Brand Vision through Brand Architecture

At The Allotment we focus on developing exceptional ideas. Ideas that drive tangible growth for our clients. Transformative ideas that change the way they are perceived by people inside and outside their organisation and help them shine.

Brand Vision

To do this we go to great lengths to understand our clients and the world they operate in. We look at all aspects of their organisation, products, services, collateral, values and, importantly their people. We consider their customers – their concerns and their needs. We interrogate their marketplace and look at the trends. We challenge, we question – albeit politely. We seek to unearth new insights and perspectives that help shape new strategies to achieve their ambitions. And we work collaboratively to map out exactly where they need to be heading in order to thrive.

In some cases, this may mean commissioning some research, to re-enforce the strategic foundations. More often than not we’ll conduct workshops and interviews with key stakeholders and customers to uncover what’s really going on. This may mean travelling to different parts of the globe to speak to people in person – to hear it from ‘the horses mouth’ or it could be simple telephone conversations. There is no hard and fast rule; every client is different, every project is bespoke.

Brand Strategy

The output of this immersion, what we refer to as our ‘big dig’, starts with the brand strategy. We’ll develop a brand vision that conveys with complete clarity exactly where they want the organisation to go. A vision that builds on the purpose, the ‘why they exist’ and articulates what they want to accomplish as a result. We’ll also develop a brand mission articulating and how they intend to get there. What they promise to accomplish for their customer. And we’ll craft values that spring from the DNA of the organisation and chime with employees, potential employees, partners and customers. Together, this forms the rock-solid strategy on which everything else is built. Vibrant and dynamic, it sets the trajectory for the organization now and for the future.

Brand Architecture

For some clients, for example Radical Sportscars we also help to define their brand architecture; the externally facing organisation of their portfolio of brands. We define what structure will create the most coherence for their customers and best support the business strategy and brand goals. This could result in a monolithic approach, a single masterbrand where everything is unified around one visual system. Alternatively, an endorsed system may be more appropriate, where the parent brand lends credibility to the product or service. There are many brand architecture options and it can seem confusing – our strength lies in cutting through this complexity and creating a structure that makes perfect business sense. This was especially true for Bauer Media which has 43 individual local radio brands within its portfolio. Our strategic work to clarify their brand architecture, reposition Bauer City Network and create a flexible but unified brand identity won Best Brand Consolidation at the Transform Awards.