Brand Strategy 101

A lot of people think brand strategy is just the visual stuff. Wrong. Obviously the visuals matter, of course they do, but only after the heavy lifting has been done. The logo, the colour palette, the typography… they’re the expression of your brand, not the foundation. Get the groundwork wrong and the visuals won’t be able to save you.

Brand strategy is the source. It’s how you stop being just a random brand and start being the brand. A mega brand strategy will become your roadmap. It’s the thing that defines who you are, what you stand for, who you’re up against, and how you create your own space. And once you’ve got it nailed down, every move you make stops being guesswork and starts driving real results.

Let’s break it down.

Brand DNA: Know What You Are

If your brand doesn’t know what it is at the core, you’ve got a big problem. Your Brand DNA is your mission, vision, values, voice, and proposition all wrapped up into one identity. It’s what makes you you when nobody’s looking, and it’s the bit that holds steady even when trends or customer behaviours shift.

This is where you’ve got to be honest with yourself. Don’t dress it up. Don’t pinch language from your competitors – that’s how a lot of brand strategies fail. Know what you are, own your sh*t, and lean into it. Your DNA should be so clear that your team, audience, and even your competitors can’t mistake you for anyone else.

🖤 Mission – Your why. The reason you exist beyond making money. What drives you every day, what you’re here to change, and the purpose that fuels the whole operation.

🖤 Vision – Your where. What do you want to be famous for? The big picture that inspires your team and your audience, giving them something to believe in and rally behind.

🖤 Values – Your how. The principles you live and breathe. These shape how you show up, how you treat people, and how you make decisions, inside the business and out.

🖤 Tone of Voice – Your personality. It’s what you say, what you don’t say and how you say it. It’s the consistency in language that makes you recognisable without people even seeing your logo.

🖤 Proposition – Your promise. The thing that sets you apart and tells people why they should pick you over the next option. It’s not just what you do, it’s the unique way you deliver it.

Brand DNA is the foundation everything else hangs off whether that be the way you design, the way you sell, the way you show up online, or even the way you hire. When you finally know who you are, your brand will start to feel consistent wherever people find you.

Look Beyond Your Category

If you only look sideways at your category, you’ll end up as a slightly worse version of what already exists. Copycat branding is not the way to go. You need to think bigger than your industry.

The real magic happens when you look outside your lane. Study how completely different industries grab attention and engage communities.

Take Typology, the French clean skincare brand. Instead of chasing retail shelves like Sephora or Ulta, they took a left turn and partnered with boutique hotels in the MGallery Collection. Now their products are in luxury bathrooms across thirty hotels, giving global travellers a hands-on experience with the brand. This is how you incorporate skincare as part of a curated, elevated stay.

Here’s why it’s smart:

• They unlock a new revenue stream without slashing margins.

• They reach fresh audiences who may never have interacted with the brand before.

• Most importantly, they expand their brand into hospitality – a move that reinforces their ethos of minimalism and “quiet luxury,” rather than diluting it.

This is what “looking beyond your lane” actually looks like. Typology is building an experience. They’re saying, we’re not just a skincare brand but we’re part of your lifestyle.

And it’s not just beauty brands doing this. Look at Tabasco. The hot sauce is iconic in food, but it’s also cemented itself as the ingredient in Bloody Marys. Instead of staying boxed into condiments, Tabasco has smartly leaned into drinks, with branded Bloody Mary’s and potential fiery cocktails tapping into the booming $36.5bn ready-to-drink market. They’ve taken their heritage in flavour and heat, and extended it naturally into a whole new category.

That’s the point: brands that win don’t stay confined. They evolve. They move from product to lifestyle. They find new ways to stay relevant while staying true to their DNA.

Audience: Who Are You Talking To?

You’re not here to speak to everyone. You’re here to speak to your people. Forget broad demographics like “millennials” or “Gen Z”. You need to dig into psychographics: beliefs, behaviours, habits, fears, and desires.

It’s about understanding not just what your audience buys, but why they buy. What problem are you solving for them? What emotional itch are you scratching?

When you know your audience deeply and resonate with them, your messaging cuts through the noise because it feels like it was made just for them. That’s how you move someone from scrolling past your post to clicking “buy now.”

Positioning: Claim Your Space

Positioning is about staking your claim in the market, not by copying the competition, but by carving out a lane that only you can own.

This is where you can become the brand in your niche. Whether that’s through your voice, your values, your product experience, or your community – your positioning has to be distinctive and undeniable.

Competitors: Respect Them, Don’t Worship Them

Your competitors matter, but they shouldn’t define you. Research them, know their strengths, spot their weaknesses – but don’t obsess. Too many brands fall into the trap of mirroring competitors, thinking that’s how you “keep up.”

Here’s the thing: if you’re always looking at them, you’ll always be behind them. Competitor research should fuel your differentiation, not kill it. Learn the rules, then break them in your own way.

Visual Elements & Assets

You should know by now that a brand identity is so much more than just a logo. Logos matter, but they’re just one piece of a big puzzle. At co&co, we don’t even touch visuals until the groundwork is nailed. Why? Because how can we design a visual presence for you if we don’t know who you are or what space you’re trying to own? Starting with a logo first is backwards yet we see brands do it all the time which is the danger of rebranding without research and brand strategy.

The real magic comes from the full visual toolkit: brand markers, typography, colour palettes, patterns, imagery. These are the building blocks that make you instantly recognisable wherever you show up. Used consistently, they make you unforgettable. Used randomly, no one knows who you are.

At co&co, we don’t just hand over a logo and send you on your way. We build full suites of brand assets, create application examples (so you know how it all comes to life on socials, events, packaging, or websites), and wrap it up in brand guidelines that your whole team will be able to use. We start from the very beginning and build from there.

Fancy working together?