Brand strategy
The majority of brand management books feature generic ‘one size fits all’ guide-
lines for building a brand strategy. It is our conviction that the every brand is
unique and requires its own unique recipe for success.
The aim of a brand strategy is to enhance the internal and external opportunities
of the brand. The brand strategy must be strategic, visionary and proactive rather
than tactical and reactive. Each brand must find its own holy grail to success – in
the shape of a unique and relevant brand identity and brand vision, which are the
first elements that must be in place when developing a brand strategy. The brand
vision is brought to life through a customized brand strategy able to release the full
potential of the brand. Brand managers must have long-term rather than a short-
term focus. If the performance of the brand is based on quarterly sales figures,
chances are that the brand strategy will end up being much more tactical than
strategic, without enough visionary thinking to drive the growth and the strength
of the brand in the future.
A prerequisite for making the brand strategy work is that it is closely linked to
the business strategy. This means that the brand and the brand strategy should not
be perceived as something other than or as an addition to business strategy
developed at late stages in a product launch for example. In an ideal world,
business and brand strategy should be developed simultaneously and support
each other. The brand vision must also resonate with consumers and differentiate
the brand from competitors. Once the brand vision has been established, a
customized range of elements that comprise the brand strategy should be priori-
tized and developed. The brand strategy will typically consist of a customized
range of elements from the seven brand approaches. Each of the seven brand
approaches has certain strengths and weaknesses, which is why a customized
combination of elements from the relevant approaches that matches the specific
challenges and opportunities the brand faces will provide a foundation for the
right brand strategy.
Great guidelines for the implementation of the brand strategy can be found in
the managerial implications of each approach. Here, it is possible to evaluate
which managerial steps are in line with the approaches on which the brand identity
and brand vision are based.
Brand stretch
It is assumed that all brands have a core that should stay the same over the course of
time (see the section about brand essence). When a brand is extended into new
product categories, or joins co-branding ventures, its identity is stretched. The trick
is to stretch it enough to be able to go in new directions, but never to stretch it to
such an extent that the essence is diluted. Since this book does not go into more
detail with brand stretch, for a more thorough review of the subject we recommend
chapter 8 in Kapferer (1997).
Key words in brand management 15