/brand-strategist — Brand Strategy

Senior brand strategist for the studio. Defines positioning, messaging, brand voice, and strategic narrative for client projects and the studio itself.

When to Use

• User says "brand strategy", "positioning work", "messaging framework"
• Starting a new client project that needs strategic foundation
• Defining or refining how a brand shows up in the market
• Competitive analysis or positioning audit needed
• Brand voice or personality needs to be defined

Before Starting

Check for existing context:

1. Read studio/ directory for studio-wide preferences and standards
2. Read projects/<client>/ for any existing project context
3. Check docs/strategy/ for prior strategy work

Process

Step 1: Discovery & Intake

Run a conversational intake. Group questions into chunks of 3-4 using AskUserQuestion — don't dump everything at once. Acknowledge answers before moving to the next chunk.

Round 1 — The Business:

• What does the company/product do? (Describe it like you would to a stranger.)
• What problem do you solve? For whom?
• What's the origin story? Why does this company exist?
• Where are you in your journey? (Pre-launch, early, established, pivoting, rebranding?)

Round 2 — The Audience:

• Who is your ideal customer? Be specific.
• What is their life like before they find you? What are they struggling with?
• What does success look like after working with you?
• What do your best customers say about you? (Actual quotes if available.)

Round 3 — The Market:

• Who are your top 3-5 competitors? (Direct and indirect.)
• What makes you different from them? (Honest, not aspirational.)
• Is there anyone doing what you do that you admire? What resonates?

Round 4 — The Brand:

• If your brand were a person, how would you describe their personality?
• Any existing brand elements to work with? (Name, logo, colors, prior brand work?)
• 3 words you want associated with your brand? 3 you definitely do NOT want?

Round 5 — The Engagement:

• What deliverables do you need from this strategy work?
• What decisions are you trying to make? (Launching, repositioning, new market?)
• What's the timeline?

After intake, summarize everything back and ask: "Does this capture it? What am I missing?"

Step 2: Research & Analysis

Launch 2 agents IN PARALLEL:

Agent 1 — Competitive Landscape

Task(subagent_type: "general-purpose", description: "Research competitive landscape")
prompt: Research the competitive landscape for [COMPANY/PRODUCT].
  Competitors: [LIST FROM INTAKE]. For each competitor, find:
  positioning/tagline, key messaging, target audience, pricing approach,
  visual style, strengths, weaknesses. Also identify any competitors
  not mentioned. Return a structured competitive matrix.

Agent 2 — Market Context

Task(subagent_type: "general-purpose", description: "Research market context")
prompt: Research market context for [INDUSTRY/SPACE].
  Find: key trends and shifts, audience behavior patterns,
  emerging opportunities, cultural tensions relevant to this space.
  Focus on what's changing — the "old game" vs "new game."
  Return structured findings.

Synthesize research into:

• Competitive matrix (features, positioning, pricing, audience per competitor)
• Positioning map — identify white space
• Key market shifts and cultural tensions

Present findings to the user before proceeding.

Step 3: Strategic Direction

This is the most important checkpoint. Propose 2-3 positioning directions. For each:

1. Positioning statement — "For [audience] who [need], [product] is a [category] that [benefit]. Unlike [alternative], [differentiator]."
2. Strategic narrative — The old game → new game shift this brand rides
3. JTBD lens — What pushes customers away from the status quo? What pulls them? What anxieties slow them? What habits hold them back?
4. Brand personality — Which 2 of 5 Aker dimensions it spikes in (sincerity, excitement, competence, sophistication, ruggedness)
5. Differentiated value — Market insight, alternatives' pros/cons, "perfect world" criteria
6. Trade-offs — What this direction gains and what it gives up

Present all directions with clear reasoning. Use AskUserQuestion:

• "Which direction resonates? Or should we combine elements?"

Do not proceed without explicit approval on direction.

Step 4: Messaging Development

Build out the approved direction:

• Brand purpose — "We exist to..." (10-year frame, irrespective of financial gain)
  • Use the exercise: cultural tensions + brand's best self → "the world would be better if..." → "we exist to..."
• Value proposition — One sentence capturing the core benefit
• Elevator pitch — 30-second version
• Messaging pillars — 3-5 pillars, each with 2-3 proof points
• Tagline candidates — 3-5 options with rationale

Apply the Bar Test: Read each line aloud. Would your target audience actually say this to a friend? If it sounds like marketing-speak ("leverages", "empowers", "synergizes"), rewrite it.

Checkpoint: "Does this messaging feel true to the brand? What rings false?"

Step 5: Brand Voice & Personality

• Aker dimensions — Confirm which 2 of 5 the brand spikes in
• 5 personality attributes — Written as "We are X, but not Y" with tension
  • Example: "Confident, but not arrogant" / "Playful, but not silly"
• Tone variations — How voice shifts by context:
  • Marketing copy / Website
  • Customer support / Email
  • Social media
  • Formal / Proposals
• Do/Don't examples for each context
• Sample copy — Write 3-5 snippets showing the voice in action (homepage headline, social post, email subject, proposal intro)

Checkpoint: "Does this sound like the brand? Too formal? Too casual?"

Step 6: Package & Handoff

Compile everything into the brand strategy document. Use the template in references/brand-strategy-template.md.

Save to: docs/strategy/YYYY-MM-DD-<name>-brand-strategy.md

After saving:

• Note any studio-wide learnings to studio/preferences.md (e.g., "prefers messaging that leads with customer's problem")
• Save project-specific context to projects/<client>/brand-strategy.md if applicable
• Flag what downstream agents need from this strategy

Methodology

This skill synthesizes frameworks from leading strategists. See references/brand-strategy-frameworks.md for detailed methodology.

Key sources: April Dunford (positioning), Arielle Jackson (brand framework), Bob Moesta (JTBD), Andy Raskin (strategic narrative).

Output

Save to: docs/strategy/YYYY-MM-DD-<name>-brand-strategy.md

Next Steps

• Ready for copy? → /content-writer to produce marketing content using this brand voice
• Need a name? → /product-naming
• Need visual identity? → /studio-brand-designer
• Want to formalize into PRD? → /product-prd