This article was originally published by the Swedish Chamber of Commerce in the Netherlands as part of their "SwedishChamber Insights" series. It has been adapted here for UP THERE, EVERYWHERE.
Knowing What You Stand For – And How You’re Going to Achieve Your Goals
Too often we’ve found that companies spend money communicating the wrong things. Budgets are set, campaigns launched—yet nobody has stopped to ask what the brand really stands for in the minds of its audiences, or how that brand will help achieve broader business goals.
Brand strategy isn’t a nice-to-have. It’s business strategy. And in increasingly competitive markets, it plays a make-or-break role in success. The challenge? Standing apart from your competitors. That takes strategic choices—and clarity about what your brand stands for. Just as importantly, what it doesn’t.
When people hear “brand,” they tend to think about logos, colour palettes, or taglines. But true brand strategy runs far deeper.
The Importance of Process in Brand Strategy
Developing a strong brand strategy demands a structured approach. It is essential to engage all key stakeholders—not only to gather insights but also to foster alignment and support for the strategic choices that will define the brand’s position. This is often achieved through multiple workshops that involve a broad spectrum of the organisation, including leadership and board members. These workshops dive deep into the different layers of a brand’s value proposition.
Defining the Brand’s Value Proposition
A brand’s value proposition can be broken down into three core elements:
1. Functional Benefits – These are the tangible attributes of a brand, such as quality, speed, or capacity. While easy to define, they are also more generic and can be replicated by competitors.
2. Emotional Benefits – These involve the feelings a brand evokes, such as luxury, comfort, or inspiration. Emotional connections are often more powerful and enduring. Consider Apple, whose brand identity is deeply rooted in the idea of “thinking differently.”
3. Self-Expressive Benefits – These reflect what a brand says about its buyers. People often choose brands that align with their self-image. For example, purchasing the best-known brand in an industry can signal expertise and credibility, as illustrated by the old adage: “You’ll never get fired for buying IBM.”
Understanding a brand’s value through these perspectives—and analysing how they compare to the competition—is a fundamental step in crafting a strong brand position.
Crafting a Unique Brand Position
Only after thoroughly evaluating a brand’s strengths and weaknesses relative to competitors can a company begin defining its brand position. This stage is often the most challenging, as it requires making clear, strategic choices. What will the company stand for? And what will it not? Many businesses struggle at this juncture, attempting to appeal to multiple market segments without a clear focus. This lack of specificity results in a diluted brand that blends into the competitive landscape—what we call “wallpaper.” Conversely, brands that commit to a distinct position stand out and remain memorable. A classic example is Volvo, which has built and maintained its brand position around safety for decades.
The Importance of Brand Positioning
Why is choosing a distinct brand position so essential? There are two primary reasons:
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Differentiation – A strong brand position helps a company stand apart from the competition.
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Memorability – Buyers are more likely to remember a brand when making purchasing decisions. Since the human brain can only retain a limited amount of information, simplifying the message and reinforcing a single, unique attribute improves brand recall.
In branding, perception often outweighs reality. It is essential to actively shape the perceptions you want associated with your brand.
Broader Applications of Brand Strategy
Brand strategy and positioning are extremely important to both B2B and B2C brands. For example, Jenoptik, a German photonics business, wanted to create a refreshed, bold new brand and identity that would work across multiple business areas and different geographic regions. The result was Jenoptik - More Light.
Equally, brand positioning can also be applied to places, such as countries, cities, and even destinations like airports and neighbourhoods. Take Stockholm as an example. Two decades ago, Stockholm went through a two-year process of defining its brand position as the most important place in Scandinavia.
Stockholm – The Capital of Scandinavia
The Nobel Peace Prize
Brand strategy is also highly relevant to non-profit organisations. Take the Nobel Peace Prize, for example. Back in 2011, The Nobel Foundation wanted to carry the concert and its message to a broader audience. They also felt that the existing identity and website did not fully reflect the contemporary nature of the Concert itself. What’s more, they wanted to communicate more strongly that the Concert was a celebration to recognise each year’s Nobel Peace Prize Laureate. The new identity and official website reflected a more dynamic, contemporary approach. It reached out to a younger, more international audience with interactive social media elements. Short films of the events by many artists were created, allowing viewers to watch just their favourite stars. For the logo refresh, a number of different design directions were initially explored, looking at typography, colour and the Nobel medal icon itself. These were narrowed down until a new design approach was found that reflected both the heritage of the Nobel and the Peace Prize itself, as well as the more contemporary nature of the Concert.
Brand strategy can also be applied to countries and specific sectors within that country. Following the upheavals of Brexit and the consequent relocation of the European Medicines Agency (EMA) to Amsterdam, the Dutch government made a conscious decision to capitalize on this new momentum and to establish a clear positioning for its Life Sciences and Health sector.
The Netherlands and the Arrival of the EMA
The starting premise was: the Netherlands is the most important place in Europe for Life Sciences and Health. Because of the unique density and closeness of everything in the Netherlands, and the strong spirit of collaboration, the core idea of Connected was recommended. The concept was further developed by imagining the country as a metropolis. This concept was well-received, especially since any region (Rotterdam, Amsterdam or Eindhoven) could use the positioning and adapt it for its own purposes. The positioning created for the Netherlands was: The Netherlands: Europe's connected Life Sciences & Health metropolis.
Conclusion
A well-defined brand strategy is not just about the logo—it’s about making clear, strategic choices that define what a company, product, or place stands for. By crafting a unique and memorable position, brands can differentiate themselves, foster emotional connections, and remain top-of-mind for their audiences. In the competitive world of business, a strong brand strategy is not a luxury—it’s a necessity.
Originally published by the Swedish Chamber of Commerce in the Netherlands.
Connect with Lawrence Masle on LinkedIn.
