What Is a Brand Development Strategy

We've heard so many things about branding. But it seems like all we talk about is brand identity. What about what goes behind-the-scene? What about having a brand development strategy? Is this just another strategy that you'll probably never use, or is it actually a crutial piece to business success?

What is Brand Development

Let us begin with defining brand development, as many business owners — even those with multiple businesses — confuse the concept of brand development with brand identity.

So, what exactly is brand development?

By definition, brand development is "the process of creating and strengthening your professional service brand. (Hinge Marketing)"

The process usually funtions under a two-part structure. You begin with devloping a strategy that aligns with your business objectives, then move on to developing all the tools, such as a brand identity guide, to turn the strategy into something tangible.

When the time is right, you will come back and re-acess your brand, and determine if a partial or full rebranding has become necessary at that point.

Doing the Homework

Same as building any other strategies, you will begin with doing some homework.

First of all, pull out your business plan as it will serve as your guideline. Ideally, your business plan should tell you who your target audience is, what your market challenges are, and also outline your company's unique value proposition (UVP) as well as your mission statement.

If you're lacking any of these pieces, that's okay too. Many started their business with a simplified business plan. All it means is you'll put more work into building your brand development strategy.

The Four Brand Development Strategies

Now, it's time to really get down with the question we asked at the very beginning.

What is a brand development strategy?

Generally speaking, there are four main strategies used by both the B2C and B2B world when it's time to develop (or redevelop) a brand.

Additionally, keep in mind that all four of these strategies are adaptable to both business and personal brands. Therefore, as you continue to read, think about how they will look like for both types of brands.

Image Credit: The Marketing Study Guide

Line Extension

As the name indicates, a line extension extends an existing line of product by introducing a new yet similar product to the picture.

Thus, line extension leverages your existing brand influence while adding product diversity to your organization. It is often used when a business has been "doing what they do" for a while and is in need of a breakthrough.

You can utilize line extension to open a similar yet new market. For example, a brewery can launch a new flavor to its existing line of hard ciders to create more buzz, interest, and profitability.

Brand Extension

Also known as brand stretching, brand extension is when a company leverages an existing brand to create a new product or product line different from their previous offerings. This new product could either belong to an adjacent category, or be completely different.

For example, a skincare company focusing on women aged 30-45 that has been primarily offering facial creams and lotions can begin offering makeups or even haircare products to penetrade deeper into its target market.

New Brand Strategy

Then, of course, there is the new brand strategy, whose name is self-explanatory — you're developing an entirely new brand.

Often, a company willc create a new brand to go with a new product that is drastically different from the company's existing product category, as well as business image.

Flanker Brand Strategy (Multi-brand)

Waht is a flanker brand? It is a new brand introduced to the market by a company who already has an established brand in the same product category. Sometimes this new brand is introduced as a child brand. Other times, flanker brands may work parallely, each focusing a segment of the target market or demographic.

A great example of flanker brands is the various social media platforms under what is now known as Meta. Facebook, Instagram, Whatsapp... EAch one of these brands has a unique focus and distinguishes clearly in function, purpose, and structure.

Conclusion

So, what is a brand devleopment strategy?

To clarify two of the most common misundertsandings:

• a brand development strategy is different from your brand identity
• a brand development strategy doesn't always create a new brand

Because of the complexity behind brand development, many businesses choose to hire a brand consultant or a marketing consultant to help navigate through the process.

Yet, to sum it up as simply as we could, a brand devleopment strategy is your roadmap to becoming more distinguishable among your target market, so you can better serve your audience and thus ensure business growth and profitability.

It's the 21st century. Your business needs a guideline it can follow and scale with.