Brand strategy matters.

Developing a brand strategy used to mean finding the right message for the right person at the right time, and success would follow. All of that’s still true, but this isn’t 2014.

Rather it’s a time when the marketing world that has no firm idea what the next two years will bring. Digital is continuing to change us all – behaviorally, psychologically and generationally. We are constantly toggling between different digital spaces: personal, professional, public, private, mobile and seated. The time spent in any space is becoming shorter and shorter. No longer can we think of our targeted customers as an “audience;” they are, in fact, the ones in charge.

So what does this mean for building a brand?

It means a communication strategy can’t be a flat collection of benefits, it must consider a continually shifting context. An email message has to break through different emotional circumstances than a Facebook post — yet both are evaluated within a fraction of an instant. Understanding the nuances of a single moment can make all the difference between brand engagement and dismissal.

It also means brands are no longer built by brand managers and ad campaigns alone. Customers shape a brand every time they go online and write a review, tweet a complaint or post a story. A customer’s viewpoint should never be assumed or imagined by a hands-off executive. Rather, brand stewards have to get in there and experience every moment of the customer journey for themselves– objectively and regularly.

Finally, our constantly shifting social/local/mobile surroundings also mean the cost of attention is sky-high. For brand communication to work, it can’t just sputter on about what is does — a meaningful brand has to give, solve, entertain and serve a purpose. It has to fit within the context of a customer’s story.

Brand strategist for hire 

I’m thrilled by the changes in the brand building business. Never before have projects required so much strategic agility and creativity. Every brand challenge is unique and hard. My brain hurts constantly — but in a good way.

My background is deep on strategy development. I have 13+ years “big agency” experience overseeing the brand efforts for clients such as Kraft Foods, Unilever and American Express. For the last 7 years, I’ve consulted for clients big and small, BTC and BTB, building brands across many different categories: maple syrup, automotive, shampoo, architecture, fitness, construction and feminine protection.

As a consultant, I can function as an adjunct resource, as part of a dedicated team or as a project lead. I have a flexible schedule and live three hours (by car) from Chicago.

If you would like to talk about how we can build a relevant brand in a rapidly changing culture, please contact me by commenting below (comments not published) or email me directly at: jodicary@sbcglobal.net.