Brand platform and brand strategy: foundation vs plan
A brand platform is WHO YOU ARE: your core, character and DNA. A brand strategy is HOW YOU WILL GET THERE: your action plan and roadmap.
Brand platform: the company's foundation
The brand's inner backbone. It answers the main questions and sets the rules for years ahead. It includes the mission and vision, values, the brand promise, personality (if the brand were a person, who would it be?) and a distinctive positioning.
Brand strategy: a plan for winning the market
A specific, practical plan for 1 to 3 years. It includes concrete goals (for example, growing market share to 15%), positioning for the market, a communication strategy and a plan of marketing activities.
Why you need both
- Without a platform: the team doesn't know what it is fighting for. Communication becomes contradictory.
- Without a strategy: money and effort go into scattered actions with no goal.