It can be hard to know where to start when you’re thinking about how to set your food brand apart. You believe in the potential for your product to turn into a strong brand but, as the saying goes, “a vision without a plan is just a dream.” That’s why we spend so much time on brand strategy: to give you the framework you need to put your vision into action.
Today on the Real Food Brands Marketing Podcast, host and Food Brand Strategist Katie Mleziva walks you through her three-step process to streamline your brand strategy.
1. Define and Refine
Whether you’re starting from scratch or already have a brand strategy in place, this first step helps you get organized about how you think about your brand. It starts by looking at your inputs and outputs.
Some examples of inputs include:
- Purpose
- Vision
- Values
- Competitive set
- Consumer needs
- Company capabilities
The outputs are what you get after you use Katie’s brand strategy framework tools:
- Brand pillars
- Personality
- Positioning
- Essence
- Brand story
Putting everything down on paper gives you the clarity you need to work through the next steps in the process and bring your brand to life in a cohesive way.
2. Align
This step is all about connecting the front and back end of your business to align to the North Star of your brand strategy so that your brand positioning and personality are shining through in everything you do. We want to identify all the different areas of your business and think through how to keep your ideal consumer top-of-mind. How can we incorporate your brand strategy based on your positioning to strengthen how you deliver on that positioning?
A key here is to keep in mind who is involved with each different area of your business and how to get them on the same page with understanding your strategy. You want your team to be aware of—and excited about—the brand you’re building and the story you’re inviting them to be a part of.
3. Activate
This step is where your brand strategy starts to really come alive. Look at all the areas you’ve written down in the ‘Align’ phase and decide which will have the most impact so you can start there.. For many businesses, that looks like an integrated marketing plan that connects social media, ads, PR, packaging, website, and more. Writing a creative brief or making a mood board can answer so many questions a creative person (e.g. designer, copywriter) might have when they’re working with your business for the first time.
This can also look like a reassessment of what kind of suppliers you work with, or which shelves/websites consumers can find your products on. Really, it’s every decision you and your team makes to make sure you’re in alignment and that you stand behind your brand promises.
This process (and the other podcast episodes linked below) should give you what you need to get started. If you’re excited about having a process and want to learn more to accelerate your progress, reach out at katie@realfoodbrands.com for info on options including on-demand, small group, or 1:1 work.
Now, let’s go shake up shopping carts!
Quotes:
“We want to make sure that all of those ideas that have been floating around in your head for months- or possibly years – are taken through a proven process that connects the dots and synthesize your thoughts so that you can identify your Northstar, invite your team into your story and prioritize where are you are going so you can invest in the right actions at the right time.” – Katie Mleziva
“When you have a team you need to help make sure that they are aware of—and excited about—the brand you’re building and the story you’re inviting them to be a part of.” – Katie Mleziva
“We always want to act in a place of integrity where what you say is what you do.” – Katie Mleziva
In This Episode:
- Why having a process to work through your brand strategy is so important.
- How Katie has taken proven techniques from big business and translated them into success for emerging natural food brands.
- A common misunderstanding about what a brand is.
- Why a strong brand strategy is the key to standing out in a crowded market.
- How to DEFINE and REFINE your brand strategy inputs and outputs.
- How to ALIGN around a brand strategy by getting your whole team on the same page.
- What it looks like to ACTIVATE your brand strategy with specific integrated actions versus a collection of tactics.
- New on-demand content coming soon!
- What Katie means when she invites you to “shake up shopping carts.”
Resources:
- Ep #45: The 5-Minute Food Business Brand Strategy Formula
- Ep #64: [Brand Strategy Series] Setting Your Food Business Apart Step 1: The Competitive Snapshot
- Ep #65: [Brand Strategy Series] Setting Your Food Business Apart Step 2: Identifying Your Ideal Consumer
- Ep #66: [Brand Strategy Series] Setting Your Food Business Apart Step 3: Company Strategy
- Ep #90: My 2 Favorite Market Research Questions
- Download Your Free Brand Strategy Checkup
- Book a 60-minute 1-on-1 Brand Strategy session with Katie
- Connect with Katie on Instagram
- 3 Day Building a Brand That Stands Out course details
