Brand strategy agency

You can create a beautiful brand design, brand playbooks and guidelines, and even a brilliant brand wheel that you’re all really proud of and on board with. But a strong brand, build on a strong strategy, ultimately leads to lower price elasticity and higher profitably. That’s the rub.

It’s not easy, but it is simple.

The good news is that a brand is a work in progress and can be influenced, reset and reshaped through a great brand strategy and development process.

We have years of experience and proven results from growing the brands we work with. We’ll take your organisation on a voyage of brand discovery from proposition to performance in our end-to-end brand evolution process. A clear proposition, a sense of purpose, a brand story, the ‘why’ your team needs to get them motivated and the ‘why’ your audience needs to make them buy once, and again and again are all outputs of our process. Taking your team with us gives them a brand tool kit to support them in believing in the brand, implementing it consistently and living by it daily.

Read more about how the brand proposition fits into the wider brand wheel in our definitive guide.

And it’s not just strategic brand theory. Our work with you leads us to deliver impactful, persuasive brand messaging: we design powerful, crafted brand identities that stand out from the crowd and deliver in a multi channel world. Our specialist teams then turn to delivering interruptive advertising campaigns to build brand fame, fluency and feeling – the three Fs of branding.

Our approach is as applicable in B2B as it is in B2C consumer environments. All brands need a means of becoming famous for what they do, to maximise their power and value. And a set of communication tools to help your brand resonate with its distinct audiences is, as far as we’re concerned, an absolute must-have.

We can work with you to create a brand from scratch, or re-imagine one that’s lost its way a little, to evolve it alongside product and service stretch, or simply to move with the times.

Which of our brand strategy services can help make your vision a reality?

Brand Audit

If you brand isn’t working as effectively as you’d like, or you’re not sure what the issues are, a brand audit could be a good place to start.

A brand audit allows organisations to assess their brand’s health and identify areas for improvement, ensuring consistent messaging and visuals across all channels. By evaluating customer perceptions and market positioning, an audit can uncover gaps, optimise brand strategy, and ultimately enhance brand value, boosting customer loyalty, competitive advantage, and overall business performance.

Brand Workshop

To get under the hood of your brand, we can facilitate a brand positioning workshop to identify the core DNA of your brand.

The workshop is a great way to ensure that people from across your organisation feel heard and part of the journey, and will be able to see their insight reflected in the end result of the project.

We take you through a series of exercises that draw out the true nature of the brand, whilst keeping front of mind the aspirations of the organisation.

Our workshop process has been crafted over many years, and can facilitated in person, online or as a hybrid.

Brand Wheel

The output of the brand workshop is a full brand report. This captures the full workshop and key discussion points, and captures the brand strategy in a brand wheel model.

This is your brand strategy on a page: personality, values, proposition, brand essence, benefits and substantiators.

Brand Identity

One of the core outcomes of the brand wheel is the brand identity. This is both visual (logo, colours, patterns, photography, typefaces) and written (strapline, tone of voice, messaging suite, messaging pillars).

Distinctive Assets

Depending on the scope and size of the project we can apply the brand strategy to a wider suite of distinctive brand assets: elements that are unique to a brand and help to create a strong and recognisable identity.

These might include a sonic or audio brand, a mascot, an animated logo, or brand ambassador.

Advertising campaigns

The brand strategy is the cornerstone of an effective advertising campaign. It’s key to the brand messaging, and the overall tone of the campaign. Whether it’s playful or serious, whether it’s rebellious, or all about communicating credible expertise.

Brand effectiveness and measurement

What does an effective brand look do? And how do you measure it?

At its core, and effective brand makes achieving the business and marketing objectives easier, quicker and/or more costs effective.

Key brand health metrics include: prompted and unprompted brand awareness; brand penetration; propensity to purchase; brand sentiment; brand consistency; brand advocacy.

Brand strategy agency FAQs

What does a brand strategy agency do?

A brand strategy agency, or consultancy, helps companies develop a strategic plan that effectively communicates their unique values and position in the market. This includes elements such as identity design, messaging, and positioning using the brand wheel model.

What is a brand design agency?

A brand design agency specialises in the strategy, design and development of a comprehensive brand identity for businesses, including logos, visual assets, and marketing collateral. They may also intersect marketing and HR to support building a successful employer brand.

What should I look for in a brand strategy agency?

We might be a bit biased answering this, but we think you should be looking for a strategic, long term partner who will challenge your thinking to make sure you get the right suite of services to effectively build your brand. They might even push back on your brief.

The best brand strategy agency partners will have experience overcoming similar challenges to the one your brand is facing, even if it’s for a different sector or type of organisation.

You want to find a brand strategy agency that will collaborate with you, work to build open lines of communication, and will be open and honest about what deliverables and outcomes of the project.

How do I get a job in a brand strategy?

In order to get a job in a brand strategy, you must possess strong communication and creative skills, have an understanding of branding fundamentals and trends, and have a knowledge of market research and analysis.

There is no requirement to have a degree, and many successful brand strategist come into the role from other areas of marketing, such as PR, client services or design.

Are the best brand agencies in London?

The best brand agencies aren’t necessarily in London – there are many exceptional agencies outside of the capital. At Lane, we strive to provide the highest quality service and results, regardless of location. Our experienced team of strategists and creatives work diligently to ensure that every client reaches their goals in the most cost-effective way.

At Lane, we call Edinburgh home. We think our experienced team of creatives and strategists provide exceptional brand strategy services. But we would say that wouldn’t we!

What is a brand strategy company or consultancy?

A brand strategy company or consultancy provides support in developing and executing a successful brand strategy. This includes services such as market research, brand positioning, identity design, story development, and communications.

It might be very similar to a brand strategy agency.

What does a Brand Strategist do in an advertising agency?

A Brand Strategist, sometimes called a Planner or an Account Planner, is the voice of the audience within the agency. Through consumer research, asking thought-provoking questions, trend analysis and many other tools, the Brand Strategist will help you build an emotional connection with your audience.

Through brand positioning, building your brand strategy wheel, and working with the creative team to develop a compelling and motivating brand strategy.

What is brand strategy versus brand architecture?

Brand strategy is the overall plan for a brand, which includes identifying goals, understanding target audiences, and developing a strategic positioning. Brand architecture, on the other hand, is the organisational structure of an entire brand, which includes how the various elements of the brand are organised.

What is the difference between a branding agency and a marketing agency?

A branding agency focuses on the holistic development of a brand, from market research and positioning to design and communications. A marketing agency uses techniques such as advertising, design, and content and social media to achieve specific marketing goals.

We can support you in either capacity.