You have a business strategy. It’s ambitious. Well-conceived. The board, on-board.

But why isn’t everyone moving in the same direction?

Because strategy on paper isn’t strategy in action. And the gap between the two is where many good plans fall apart.

You need strategy that sticks. Strategy people can get behind – remember, believe, and actually use to make decisions. Strategy that doesn't get abandoned three months after the board meeting.

This is where brand strategy helps. It makes business strategy sticky.

The problem with business strategy

A business strategy tells us where we’re going. Expand into new markets. Scale the operation. Merge with a competitor. Launch a new product line. Pivot for growth. All good. And all very necessary.

What it doesn’t tell you: how to show up. What you stand for. Why anyone – inside or outside the business – should actually care. How decisions get made when things get messy. How to position. What people will actually value enough to pay for.

It doesn’t tell your people how to behave. Or your customers why they should choose you.

That's not a criticism of business strategy. It's just not its job. Business strategy operates at altitude – markets, margins, competitive positioning. It's the view from 30,000 feet.

Brand strategy is what brings it down to earth. It's the bridge between your growth ambitions and what people will actually care about enough to make those ambitions real.

How I define the components

• Business strategy identifies where the organisation wants to go —and the operational priorities to get there. 

  Often 3-5 years
• Brand strategy is about why people should care. First internally and then externally. 

  Long term 
• Marketing strategy is an action plan for reaching the right people and turning them into customers.

  Usually an annual plan

Who cares?

People don’t rally around a spreadsheet. They rally around something they believe in.

This is true inside your organisation and out. Your employees need to understand not just what the strategy is, but why it matters. Your customers need to feel something beyond functional benefits. Your partners need to know what you stand for.

Brand strategy is the layer that makes people care. It answers the questions business strategy can’t:

• Why does this business exist, beyond making money?
• What do we believe? What won't we compromise on?
• Who are we, really – and how does it show up in everything we do?
• What will people actually value and pay for?
• Why should anyone – employee, customer, investor – care about any of this?

Without clear answers, your business strategy is just a plan. With them, it becomes a movement.

The four foundations (essential, but call ’em what you like)

Brand strategy isn't abstract. It's practical. It gives people the tools to translate ambition into action.

I work with four foundations – though you can call them whatever makes sense to you. Some clients call these things vision, mission, values. Others use North Star, principles, maxims. The labels matter less than the answers.

What we offer (or bring to the world)...

Positioning – where you sit in the market, what makes you the better choice, why someone picks you over the alternative. Some call this ‘what we do.’ Without it, you're competing on price or features alone.

Why we exist (and why it matters)...

Purpose – why you exist and why people should care. Some call this mission, some call it vision. Call it what you want – but you need an answer that resonates inside and out. Not some lofty statement nobody believes. The real reason you're in business.

Who we are...

Principles – what you believe, what you won't compromise on, even when it costs you. Some call these values, some call them beliefs. These are the guardrails. When a decision is hard – and decisions are often hard – this is what you fall back on.

How we present...

Personality – how you show up. Your tone, your look, your feel. Some call this brand attributes or character. Two businesses can have near-identical strategies and completely different personalities. This is what makes you recognisable, memorable, human.

Often, I'll then find a short statement – a few words – mantra, north star, or brand essence (the words depend on the usefulness to your needs) to sum up or help activate the strategy in the minds of your people.

Together, these foundations answer the question everyone's asking: How do I actually do this?

A salesperson knows how to pitch. A manager knows what to prioritise. A new hire understands what's expected. The brand gives them coordinates.

Real scenarios where this matters

You're scaling.‍

What worked when you were small doesn't work now. The scrappy, informal culture that made you successful is starting to crack under pressure. People don't know what decisions to make. You need clarity on what you stand for – and consistency in how that shows up.

Brand strategy creates the through-line. It's the thing that scales with you.

You're merging or acquiring.‍

Two businesses, two cultures, often two completely different ways of working. If you don't define who you are now – and how both organisations should show up going forward – you'll drift. Or worse, fracture.

Brand strategy is the framework that unites.

You're entering a new market.‍

Different audience, different context, different expectations. Your existing story might not translate. You need positioning that works there, not just a translation of what you've always said. What will resonate? What will they actually pay for?

Brand strategy adapts your business strategy to the reality on the ground.

Your messaging's clear as mud.‍

Nobody outside the building understands what you actually do or why it matters. Internally, people struggle to explain it. You've got the capability, but you can't articulate it clearly.

Brand strategy cuts through. It finds the words that land.

Why brand comes first

Here's the uncomfortable truth: if you build your business strategy and leave brand until later – as an afterthought, as the 'creative bit' – you've  lost time. And, maybe the opportunity.

Because the moment you start executing that business strategy, people need to know how to behave. They need to make decisions. Talk to customers. Represent the business. Hire people who fit.

If the brand foundations aren't clear, they'll make it up. And what they make up won't be consistent. It won't be strategic. It'll just be... whatever feels right in the moment.

Brand strategy isn't decoration. It's the operating system. The thing that helps business strategy work in the real world, with real people.

How we find clarity

You can't shortcut your way to clarity. You need proper inputs.

Customer insight. What do they actually value? What do they care about? What would make them choose you? You can't guess at this. You need to ask. Talk to them. Understand their world.

Competitor analysis. Where do you actually sit in the market? What space is available? What are others saying and doing? You need to know this to find your own ground.

Internal alignment. What do your leadership team believe? What do your people think you stand for? Where are the gaps? Everyone's input matters – because everyone needs to act on this once it's defined.

Time to distil. This isn't a one-day workshop. Proper brand strategy takes 8–12 weeks. Because you need time to gather insight, test thinking, work through options, articulate clearly, and get alignment. Rushing it gets you generic answers that don't stick.

The companies that try to compress this into two weeks or a single workshop end up with something decorative, not strategic. It looks like brand strategy. It doesn't work like it.

What you get

A clear, actionable brand strategy gives you:

Internal alignment. Everyone knows what you stand for and how to show up. Decisions get easier. Culture gets stronger. New hires onboard faster because they understand what's expected.

External clarity. Your customers, partners, and investors know who you are and why you matter. The message is consistent. The experience is coherent. Trust builds faster.

A competitive edge. Your competitors can copy your features. They can't copy how you make people feel. Brand – done right – is your most defensible advantage.

Criteria for decisions. Need to approve a new identity? Launch a product? Enter a market? Hire someone senior? The brand foundations give you the criteria to judge whether something's right. No more subjective debates about what colour someone likes.

Strategy that doesn't sit in a drawer. Or a PowerPoint deck. It gets used. Because people understand it, believe it, and know how to apply it.

The takeaway

Business strategy tells you where to go. Brand strategy helps you get there – by making people care, showing them how to show up, and defining what they'll actually value enough to pay for.

One without the other is incomplete. Business strategy without brand is a plan nobody can execute. Brand without business strategy is pretty but pointless.

But together? That's when things move.

If you're working on business strategy and wondering how to make it real, let’s talk. Brand strategy is where I start – because it's where execution begins.

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