Ep 11. Brand Strategy: How to Build the Foundation of Your Brand (Branding Pie Part 1)
Nourish Your Brand · Episode 11
Over the next three episodes I'm baking a branding pie with you. These three parts are exactly what I work through with clients inside the Brand Kitchen: the crust, the filling, and the topping. The crust is your strategy, the filling is your offer, and the topping is your identity. Today is part one, the crust. Let's get into it.
Why strategy is the crust
In a pie, the filling is tasty and the topping makes it look good, but without a crust the whole thing spills everywhere. There's nothing to hold it together. Brand strategy does the same job. It's the foundation that shapes how people perceive you, and the plan of action that gets you to your goals. Without it, everything else heads off in different directions with no idea where you're going. That's why we always start here.
I break strategy into two parts: who you are, and who they are.
Part one: who you are
This is what makes you connect. It gives people a reason to choose you, and it gives you clarity, which honestly makes running your business so much easier, because you can make decisions based on it. Two exercises I love taking clients through, that you can do yourself:
Write your brand story. Grab a piece of paper and write down how it all started. Why did you begin? Where did it come from? What were your influences, the instigating factor? Then read it back with a highlighter and pull out the interesting nuggets, the bits that repeat. Those are the things to share, and often your angle or theme is hiding in there. Mine is food, and my whole branding pie is built around it, which makes everything more memorable and every decision easier.
Find your brand personality. Write down every adjective that feels like you, aim for a long list of around 20 (a trick is to pull adjectives straight from your brand story). Then highlight the top five that stand out. One word like "curious" isn't unique on its own, but a handful working together creates a personality that's distinctly yours. It informs your tone of voice and how you show up, verbally and visually. If you'd rather do this with a guide instead of a blank page, that's the first thing we tackle in a Brand Recipe session.
Part two: who they are
Knowing your clients means you can tailor your services and communication, and put your energy into attracting the right people. Three quick steps:
Describe your ideal customer. Use a real past client as your muse, someone you'd happily work with again. How did your offer fit them? What did you love about working together? No obvious one yet? Borrow aspects from different people, or imagine the perfect fit. Write a little blurb so you remember.
Write what motivates them. What gets them moving and wanting your offer? Knowing this lets you communicate in a way that resonates.
Write what frustrates them. Get specific, everyday-scenario specific. A good test: could you film it on a camera? That's how concrete you want their frustrations to be.
Do both halves and you've got your crust. By knowing yourself and knowing them, you've got the foundation for every decision in your brand. If you'd like help getting this clarity faster, that's exactly what a Brand Recipe session is built for.
Ask yourself this week
Grab a piece of paper and actually do the exercises.
Can you tell your brand story and pull out the nuggets worth sharing?
Do you have your top five personality words?
Could you describe your ideal client's motivations and frustrations in vivid, specific detail?
Where to go from here
The crust holds everything together, and it informs far more than just your branding. Get it right and the filling and topping have something solid to sit on.
This is exactly the work we do in the Brand Kitchen, where I help you design branding aligned with who you are and where you're headed. If you'd like to chat it through, book a free Brand Pairing call. Stay tuned for part two, the filling.
Related episodes
Ep 12: Offer positioning: how to make your offer stand out (Branding Pie Part 2)
Ep 13: Brand identity: how to make your brand recognisable (Branding Pie Part 3)
Ep 5: Why strong brand foundations make everything else easier
Resources mentioned
Brand Kitchen – my signature sprint where we bake your whole branding pie, starting with strategy
The Spread – my email newsletter, with new episodes straight to your inbox
Here's More…
What is brand strategy? It's the foundation of your brand, made up of who you are (your story, personality, purpose) and who you serve (your ideal client, their motivations and frustrations). It shapes how people perceive you and gives you a plan to reach your goals.
Why does brand strategy come before visuals? Because it's the crust. Without it, your visuals and offer have nothing to hold them together and end up pulling in different directions. Strategy makes every other decision clearer and more consistent.
How do I find my brand personality? Write a long list of adjectives that feel like you, often pulled from your brand story, then narrow it to your top five. It's the combination of those words working together that makes your personality distinctly yours.
About the host
I'm Aiza, the brand chef behind Studio Coya, a branding studio with a food-themed twist. I help established coaches, creators and service providers brand their signature offers so their best work looks as good as it actually is, and sells like hotcakes.
