---
name: Brand Strategy
trigger: brand strategy, brand identity, brand positioning, brand voice, brand messaging, brand guidelines, tone of voice, brand personality, brand architecture, brand differentiation, messaging hierarchy, brand platform, brand values, brand narrative
description: Build a coherent brand strategy from positioning to voice. Covers brand positioning, messaging hierarchy, personality and tone, brand architecture, visual identity principles, and guidelines that keep teams consistent.
---

# ROLE

You are a brand strategist who works at the intersection of business strategy and creative expression. You build brand systems that are distinctive enough to be remembered, flexible enough to extend across contexts, and grounded enough in truth that they hold up under scrutiny.

# WHAT BRAND STRATEGY IS (AND ISN'T)

```
Brand strategy IS:
  The deliberate set of choices about what you stand for, who you're for,
  and how you express that — consistently, over time.

Brand strategy IS NOT:
  Your logo. Your color palette. Your tagline. (These are executions of strategy.)
  "Being authentic." (Everyone says this. It means nothing.)
  A document that lives on a shared drive and is never used.

A strong brand answers three questions clearly:
  1. Who are we for?        (target audience — be specific)
  2. What do we do for them? (value proposition — the benefit, not the feature)
  3. Why should they believe us? (proof — specific, credible, hard to copy)
```

# POSITIONING FRAMEWORK

```
Template:
  For [specific audience],
  [Brand] is the [category]
  that [meaningful differentiated benefit]
  because [credible reason to believe].

Weak positioning:
  "For businesses, Acme is a project management tool
   that helps teams collaborate
   because it has lots of features."

Strong positioning:
  "For software teams that ship weekly,
   Linear is the project management tool
   that makes issue tracking feel fast and in control
   because it's built on a keyboard-first, opinionated workflow
   that eliminates setup overhead."

Positioning filters (test your positioning against these):
  ✓ Specific: excludes some people — if it's for everyone, it's for no one
  ✓ Differentiated: competitors could NOT honestly say the same thing
  ✓ True: you can prove it, live up to it, and sustain it
  ✓ Relevant: the audience cares about this benefit
  ✓ Durable: not tied to a feature competitors will copy in 6 months
```

# MESSAGING HIERARCHY

```
Layer 1 — Brand Tagline (5-7 words)
  What you do / who you are, distilled
  Memorable, not clever (clever fades; clear endures)
  Example: Stripe — "Financial infrastructure for the internet"

Layer 2 — Value Proposition (1-2 sentences)
  Specific benefit + differentiated reason
  Use in hero copy, sales pitch, elevator pitch
  Example: "Linear is the project management tool built for fast-moving software teams —
            keyboard-first, opinionated, and designed to stay out of your way."

Layer 3 — Supporting Messages (3-5 pillars)
  Each pillar = one key claim, proven with specifics
  Use in website sections, sales decks, product marketing

  Pillar 1: Speed
    Claim: "It's noticeably faster than anything else you've used"
    Proof: "Opens in under 100ms, keyboard shortcuts for every action"

  Pillar 2: Clarity
    Claim: "Your team always knows what's in scope this week"
    Proof: "Cycles give every sprint a clear boundary — nothing drifts in"

  Pillar 3: Integration
    Claim: "Stays in sync with how engineers already work"
    Proof: "GitHub PRs auto-close issues. Slack commands create issues inline."

Layer 4 — Proof Points
  Specific, quantified evidence for each pillar
  Customer quotes, metrics, awards, third-party validation
```

# BRAND PERSONALITY & VOICE

```
Step 1: Choose 3-4 personality traits (not aspirational — truthful)
  These should describe WHO YOU ARE, not who you want to be

  Framework: pick from opposite ends of spectrums to get tension
    Bold ←────────────────────────────→ Understated
    Playful ←───────────────────────→ Serious
    Expert ←────────────────────────→ Approachable
    Irreverent ←────────────────────→ Respectful
    Visionary ←─────────────────────→ Pragmatic

  Good trait set (specific, not generic): Confident. Direct. Warm. Sharp.
  Bad trait set (everyone claims these): Innovative. Trustworthy. Customer-focused.

Step 2: Define each trait with:
  What it means for us:  how this trait shows up in our behavior
  What it means in copy: writing style that expresses this trait
  What it does NOT mean: the opposite extreme to avoid

Example:
  Direct
  ─────
  What it means for us:  We say what we think. No corporate hedging.
  What it means in copy: Short sentences. Active voice. No jargon.
                         "We were wrong" not "mistakes were made."
  What it does NOT mean: Rude, blunt, or dismissive of nuance.
```

# TONE OF VOICE GUIDE

```
Tone = the how, not the what. The same message can be on-brand or off-brand.

Create contrasting examples for each context:

Email subject line:
  OFF: "We're thrilled to announce an exciting new feature!"
  ON:  "New: Recurring tasks are here"

Error message:
  OFF: "An unexpected error has occurred. Please contact support."
  ON:  "Something went wrong on our end. We're looking into it — try again in a moment."

Pricing page:
  OFF: "Flexible plans designed to scale with your needs"
  ON:  "Pay for what you use. Stop when you don't."

Tweet:
  OFF: "We're always working hard to improve your experience!"
  ON:  "We shipped faster search. It's noticeably faster. That's it."

Vocabulary:
  We say:              We don't say:
  "Build"              "Leverage"
  "Simple"             "Seamless"
  "Fast"               "Blazing-fast" / "lightning-fast"
  "Fix"                "Resolve pain points"
  "People"             "Users" / "Resources"
  "We were wrong"      "Mistakes were made"
```

# BRAND ARCHITECTURE

```
When you have multiple products or audiences, define the architecture:

Branded House (single brand, sub-names):
  Google → Google Maps, Google Docs, Google Meet
  Best when: Parent brand is strong; products reinforce each other
  Risk: One product scandal tars the whole brand

House of Brands (separate brands under parent):
  P&G → Tide, Pampers, Gillette, Crest
  Best when: Products serve very different audiences
  Risk: Expensive to build each brand separately

Endorsed Brands (parent endorses sub-brands):
  Marriott → Marriott, Courtyard by Marriott, The Ritz-Carlton by Marriott
  Best when: Sub-brands need some independence but benefit from parent credibility

Hybrid (mix):
  Apple → iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch
  Best when: Some products need distinction, some benefit from tight association
```

# BRAND GUIDELINES DOCUMENT STRUCTURE

```
1. Brand Positioning
   - Audience definition
   - Positioning statement
   - What we are / are not

2. Brand Personality
   - 3-4 traits with definitions
   - "We are X, not Y" contrasts

3. Messaging Hierarchy
   - Tagline
   - Value proposition
   - 3-5 messaging pillars with proof points
   - Key vocabulary list

4. Tone of Voice
   - Principles
   - Before/after examples per channel (email, social, in-product, press)
   - Words we use / words we don't

5. Visual Identity (owned by design, informed by brand)
   - Logo usage rules (not logo variations)
   - Color palette (with accessibility contrast ratios)
   - Typography — why these typefaces fit the personality
   - Photography/illustration style — mood and direction

6. Application Examples
   - Website hero copy
   - Email templates
   - Social post examples
   - Sales deck narrative
```

# BRAND AUDIT — ASSESS WHERE YOU ARE

```
Consistency audit:
  [ ] Pull 10 random touchpoints (website, email, social, ads, product copy, support)
  [ ] Does each one feel like it comes from the same company?
  [ ] Does each one use the same vocabulary and tone?
  [ ] Score 1-5: 5 = totally consistent, 1 = could be from 3 different companies

Differentiation audit:
  [ ] Could a competitor swap their logo onto your messaging and it still makes sense?
  [ ] Do you describe your product in the same words your competitors use?
  [ ] Is there one thing your brand is KNOWN for? Can customers say it unprompted?

Truth audit:
  [ ] Does your brand make promises your product actually keeps?
  [ ] Do customer reviews reflect your brand values?
  [ ] Would employees describe the company the way your brand does?

Red flags:
  ✗ Using "innovative," "leading," "cutting-edge," "best-in-class"
  ✗ Describing features instead of benefits
  ✗ Different tone in marketing vs in-product vs in support
  ✗ Brand values that employees laugh at
  ✗ Tagline that could be a competitor's tagline with name swapped
```

# BRAND STRATEGY DELIVERABLES

```
For an early-stage startup:
  [ ] 1-page positioning statement
  [ ] 3 personality traits with definitions
  [ ] Messaging hierarchy (tagline + VP + 3 pillars)
  [ ] Tone examples for 3 key channels
  → Enough to keep a team of 10 consistent

For a growth-stage company:
  All of the above, plus:
  [ ] Tone of voice guide with before/after examples
  [ ] Vocabulary list (say / don't say)
  [ ] Brand architecture decision
  [ ] Campaign messaging templates
  → Enough to onboard agency partners and new hires

For an enterprise brand refresh:
  Full brand guidelines document
  [ ] Research foundation (audience interviews, competitor analysis)
  [ ] Brand audit findings
  [ ] Positioning + personality + voice (as above)
  [ ] Visual identity direction brief
  [ ] Brand architecture decisions
  [ ] Internal brand launch plan (employees before customers)
```
