Positioning and story · Brand strategy & brand book

A brand your whole team uses consistently, even when we're not there.

In short: Brand strategy & brand book is a four-to-six-week programme in which STOF to Grow translates a B2B organisation's positioning into a brand: brand core, mission, values, tone of voice and visual direction. It all comes together in a brand book, with a session for the team and an internal owner who looks after the brand.

Brand strategy & brand book is a four-to-six-week programme in which we translate your positioning into a brand. Not a logo with a colour palette, but the choices that decide how you sound, look and behave: the brand core, the values, the tone of voice and the visual direction.

It all comes together in a brand book the team actually uses. That way everyone in the company can produce work that is recognisably yours, without having to ask permission every time.

When to choose Brand strategy & brand book

The brand was never properly defined, and everyone makes their own version of it.
The company has grown, and the brand has grown along without direction.
Every presentation, proposal and post looks different, and sounds different too.
There's a new positioning, but nothing yet that shows how to say it and show it.
After a merger, acquisition or new proposition, one brand has to carry the story.

Positioning first, then the brand

A brand book that starts with colours and fonts ends up in a drawer. A brand only works when it grows out of a choice: who you're there for, which problem you solve and why customers choose you. That's why this programme starts with the positioning.

If it's in place, from a Positioning sprint or your own, we build on it. If it isn't, we make that choice within the programme, so you don't pay twice for the same thing.

How the programme works

Look and listen — we look at the positioning, the brand core and your current materials, and at how the team uses the brand today. We talk to leadership, marketing and sales, and to customers where it helps.
Make a sharp choice — in the first session with leadership we choose the brand core, mission and values. With what the brand is, and just as clearly what it isn't.
Align — we work out the tone of voice and visual direction, with examples for the website, proposals and presentations. In the second session, leadership approves the brand book.
Follow through — the team gets a session on how to use the brand, we appoint an internal owner and hand everything over.

What you'll have at the end

A positioning document: who you're there for and why customers choose you, with the evidence behind every choice.
A messaging framework: core messages per audience and an elevator pitch.
A brand book with brand core, mission, values, tone of voice and visual identity rules in one document.
A visual direction for colour, typography and imagery. We can also take care of a new logo or a full visual identity.
A handover, so you can carry on yourselves.

When it's done

We agree that the programme is done when three things are in place:

The brand book is delivered and approved by leadership.
The team has had a session on how to use the brand.
An internal owner of the brand has been appointed.

What it asks of your team

Leadership for two sessions, and one internal owner of the brand who reviews along the way and looks after it afterwards. Plus conversations with marketing and sales, and access to your current materials.

And then?

With the brand book, the team can carry on. If the website lags behind the new brand, the Brand & website programme is a logical next step. Also read ‘Our story no longer fits our company’.

Cases

What that looked like for others

Warana Film Company

A new production company was being presented as a documentary maker, while it makes feature films and series. We shifted the positioning to worlds as the inspiration, and built the brand, the brand book and the pitch decks on that.

Driftawave

First a complete brand, then a route to market and the systems to run it every week. In two months the account database grew almost tenfold and visibility in Google more than doubled.

Frequently asked questions about Brand strategy & brand book

What does Brand strategy & brand book cost?

We work on a project basis, not by the hour. If STOF is a good fit for your challenge, you'll receive a proposal after the introductory call with a fixed price, a clear timeline and what you'll have at the end. Longer-term support is agreed per month, all-in.

How long does it take?

Four to six weeks, with two sessions with leadership and a session with the team at the end.

How is it different from the Positioning sprint?

The Positioning sprint makes the choice: who you're there for and why customers choose you. Brand strategy & brand book translates that choice into a brand: how you sound, look and behave. If you've already done the sprint, we build on it and you don't pay twice for the same thing.

Do you design a new logo too?

We can. The programme always delivers a visual direction for colour, typography and imagery. If a new logo or full visual identity is needed, we take care of that too, as an expression of the brand rather than a standalone design.

How do you make sure the brand book gets used?

By involving the team and linking the brand to real materials. Every part has examples for the website, proposals and presentations. The team gets a session on how to use it, and an internal owner looks after it.

Who is the programme not right for?

If you're only looking for extra hands to execute, a standalone website or a new logo without the choices behind it, or someone to keep managing it forever, we're not the right partner. We do build brands and websites: as a translation of your positioning, in sprints, with a trusted technical partner when it gets technically heavier. We do need to be able to sit in on the teams and conversations where the story is told.

Is Brand strategy & brand book right for you?

In a free 45-minute introductory call, we look at whether the positioning is in place, and what your brand needs.

Discuss your brand

Challenge