Brand Strategy Template: A One-Page Framework You Can Fill In Today
A brand strategy does not need to be a 60-page deck. For most businesses, a single page that answers the right questions is more useful, because people will actually read it and use it. This template gives you that page.
It works as a starting point for a start-up, a check-up for an established business, or a brief to hand to an agency. For the difference between strategy and design, see brand strategy versus brand identity.
The one-page template
Copy the headings, then answer each in one or two sentences. If you cannot, that is useful information: it shows where the thinking is not yet done.
1. Purpose
Why does this business exist, beyond making money? What problem do you solve, and why does it matter?
2. Audience
Who are we for, and who are we not for? Describe a real person: their situation, what they are trying to achieve, what frustrates them and what they currently do about it. See our competitor analysis guide for how to compare yourself with the alternatives.
3. Market and competitors
Who else do customers consider, and how do they position themselves? List three to five alternatives, including doing nothing.
4. Positioning
For [audience] who need [need], we are the [category] that [benefit], because [reason to believe]. Use the format in our guide to writing a positioning statement.
5. Proof
Why should anyone believe us? Evidence: results, credentials, methods, customers, awards.
6. Values
What do we believe, and how does it change what we do? Three to five specific values. See brand values examples.
7. Personality
If the brand were a person, who would they be? Three or four traits with their opposites ("warm but not chatty"). Consider an archetype.
8. Core message
What is the one sentence a customer should remember? Use the roof of your messaging framework.
9. Promise
What can customers always count on? One line that you can keep.
10. Goals and measures
What should the brand achieve in the next 12 months, and how will we know? Examples: more qualified enquiries, higher average project value, shorter sales cycle, better recognition.
How to use the page
- Share it with everyone who makes decisions about the brand.
- Print it, and put it where work happens.
- Test decisions against it. Would this campaign, hire or product fit?
- Review it every year, or when the business changes.
Worked example (fictional)
A small London bakery for office workers:
- Purpose: to make a proper breakfast easy for people who work in the city
- Audience: busy office workers in central London who value quality but not queues
- Competitors: big chains, supermarkets and skipping breakfast
- Positioning: the neighbourhood bakery that delivers fresh, slow-fermented bread to the office by 8am
- Proof: baked daily in our own kitchen, named baker, customer reviews
- Values: craft over speed, small batches, neighbourly
- Personality: warm, direct, unpretentious
- Core message: "Real bread, at your desk, before 8."
The example is only an illustration of how short each answer can be.
What comes next
Once the page is complete, move on to:
Our brand strategy toolkit lists every framework in one place.
Common mistakes
- Making each answer a paragraph, which defeats the purpose
- Writing aspirational answers rather than honest ones
- Skipping the competitors
- Never using the page after it is written
- Doing it alone when views differ across the team
Frequently asked questions
How long does it take to fill in?
A focused afternoon, or a workshop with a small team. Customer research adds time but improves the answers.
Is this enough for a rebrand?
For a small business, it is a solid start. Larger projects need research and testing. See the rebrand process.
Who should complete it?
The people responsible for the brand, with input from customer-facing staff.
