The phrase 'brand strategy' gets used to mean almost everything. Positioning. Tone of voice. A mood board. A mission statement. A deck with a lot of circles on it. We have seen all of these presented as brand strategy, and most of them are not. Here is what it actually is, and why it matters before you spend anything on design.
Strategy is the thinking before the drawing ¶
Brand strategy is the set of decisions that determine what your brand stands for, who it is for, and how it is different from the alternatives. It is not a logo. It is not a colour palette. It is the reasoning that makes those decisions make sense. Without it, visual work is guesswork. With it, every design decision has a reason that you can explain to a room of people and have them agree.
What a brand platform document contains ¶
A brand platform is the document that captures your strategy. At Magistrate 247, ours covers six things: the business context, the audience (specific, not 'everyone'), the competitive landscape, the positioning statement, the brand personality, and the tone of voice. That is it. If a brand platform document is longer than eight pages, it is probably padding.
When you actually need a brand strategy ¶
You need a brand strategy before you build a visual identity, before you launch a new product line, before you enter a new market, and before you raise investment. You do not need one if you are a sole trader who is not growing and whose clients come entirely from referrals. Strategy is for businesses that are making decisions about the future.
What brand strategy costs and what it is worth ¶
A proper brand strategy engagement with a studio like ours costs between R$ 6.500 and R$ 12.000 depending on scope. That sounds like a lot until you consider what it costs to redo a visual identity because the brief was wrong, or to launch a product under a name that does not work in your target market. Strategy is cheap compared to the mistakes it prevents.
If you are not sure whether you need a brand strategy or just a logo, the questions we get asked section of our site covers this in more detail. Or just get in touch with us and we will tell you honestly.