186 - How Brand Strategy Works — with Mika Saulitis
Apr 27, 2022
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Mika Saulitis, Director of Creative Strategy at Trollbäck+Company, dives into the intricate world of brand strategy. He shares his journey from being a receptionist to a leading strategist, illustrating how career paths can pivot unexpectedly. Mika emphasizes the balance of creativity and strategic thinking, and the dangers of becoming a 'yes' person in client relationships. With insights on crafting authentic brand identities and navigating stakeholder challenges, he reveals how storytelling and collaboration are essential for successful brand strategy.
Showing the thinking behind the brand strategy is important as clients pay for the agency's expertise and thinking process.
Engaging in thorough research, stakeholder interviews, and workshops helps brands uncover their unique character and validate their position.
Conducting workshops at the end of a project creates buy-in and a sense of ownership for stakeholders, allowing them to understand the journey and reasoning behind the final brand strategy solution.
Deep dives
The Importance of Building Brand Strategy
Building brand strategy involves understanding the client's challenges, providing solutions, and taking them on a journey to gain buy-in from stakeholders. Clients often seek validation or someone to challenge their ideas, making the process of showcasing how the agency arrived at a solution crucial. Showing the thinking behind the strategy is just as important as presenting the solution itself, as clients pay for the agency's expertise and thinking process.
The Power of Authenticity in Branding
The term 'authenticity' is often used in brand strategy to signify being true to a brand's character or spirit. However, some brands may struggle to define their character or spirit, making authenticity a buzzword that lacks substance. Engaging in thorough research, stakeholder interviews, and workshops helps brands uncover their unique character and validate their position. Building a narrative and storytelling around the brand's journey towards a solution is crucial for clients to understand and embrace the authenticity of the brand.
The Significance of Workshops and Stakeholder Engagement
Workshops and stakeholder engagement play a vital role in the branding process. At the start of a project, workshops involving employees from various departments give a comprehensive understanding of the brand, its challenges, and desired changes. These collaborative sessions help gather opinions, identify key words and attributes, and foster a common understanding. Conducting workshops at the end of a project allows stakeholders to see the journey, decisions made, and the reasoning behind the final solution, creating buy-in and a sense of ownership.
Helping brands articulate their character and spirit
The podcast discusses the challenges brands face when trying to be authentic and true to a character or spirit that they themselves have yet to articulate. The speaker explains that workshops and interviews are useful tools to help brands uncover their authentic voice by exploring different ideas and identifying what resonates with them. This process lays the foundation for brand strategies that are actionable and resonate with the intended audience.
Navigating conflicts and maintaining brand clarity
The podcast explores the importance of maintaining brand clarity and avoiding the use of generic terms that can dilute a brand's message. The speaker emphasizes the need to use words that are actionable and specific, rather than vague and open to interpretation. They suggest using 'not' words to define what a brand is not, while still ensuring that these words align with the brand's character. The speaker also discusses the challenge of balancing client input with strategic direction, highlighting the importance of honest conversations and diplomatically voicing concerns when decisions may compromise the brand's differentiation or resonance with the target audience.
Mika Saulitis is the Director of Creative Strategy at branding and design studio, Trollbäck+Company. But what does a Director of Brand Strategy do exactly?
As Mika puts it, there are two core components: strategy and creativity.
Strategy involves strategic thinking, writing positioning statements, and determining the brand’s voice—the invisible traits of a brand. Creativity arrives in more tangible forms, like campaigns, videos, concepts, and copywriting.
In this episode, Mika shares how he navigated the design industry and transitioned from fetching lunch orders to facilitating high-profile strategy sessions.
Mika and Chris delve into how brand strategy works. The process, the pitfalls, and why the last thing a client wants is a “yes” person.
If you work in or are curious about brand strategy, what it is, or how it works, then give this episode a listen. Mika is generous with what he’s learned and how he learned it. Maybe his story can help you.
