Build the strategy before the brand.
Seventeen decisions. Write rough, honest notes first, then the decision and your confidence from one to ten. If the decision is a claim about the market, record the evidence and what would change your confidence. If it is a strategic choice, record the rationale, the trade-off and what would make you revisit it. Compare with FieldArc only after you have your own draft.
Written by Aaron C. Leaman, published by Brighter Future. Free at brighterfuture.studio/brand-strategy
Scorecard
Score each area from 1 to 5, before you start and again at the end. 1 unclear, 3 partly clear, 5 strong enough to guide decisions.
| Area | Before | After |
|---|---|---|
| Stage 1 | Structure is clear enough to support brand decisions, and brand strategy has a seat | ||
| Stage 1 | What you sell, its shape and its front-door offer are clear and easy to explain | ||
| Stage 2 | Purpose is specific, credible and able to guide a decision | ||
| Stage 2 | Mission translates purpose into action | ||
| Stage 2 | Vision gives the organisation a future worth moving towards | ||
| Stage 2 | Values are behavioural standards that cost something to keep | ||
| Stage 3 | The primary audience is one group, chosen for a reason you could defend | ||
| Stage 3 | The person is built from real observation | ||
| Stage 3 | The offer answers the person's pressure, desire and doubt | ||
| Stage 3 | The competitive landscape is mapped beyond direct rivals, and the advantage is provable | ||
| Stage 4 | Personality, voice and visual direction are usable in real decisions | ||
| Stage 5 | Goals, measures and roadmap connect strategy to execution |
Stage 1. Orientation and foundation
Structure and offers Lesson 3
What functions exist today, what must travel between them, and where do brand decisions get made? Who owns the strategy document?
What do you sell or give away, and what shape do the pieces make: a ladder, lines, tiers, or one thing?
Which offer should people meet first, and what does each offer lead to?
How many names, where does trust need to accumulate, and under what condition would you revisit this?
Decision, in one or two sentences
Confidence, 1 to 10
Basis: observed / supported / founder choice / assumption
If it is a claim about the market
Evidence: what actually supports this
What evidence would raise or change your confidence?
If it is a strategic choice
Rationale and trade-off: why this, and what it costs you
What would make you revisit this choice?
Stage 2. Brand essence
Purpose Lesson 4
What wrong, gap or need is the organisation here to address?
What do you believe strongly enough to build around?
Who benefits if this purpose is realised?
What would make this purpose specific to you?
Decision, in one or two sentences
Confidence, 1 to 10
Basis: observed / supported / founder choice / assumption
If it is a claim about the market
Evidence: what actually supports this
What evidence would raise or change your confidence?
If it is a strategic choice
Rationale and trade-off: why this, and what it costs you
What would make you revisit this choice?
Mission Lesson 5
What does the organisation actually do to advance its purpose?
What tools, products, services or capabilities make the work possible?
What internal mission would help the team make decisions?
What public mission would make sense to the market?
Decision, in one or two sentences
Confidence, 1 to 10
Basis: observed / supported / founder choice / assumption
If it is a claim about the market
Evidence: what actually supports this
What evidence would raise or change your confidence?
If it is a strategic choice
Rationale and trade-off: why this, and what it costs you
What would make you revisit this choice?
Vision Lesson 6
What future are you trying to help create?
What will be observably different if the organisation succeeds?
Who will experience that future?
What makes the vision ambitious but credible?
Decision, in one or two sentences
Confidence, 1 to 10
Basis: observed / supported / founder choice / assumption
If it is a claim about the market
Evidence: what actually supports this
What evidence would raise or change your confidence?
If it is a strategic choice
Rationale and trade-off: why this, and what it costs you
What would make you revisit this choice?
Values Lesson 7
What behaviours must be protected as the organisation grows?
What standards should guide decisions under pressure?
What would the company refuse to do, even if it could make money?
How should each value show up in daily action?
Decision, in one or two sentences
Confidence, 1 to 10
Basis: observed / supported / founder choice / assumption
If it is a claim about the market
Evidence: what actually supports this
What evidence would raise or change your confidence?
If it is a strategic choice
Rationale and trade-off: why this, and what it costs you
What would make you revisit this choice?
Stage 3. Brand positioning
Audience segmentation Lesson 8
Who are the main audience groups?
Which group matters most right now?
What does each audience need to understand before they can trust you?
What decision do you want each audience to make?
Decision, in one or two sentences
Confidence, 1 to 10
Basis: observed / supported / founder choice / assumption
If it is a claim about the market
Evidence: what actually supports this
What evidence would raise or change your confidence?
If it is a strategic choice
Rationale and trade-off: why this, and what it costs you
What would make you revisit this choice?
Persona and offer Lesson 9
The person: who are they, what pressure are they under, what do they want, what do they doubt, what makes them decide, and where do they get information and whom do they trust?
Promise and mechanism: what becomes true for them if they say yes, and what you actually do to make it true.
Proof and risk removal: what answers their doubt, what you refuse to claim yet, and what makes saying yes safe.
Identity, first step and price shape: what choosing you says about them, the smallest step matched to their decision moment, and the shape the money takes.
Decision, in one or two sentences
Confidence, 1 to 10
Basis: observed / supported / founder choice / assumption
If it is a claim about the market
Evidence: what actually supports this
What evidence would raise or change your confidence?
If it is a strategic choice
Rationale and trade-off: why this, and what it costs you
What would make you revisit this choice?
Competitor landscape Lesson 10
Who are the direct competitors?
Who are the indirect competitors?
What default behaviour are you competing against?
Where is the market under-serving the customer?
Decision, in one or two sentences
Confidence, 1 to 10
Basis: observed / supported / founder choice / assumption
If it is a claim about the market
Evidence: what actually supports this
What evidence would raise or change your confidence?
If it is a strategic choice
Rationale and trade-off: why this, and what it costs you
What would make you revisit this choice?
Competitive advantage Lesson 10
Which of your strengths are table stakes, and what capability is genuinely hard to copy?
What have you observed that others underweight?
What proof points support your advantage?
Which advantage are you tempted to claim before you can prove it?
Decision, in one or two sentences
Confidence, 1 to 10
Basis: observed / supported / founder choice / assumption
If it is a claim about the market
Evidence: what actually supports this
What evidence would raise or change your confidence?
If it is a strategic choice
Rationale and trade-off: why this, and what it costs you
What would make you revisit this choice?
USP and positioning Lesson 10
What is your USP: the sharpest claim you can make that a competitor cannot credibly make?
What category do you want to be understood within?
What position should you own in the mind of the market?
What would make the positioning clearer in one sentence?
Decision, in one or two sentences
Confidence, 1 to 10
Basis: observed / supported / founder choice / assumption
If it is a claim about the market
Evidence: what actually supports this
What evidence would raise or change your confidence?
If it is a strategic choice
Rationale and trade-off: why this, and what it costs you
What would make you revisit this choice?
Stage 4. Brand expression
Personality Lesson 11
What three to five qualities should the brand consistently express, and where does each one come from in the person's doubt?
Which qualities would damage trust if overdone, and what should the brand never sound like?
Which character helps the brand behave consistently, and what does it make you do and refuse?
What are the three behavioural rules a new employee could apply to a draft in ten seconds?
Decision, in one or two sentences
Confidence, 1 to 10
Basis: observed / supported / founder choice / assumption
If it is a claim about the market
Evidence: what actually supports this
What evidence would raise or change your confidence?
If it is a strategic choice
Rationale and trade-off: why this, and what it costs you
What would make you revisit this choice?
Tone of voice Lesson 12
What should the brand sound like when explaining complex ideas?
What should it sound like when challenging the market?
What words or phrases should be avoided?
What does a strong before and after sentence look like?
Decision, in one or two sentences
Confidence, 1 to 10
Basis: observed / supported / founder choice / assumption
If it is a claim about the market
Evidence: what actually supports this
What evidence would raise or change your confidence?
If it is a strategic choice
Rationale and trade-off: why this, and what it costs you
What would make you revisit this choice?
Look and feel Lesson 13
What visual signals should express credibility?
What should the design make people feel?
What existing category cues should be avoided?
What visual references should guide the designer?
Decision, in one or two sentences
Confidence, 1 to 10
Basis: observed / supported / founder choice / assumption
If it is a claim about the market
Evidence: what actually supports this
What evidence would raise or change your confidence?
If it is a strategic choice
Rationale and trade-off: why this, and what it costs you
What would make you revisit this choice?
Stage 5. Action
Goals and gap analysis Lesson 14
Working back from your vision, what must be true in three years, one year and ninety days, and what are your up to three strategic goals?
What is the baseline and the measure for each goal, and what gap currently blocks it?
What action closes the gap?
Who is responsible?
Decision, in one or two sentences
Confidence, 1 to 10
Basis: observed / supported / founder choice / assumption
If it is a claim about the market
Evidence: what actually supports this
What evidence would raise or change your confidence?
If it is a strategic choice
Rationale and trade-off: why this, and what it costs you
What would make you revisit this choice?
Roadmap and touchpoints Lesson 15
Across discovery, understanding, trust, decision, delivery and advocacy, which touchpoints does the person meet, and which three do you fix first?
What needs to happen in the next 30 days?
What needs to happen in 60 days?
What needs to happen in 90 days?
What can wait? Write it down so it cannot attack the plan.
Decision, in one or two sentences
Confidence, 1 to 10
Basis: observed / supported / founder choice / assumption
If it is a claim about the market
Evidence: what actually supports this
What evidence would raise or change your confidence?
If it is a strategic choice
Rationale and trade-off: why this, and what it costs you
What would make you revisit this choice?
Channels and content Lesson 15
Which channels will you use, organic social, paid, email, partnerships, press, events, and what job does each one do: reach, trust, conversion or retention?
Which content pillars come from the strategy, and which channel carries each?
What proof, story and insight can be shared consistently, what cadence can you keep on your worst week, and what one measure will you track in the first month?
What is deliberately deferred, and what would make you bring it forward?
Decision, in one or two sentences
Confidence, 1 to 10
Basis: observed / supported / founder choice / assumption
If it is a claim about the market
Evidence: what actually supports this
What evidence would raise or change your confidence?
If it is a strategic choice
Rationale and trade-off: why this, and what it costs you
What would make you revisit this choice?
Strategy snapshot Lesson 16
What are the most important decisions from the course?
What has become clearer?
What belongs in the research agenda: what still needs evidence, and what are you testing?
What should be shared with the team first?
Decision, in one or two sentences
Confidence, 1 to 10
Basis: observed / supported / founder choice / assumption
If it is a claim about the market
Evidence: what actually supports this
What evidence would raise or change your confidence?
If it is a strategic choice
Rationale and trade-off: why this, and what it costs you
What would make you revisit this choice?
Final strategy template
Conclusions only. Working notes stay in the sections above.
1. Brand foundation summary
From: Strategy snapshot, Structure and offers
2. Purpose, mission, vision and values
From: Purpose, Mission, Vision, Values
3. Audience, person and offer
From: Audience segmentation, Persona and offer
4. Positioning
From: Competitor landscape, Competitive advantage, USP and positioning
5. Brand personality and tone of voice
From: Personality, Tone of voice
6. Visual direction brief
From: Look and feel
7. Goals, roadmap and touchpoints
From: Goals and gap analysis, Roadmap and touchpoints
8. Channels and content plan
From: Channels and content
9. Research agenda
What still needs evidence, what you are testing, and the claims you are not making yet.
10. Storytelling bridge
Which origin, purpose, vision, customer, product or impact story most needs telling next?
