Strategies: Branding

Guides brand strategy: purpose, values, positioning, storytelling, voice, and visual identity. Companies with consistent branding see 23–33% revenue lift; people remember stories ~22× more than facts alone. Use this skill when defining a new brand, auditing consistency, or aligning messaging across touchpoints.

Keywords: brand strategy, brand guidelines, visual identity, storytelling, brand voice, design tokens, slide deck, corporate identity, style guide, positioning

When invoking: On first use, if helpful, open with 1–2 sentences on what this skill covers and why it matters, then provide the main output. On subsequent use or when the user asks to skip, go directly to the main output.

Scope

• Brand strategy: Purpose, values, positioning, differentiation, target audience

• Brand storytelling: Origin story, hero's journey, narrative arc, brand archetypes

• Brand voice & tone: Voice, tone, avoid terms, preferred wording

• Brand visual identity: Colors, typography, logo rules—strategy layer; implementation in brand-visual-generator, logo-generator

Initial Assessment

Check for project context first: If .claude/project-context.md or .cursor/project-context.md exists, read Sections 2 (Positioning), 3 (Value Proposition), 8 (Brand & Voice), 12 (Visual Identity).

Identify:

• Scope: New brand, audit, or alignment

• Touchpoints: Website, social, product UI, directories, content

• Existing assets: Brand guide, logo, style guide

Brand Strategy Pillars

Pillar Purpose

Brand purpose Why the brand exists beyond profit; one sentence

Brand values 4–5 core values; what you stand for; differentiators

Target audience Who you serve; ICP; jobs to be done

Positioning For [customer] who [need], our [product] is a [category] that [benefit]. Unlike [competitor], we [differentiator] because [reasons]

Differentiation Why you, not alternatives; concrete, not vague

Brand Storytelling

Origin Story

• What: Journey, founding, milestones, personal experiences that shaped the company

• Why: Emotional connection; 58% of customers buy based on company values

• Elements: Who founded it; why created; challenges overcome; vision; how it evolved

Hero's Journey (Customer as Hero)

Element Content

Hero Your customer; their needs, wants, context

Problem What they face; how they solve it now

Inciting insight Reframing that creates urgency

Brand's role Guide, tool, or partner—not hero; how you enable resolution

Transformation What better future looks like; proof (case studies, testimonials)

Brand Narrative Arc

• Protagonist: Customer facing a challenge

• Stakes: What happens if nothing changes

• Proof: Data, case studies, testimonials

• CTA: Place call to action in the story; provoke action

Brand Archetypes (12 Types)

Archetype Tone Example

Creator Innovative, imaginative Adobe

Caregiver Nurturing, supportive Johnson & Johnson

Ruler Authoritative, premium Mercedes-Benz

Innocent Simple, optimistic Coca-Cola

Sage Wise, knowledgeable Google

Explorer Adventurous, independent Patagonia

Outlaw Rebellious, disruptive Harley-Davidson

Magician Transformative, visionary Disney

Hero Courageous, determined Nike

Lover Passionate, sensual Chanel

Jester Playful, fun M&M's

Everyman Relatable, down-to-earth IKEA

Align archetype to customer personality; strengthens storytelling.

Brand Voice & Tone

Element Definition Example

Voice Brand personality; consistent across touchpoints Professional / Friendly / Technical / Bold

Tone How you say it; adapts to context Confident but not arrogant; helpful; concise

Avoid Buzzwords, terms to never use "streamline," "revolutionize," "synergy"

Preferred Terms to use consistently "audit" not "analysis"; "customer" not "user"

Product marketing context Section 8: Document voice, tone, avoid, preferred terms. See project-context template.

Brand Visual Identity (Strategy Layer)

Element Strategy Implementation

Colors Primary, secondary, CTA; industry mapping brand-visual-generator

Typography Display + body; hierarchy; pairing brand-visual-generator

Logo Variants, clear space, minimum size logo-generator

Imagery Tone, subject matter, visual mood Brand guidelines

Consistency Same identity across web, social, product All touchpoints

For full visual specs (fonts, HEX, spacing), see brand-visual-generator. For logo placement and implementation, see logo-generator.

Brand Guidelines Structure

Single source of truth. Include:

• Purpose & values: Why you exist; what you stand for

• Positioning: One-liner; differentiation

• Story: Origin story; hero's journey summary

• Voice & tone: Voice, tone, avoid, preferred

• Logo: Usage rules, clear space, variants (light/dark)

• Colors: Primary, secondary, CTA (HEX, RGB, CMYK)

• Typography: Font families, hierarchy, sizing

• Imagery: Photography tone; iconography style

Visual Specification Delivery (Design Tokens)

When the user needs actionable specs (not only strategy)—for web, slides, or print—produce a token table the team can paste into a design system, media kit, or slide master. Align with brand-visual-generator for full web/CSS detail.

Token category What to document Example fields

Colors Named roles + values for light/dark if applicable Primary #______ , text primary #______ , background #______ , accent 1–3, CTA, border, error/success

Typography Family, weight, size scale, line-height Display / H1–H3 / body / caption; web-safe or system fallbacks

Spacing Base unit and scale e.g. 8px base; section gaps; logo clear space in em or px

Non-text accents Charts, shapes, dividers Rotate accent colors; avoid arbitrary one-off hues outside palette

Applying tokens across surfaces

• Web / product: CSS variables or design tokens; see brand-visual-generator.

• Slides (PowerPoint, Google Slides, Keynote): Set slide master background + default title/body fonts from token table; map theme colors to primary/secondary/background/text; reuse one accent per deck section where possible.

• Documents (Word, Google Docs, PDF): Define paragraph styles (Title, Heading 1–3, Normal, Caption) with fonts and colors from tokens; set default page background if brand uses off-white.

If the user pastes an existing brand PDF or bullet list, extract and normalize into this token table before suggesting implementation.

Output Format

• Brand strategy (purpose, values, positioning, differentiation)

• Story (origin story, hero's journey, narrative arc)

• Voice & tone (voice, tone, avoid, preferred)

• Archetype (if applicable)

• Visual (high-level; defer to brand-visual-generator for web specs)

• Design token table (colors, type scale, spacing) when deliverable must be implementation-ready

• Slide/document notes (master fonts, theme colors) when touchpoints include decks or docs

• Context template for project-context Sections 8, 12

Related Skills

• about-page-generator: About page implements brand story, mission, values

• homepage-generator: Homepage implements value prop, differentiation, brand voice

• logo-generator: Logo placement, implementation; branding defines logo rules

• brand-visual-generator: Typography, colors, spacing; branding defines visual strategy

• media-kit-page-generator: Media kit hosts brand guidelines

• directory-submission: Directory copy uses brand voice; Section 8 Brand & Voice

• title-tag, meta-description: Metadata uses brand voice

• integrated-marketing: Brand awareness across PESO

• domain-selection: Domain choice (Brand/PMD/EMD, TLD); do before or with branding when choosing domain

• domain-architecture: Domain structure implements brand architecture (Branded House vs House of Brands)

• rebranding-strategy: Rebrand execution; domain change, 301, announcement