Your brand is not a logo.

Don’t miss episode one. With brand at the core, your strategic plan will be the rudder as you chart your forward course fueled by a solid communications plan. The comprehensive and inclusive process to assemble the team, connect insights, and commit to excellence. To get there, you have to understand the “strata strategy.”

Strata 1 (Solid foundation)
You will dive into the deep wide to understand and map:

– core purpose (Why your organization exists)

– brand promise (What your organization promises to deliver to society time and time again)

– strategic positioning (What unique strategic position your organization can own)

– sector trends (What influential forces are occurring or will occur in your sector)

– comparative aspiration (Who you are from the lens of other organizations)

– target audiences (How can you empathize with their motivations & your relevance to them)

– organizational attributes (Your organization’s characteristics-not corporate values)

Strata 2 (Strong currents)
The pillars established at this point will become the framework for your strategic plan as you continue to define with organized agility:

– Financial goals and plans

– Operational imperatives and tactics

– 1-year operating plan with timeline and metrics

Strata 3 (The straddle)
With the wind at your back, you will begin snorkeling as you define and design:

– Visual identity system – including voice and tone, color, font, brand architecture

– Verbal identity system – including name, tagline, messaging architecture, copy

Strata 4 (Solid ground) Your communications plan
The intangible translates to tangible as you map the course ahead with a flexible framework powered by accessible tools like:

– 12-month strategy – an iterative master plan for message, medium, and measurement

– Content matrix – an accessible guide to simplify the complex

– Editorial calendar with milestones – day-to-day guidestar with an eye to the horizon

Strata 5 (The summit)
Ok, now, you can fly your flag, aka your logo.

At Darwin we love logo design because we know the level of effort involved to design a visual indicator to reflect an organization’s comprehensive strategy to deliver on a promise to society.

Onward!