The world champion Springboks beat the Wallabies 24-8 in the second test down under in the Rugby Championship 2022 (and they won the fight!). Both teams would have devised a strategy to win by analysing their opponents in detail and knowing their own capabilities. The Springboks strategy proofed to be superior and/or their execution the best.
1 Idea – 1 Challenge – 1 Quote
Idea From Me
Strategy, per definition
Strategy is about clarifying a goal and how to achieve it. Both teams wanted to win the Rugby Championship test, the Championship series, be crowned world champions in the Rugby World Cup next year and be the best rugby nation – short-, medium- and long-term goals. To achieve the goal(s) they need a strategy and the strategy (game plan, player management, feeder programs etc.) needs to be executed to perfection to achieve the goal(s).
Let’s apply it to brand strategy.
Brand
Neither your logo nor your offering is your brand. A logo represents a brand. As mentioned before, your brand is the node in people’s minds together with your brand associations attached to the node. Brand is intangible and the power of a brand resides in people’s minds.
Strategy
As mentioned above, strategy, in general, is about clarifying a goal and how to achieve it.
Brand + strategy
The first goal of brand strategy is to clarify what your brand wants to ideally stand for in people’s minds. This may involve research to determine what your brand currently stands for in people’s minds and what you need to change about these perceptions to get closer to your ideal brand associations. The second goal of brand strategy is to create brand awareness, both recognition and recall. Consumers need to be able to identify your brand and to differentiate it from the brands of your competitors. Add to this the strategies of how to achieve the goals and you have a brand strategy.
Brand strategy sequential steps
1. Clarify what you want your brand to ideally stand for in people’s minds – the core brand associations
2. Create awareness; recognition and recall – register your brand node in people’s minds
3. Attach core brand associations to brand node in people’s minds – how you want your brand to be positioned
For more on brand strategy consider the How to create a brand strategy blueprint.
Challenge To You
Clarify the 1, 2 or 3 things that you want your brand to ideally stand for in people’s minds and align your communication to attach these few core brand associations to your brand node in people’s minds.
Quote
Just to keep perspective, this weeks quote reminds us that an organisation’s culture is the environment within which strategy gets executed.
“Culture eats strategy for breakfast” – Peter Drucker
Bonus Tip
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Let’s BRAND FOR SUCCESS!
Pieter Steenkamp, BrandDoctor
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Meet Dr Pieter Steenkamp, your BRAND FOR SUCCESS guide.
I am actually a brand doctor with a PhD in brand management from University of Stellenbosch Business School. As a brand management lecturer and researcher at a university in Cape Town South Africa and a regular visiting professor at universities in Germany, I stay up to date with the latest brand management developments. This affords me the incredible opportunity to consult with leaders of some of the most admired brands.
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