in mind. From day one it says more than the name in isolation can and unites brand idea with visual identity and communications. 

Concepting of taglines (with story-telling and marketing strategy in mind)

Defining the brief and creative platforms
Tagline ideation and workshops
Collaboration with design teams

Quite possibly my favorite part of brand work is campaign concepting—the overarching "big idea" that is designed to capture interest, influence emotional response, and inspire action.

Identifying objectives

Idea generation

Unifying theme
Defining communication channels and audiences

Collaboration with design teams

Whether it's a business card, billboard, ad campaign or press materials, the importance is the same—the words must have value and work with the visuals to lend recall. Distinctive brand copy does not energize overnight—questions must be asked, and immersion must take place.

Define key message

Understand voice

Story assembly

Creative strategy

Collaboration with design teams

Building a brand starts on the inside, with brand at the heart of a business. I advise on implementation planning to bring a brand to life for employees, aligning communications, culture, and operational principles.

Brand book

Brand guidelines explained

Management on-boarding and coaching
Planning cascade engagement programs

Oversight management for consistency and enforcement