Time to rethink the role of brand in business strategy

Brand strategy done right will have a positive impact on every aspect of an organisation. And yet so often, brand strategists are kept at arm’s length. In my experience, the most forward-thinking organisations understand and celebrate the power of brand, recognising that it’s far more than what people see on the outside. Brand holds everything together on the inside too.

It shapes the choices you make about who you serve, what you offer and how you operate. As such, brand should go arm in arm with the overall strategic plan of an organisation as well as informing the creative expression and comms of a brand identity.

Brand as organisational North Star

The clients who get the most value out of working with The Co-Foundry give myself and my team access to the board, trustees and senior leadership teams. Our involvement with them doesn’t just start and end with their marketing function.

Although it’s an intangible asset, brand is fundamental to an organisation’s resilience and long-term success, informing and affecting culture, roles, responsibilities, aspirations and vision.

Not just a veneer

Too many organisations still think of brand strategy as a surface-level exercise – with rebrands intended as a means of refreshing visual identity or improving external communications. But once the process begins, brand research and the strategic recommendations flowing from it can often reveal deeper misalignments in the business itself.

Rebrands stall mid-process when they expose gaps in business strategy. These can be around unclear positioning, conflicting organisational priorities or an audience that hasn’t been fully understood. At this point, the organisation faces a choice to either push forward with branding that won’t align with reality or take several steps back to reassess their strategic foundations and untangle the disconnects. Many end up in a frustrating holding pattern, unsure how to proceed.

These disconnects happen because brand strategy should never be regarded as a mere response to business strategy. Neither standalone function nor superficial external layer – brand is integral to organisations as a whole. Put simply, everything works much better if brand has a seat at the table when organisational strategy is being shaped.

Why brand strategy should inform business strategy (and vice versa)

Brand goes far deeper than how an organisation looks and sounds. It’s how it behaves, what it stands for and how it’s perceived by stakeholders. So, when brand strategy is developed in isolation from business strategy, key decisions risk being misaligned.

The following lists just some of the critical areas where brand and business strategy need to work together:

1. Brand architecture impacts organisational structure and communication channels
   Whether an organisation operates with distinct departments or branded sub-services, brand affects roles, responsibilities and even operational efficiency. A clear brand architecture ensures internal alignment while helping customers and stakeholders understand and navigate offerings seamlessly.
2. Vision, mission and purpose should be more than words
   An organisation’s mission and vision should be lived across all functions – not just as statements on a website but as guiding principles shaping strategy, operations and culture. If business decisions don’t align with the brand’s purpose, it leads to dissonance, fragmentation and confusion.
3. Values drive company culture and organisational unity
   Defining core values isn’t just a branding exercise, it’s the foundation of company culture. Values shouldn’t just live in a brand book – they should influence everything from hiring and leadership to service delivery and internal communications. When they’re clearly articulated and embedded into decision-making, they create organisational unity and help align teams around a shared purpose.
4. Audience and stakeholder insights add value beyond marketing
   Brand strategists bring external perspectives, helping organisations understand their audience’s needs, perceptions and expectations. This intelligence then informs the full spectrum of organisational decisions, from service design, to partnerships – a far wider remit than just influencing marketing campaigns.

Making brand integral

Rather than treating brand strategy as a final or standalone step or, even worse, an afterthought – organisations should integrate brand into their core strategic planning. This ensures that:

• Organisational goals and brand positioning reinforce one another
• Organisational changes are tested against the brand’s purpose and audience expectations
• Brand remains a consistent, guiding force rather than a reactive patchwork of responses
• Company culture is shaped by intentional values not just inherited behaviours

A well-defined brand creates clarity and a strong sense of purpose that can then be consistently put to work across the organisation and communicated to target audiences.

Nike’s Just Do It slogan is one of the most iconic brand messages in history. It has cultivated mental associations that reflect Nike’s purpose – empowering individuals to overcome obstacles, push their limits, and take action. The consistency of its application (35 years plus and counting) meant it gained momentum and eventually became inseparable from Nike’s identity – attesting to the power of brand.

Not sure when to bring a brand specialist in?

You don’t have to get all your ducks in a row before you introduce a brand specialist to your organisation. If you’re looking to make some big changes or you think you have a perception problem or cultural issue but can’t quite identify its causes – a brand strategist could be just the person to help you find the answers.

Coming in early, they can conduct research, facilitate conversations and stress test your hypotheses. They may not have all the answers but their involvement means that your organisation will benefit from cognitive diversity – balancing, for example, a more traditional, finance-driven board perspective with the brand voice that resonates with customers and end-users.

In a world where CEO and CMO tenures are growing ever shorter, placing brand front and centre, and forging a strong brand identity that everyone can understand and get behind, is becoming ever more integral to organisational success.