Great brands are iconic, lasting and unchanging. They are reliable, comfortable and well-known to their target audiences, right? In many ways, yes! But smart marketers know that to maintain relevance (and ultimately, financial success), great brands are constantly adjusting and refreshing their brand strategies.  

Let’s look at the components of a best-in-class brand strategy and clues of when it’s time to adjust course: 

• Mission & Vision – The basics of what the brand does and why. Unless the business entity undergoes some radical transformation or expansion, mission and vision usually remain consistent. Coca-Cola’s mission “…to make the drinks people love” is fairly evergreen and shouldn’t significantly change unless the core business does. 
• Brand Identity – The brand’s visual and non-visual elements. Many components make up this important facet of brand strategy. Logos and taglines are central to identity and should rarely change. However, creative use of color palettes, soundscapes and graphic elements can help a brand better speak to specific audiences in different situations. Cadillac’s elegant adaptation of its shield logo in the physical design of its vehicles (texture patterns, body styling, display graphics) is an excellent example. 
• Target Audience – The ideal consumer of your product or service. Audiences are fickle and change constantly. Nimble brands are the ones that closely watch consumer behaviors and cultural trends, always looking for growth opportunities. When an audience matures or a new one develops, successful marketers reframe brand messaging to speak more concisely to potential new consumers. Amazon began by cheaply selling books and delivering them quickly. While they don’t just sell to readers anymore, the brand promise is still at the core of the business.  
• Positioning – How the brand is perceived in the marketplace. Savvy marketers are hyper-aware of what their competitors are up to. Adjustments to messaging, audience and media are essential if a brand is to keep up with a challenger who offers cheaper or better services. Anticipating customer needs is also a key component of staying competitive. Burger King couldn’t match McDonald’s golden reach, so they changed gears and used snark and price point to appeal to a hungry audience. 
• Messaging – What the brand “says” and how it says it. There are endless ways to communicate a brand’s attributes. Messaging depends on audience, outlet, context and business objective. Just like a conversation, it is one area that should be constantly refreshed. Delta’s ability to speak effectively to customers, aviation geeks, employees and several types of potential travelers via dozens of platforms and touchpoints is remarkable.  
• Customer Experience – The intangible feeling a brand imparts via contact with its customers. This is a tough area to master, and few brands do it really well. Those that do focus on creating joy or eliminating a pain point for their customers. This requires anticipation and efficient feedback structures. The Ritz-Carlton’s legendary approach to customer service created deep loyalty among guests and, by creating a demand for better service, pressured other hospitality brands to up their ante. Their secret was constant feedback from every customer touchpoint in the business – housekeeping staff to reservations clerks. 

A healthy brand strategy allows for the inevitability of change. In fact, it should embrace the evolution of its audience, its products and the culture and adapt accordingly. 

If your brand seems static and maybe a bit stuck in the mud, Curious Jane can help. We’d love to take a fresh look at not just the competition, but the assets the brand has in place (or needs to have in place), to adjust to a constantly evolving marketplace. We know that great brands never sit still. 

Reach out, we’d love to start a conversation.