How to create a brand strategy that really works: tips from Maciek Sznitowski (Brandoholik)
In many companies, brand strategy is still confused with marketing strategy. A plan of activities is created, channels are chosen, KPIs and a campaign schedule are set, and… the topic is considered closed.
The problem is that even the best-planned marketing won't build a brand if there is no consistent identity behind it. And without a brand strategy, marketing starts to look like a series of disconnected activities that are hard to tie together into one recognisable whole.
In our conversation with Maciek Sznitowski (Brandoholik) on the SUURowo o marketingu podcast, one thing came through very clearly: brands don't lose today because they do too little. They lose because they do a lot… without a clear brand strategy.
Watch the conversation (in Polish).
Full episode of the SUURowo o marketingu podcast.
Marketing strategy is the "how". Brand strategy is the "why".
A marketing strategy answers operational questions:
Which channels do we use to reach clients?
Which campaigns do we run?
How do we measure results?
A brand strategy answers much harder questions:
Who are we as a brand?
What role do we play in the client's life?
Why should someone trust us rather than the competition?
If these questions aren't clearly answered, marketing starts working blindly. It can generate traffic, leads or reach, but it doesn't build lasting value or recognition.
A brand doesn't start with a logo, a colour palette or a catchy slogan. That's the biggest myth that so many people still believe. A real brand starts with… decisions. Simple, human ones: we are like this and not like that. We want to talk to these people, and not necessarily to those. We will speak this way and not another way - and we will certainly not use that tone.
Only once you have these answers do creating the logo, colours, photos and copy start to make sense and have power. Without these decisions, branding is just nice wallpaper. It looks good, but it means nothing.
Consistency is harder than creativity
It's hard to say basically the same thing for a year, two or three, just a little differently each time… To repeat the same key ideas. Not to change direction every so often because "maybe we should try something different now?". To build recognition precisely by being predictable in what matters most.
Consistency requires three things:
- the courage to say "no" to various cool ideas that just don't fit
- acceptance that some people will turn up their noses (they always do!)
- patience, because results only come over time
This is exactly where so many brands crack. They start to fear silence, a lack of likes after a month, comments like "the same thing again?". And suddenly - BOOM! - a new colour palette, a new tone, a new story. And building from scratch all over again. When most of the time it would have been enough to stick with what they had a little longer.
A brand that works is like a filter
A strong brand strategy isn't meant to please everyone. It's meant to attract the right people and put off the wrong ones.
Brands that try to be "for everyone" are, in practice, for no one. They don't build emotions. They don't build relationships. They don't build loyalty.
In B2B this matters even more. Purchase decisions are long, complex and based on trust. And trust is built in brands that have a clear identity and communicate their values clearly.
The personal brand and the company brand have to meet
The conversation also touched on the important relationship between personal brands and the company brand.
Many organisations still treat them as separate worlds. Yet it is people who carry the brand. Their way of thinking, language, decisions and attitudes give the brand credibility.
If the leaders' personal brands are consistent with the company brand, communication starts to work naturally. If not, no marketing strategy can cover that up.
Brand strategy is a process, not a project
One of the most important lessons from this conversation is very simple: brand strategy doesn't end on the day a new website or rebrand is launched.
A brand is created in everyday decisions. In what we communicate regularly.
In what we repeat. And in what we consistently give up.
It is a long-term process that requires consistency and courage. And that's exactly why so many companies conclude after a while that "branding doesn't work".
It doesn't work when we treat it as a one-off task rather than the foundation of all marketing activities.
What does this mean in practice?
If your brand doesn't stand out in the market, it's quite possible that the problem lies not in the tools or the budget, but in the lack of a clearly defined brand strategy that gives meaning to all your marketing activities.
Want marketing that works for your business?
We design and deliver B2B marketing - from strategy, content and social media to personal branding and marketing outsourcing.