Clarifying Strategy (Phase 2)

Overview

Phase 2 distills all learnings from research and audits into a unifying idea and a positioning strategy. It combines methodical examination with strategic imagination — "look into a microscope with one eye and a telescope with the other." Agreement is solidified about target markets, competitive advantage, brand core values, brand attributes, and project goals, usually captured in a brand brief. If the effort includes a new name, a naming process runs inside this phase.

When to use

• Turning research/audit findings into a positioning strategy and a "big idea."
• Aligning leadership on target markets, core values, attributes, and goals via a brand brief.
• Naming a company, product, service, joint venture, or merged enterprise.
• Repositioning to stay relevant against new competitors or market shifts.
• Hand off actual identity design/execution to later phases; write the creative brief only after the brand brief is approved.

Strategy scenarios

Scope of Phase 2 depends on the situation: a clearly defined business strategy (needs a logo/positioning to reflect it), a need to activate business strategy, a need for brand strategy (no distinctive brand yet), starting from a blank page, or a joint venture that needs a name and strategy.

Narrowing the focus

Don't just examine current strategy, values, markets, and competitive advantage — stand back and read the big picture: economic, sociopolitical, global, and social trends, plus the drivers of past success. Interviews with senior management, employees, customers, and industry experts reveal a company's uniqueness. A brand becomes stronger when you narrow the focus — own a word in the prospect's mind that no one else owns (safety = Volvo, prestige = Mercedes).