# Brand strategy, positioning and naming

Brand Foundation™ establishes what a brand stands for and what it wants to solve in the market. That is how a brand emerges that no longer needs explanation.

## Where the brand is not invented, but emerges.

We map out clearly what your brand stands for, weigh that against the competition and define a strategic position you can steer by. Every choice that follows, from name to website, comes from this foundation.

### Strategic position

A brand does not win by being good at everything, but by choosing one place and holding on to it. That position becomes the compass for every choice that follows.
- **Analysis**: Your market, your competitors and your own strengths mapped out.
- **Positioning**: One sharp, defensible place in the market.
- **Brand promise**: What people can expect from you, every single time.

### Positioning

The place your brand occupies, in the market and in people's minds. Not what you say about yourself, but what others recognise you by.
- **Market view**: Where the space lies between your competitors.
- **Distinction**: What makes you different, and why that matters.
- **Positioning statement**: Your position in one sentence anyone can repeat.

### Brand architecture

As your organisation grows, so do your products, services and labels. Brand architecture determines how they relate to each other, so customers understand what you do.
- **Structure**: Master brand, sub-brands and propositions in one overview.
- **Naming logic**: Agreements on what new products and services are called.
- **Room to grow**: Space for what comes next, without confusion.

### Internal branding

A brand is not delivered in marketing, but by people. A brand that is carried internally is believed externally.
- **Brand story**: The story in words your team actually uses.
- **Sessions**: Meetings in which the team makes the brand its own.
- **Behaviour**: What the brand means for how you help customers.

### Tone of voice

How your brand sounds: in a quote, a post or on the phone. Not a list of rules, but a consequence of who you are.
- **Character in language**: How your brand sounds, in a few clear principles.
- **Examples**: This is how an email, a post or web copy sounds.
- **Writing guide**: Short enough to use every day.

### Naming

A name is the first thing people hear of your brand, and the last thing they forget. We create names that carry direction and character.
- **Naming strategy**: What kind of name suits your brand and your market.
- **Creation**: A broad exploration, narrowed down to a few strong candidates.
- **Testing**: Meaning, pronunciation and a first check on domain and trademark register.

### Kernpunt™

What does a brand that does not ring true cost? Kernpunt™ is half a day in which we bring the core of your brand down to one point.
- **Half a day at the table**: With you or your core team, at our studio or at yours.
- **The Kernpunt**: One A4: your position in one sentence and three choices that make the difference now.
- **Honest advice**: What your brand needs. Sometimes Brand Foundation™, sometimes less.

Vaste prijs: €1,250 excl. btw

## Five components. One foundation.
- **Positioning**: A clear place in people's minds and in the market.
- **Architecture**: Brand Architecture™: structure in products, services and propositions. Clear and scalable.
- **Internal branding**: A brand that is carried internally is believed externally.
- **Tone of voice**: Not a style guide, but a consequence of who the brand is.
- **Naming**: A name that carries direction, character and recognition.

## How a project unfolds. Four steps, from conversation to foundation.
1. **Introduction**: A conversation about your brand, your market and your ambition.
2. **Analysis**: Your market, your competitors and your customers mapped out.
3. **Strategy sessions**: Together we make the choices: position, promise and story.
4. **Brand foundation**: Everything in one clear document, the basis for what follows.

Not sure yet? Start with half a day.

## Work that starts at the core.

Every brand below started with its foundation. Only then came the form.
- **Bouwmensen Nederland**: Brand strategy, identity, magazine, website
- **CowSignals®**: Brand identity, brandbook, training materials

## A foundation without form stays invisible.
- Core .  Brand Foundation™. You are here.
- Form .  Brand Design™. How you are recognised.
- Presence .  Brand Activation™. Where you appear.

From the core grows the form.

Brand Design™ is the next pillar: the visible translation of your foundation. A logo, typography and a visual identity that people recognise, because they come from who you are.

## Start at the core. Book an introduction with Clemens Beneder.

hallo@merkbaar.nl · 055 360 1007 · Vlijtseweg 112, 7317 AG Apeldoorn

Source: https://merkbaar.nl/en/expertise/brand-foundation/