branding

$28

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