Brand discovery is the process companies undertake to better understand how their unique value exists in relation to target needs and wants, their competitors, marketplace changes and perceived opportunities. Multiple, simultaneous inquiries into a broad range of business and marketing topics, often led by a branding consultant or discovery facilitator, aid the organization in objectively exploring today’s marketplace, the current brand strategy, the current brand identity and potentially more lucrative or sustainable brand positioning opportunities. Most commonly, brand discovery serves not as independent exercise, but as a precursor to a formal brand assessment or the development of a new brand strategy for the company. In traditional settings and small businesses, brand is typically viewed as an adjunct to marketing. In more progressive organizations, the brand and the business are considered to be synonymous.

What elements are typically involved in brand discovery?

Though the elements utilized in brand discovery may differ from agency to agency and consultant to consultant, there are some common themes. While some firms are content to have you complete a form, just as you would a brief for an individual assignment, other agencies and consultants use the information you’ve provided on the form as only a jumping-off point.

1. Input sessions, creative exercises and brainstorming with the brand team to establish objectives and timelines, facilitate buy-in and explore the following topics
2. Your company’s unique history
3. Your products & services
4. The features, benefits and self-expressive benefits of those products & services
5. Your targets (needs, wants, demographics, psycho-graphics)
6. Your competition
7. Your vision for the future
8. Your values
9. Your primary points of difference
10. Your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats
11. The emotions relevant to the purchasing decision and the brand experience
12. Your existing marketing materials
13. Any extant marketing research
14. Key stakeholders and their connection to the brand
15. Financial and marketing performance data (depending upon the scope)

In very near future blog posts, I’ll share more with you about what I think constitutes a fully-cracked brand, the true role of the brand discovery facilitator, the importance of building business development pragmatics into every branding endeavor and why the value of Message-centric Branding™ exceeds that of traditional branding. But if you have questions for me right now, why not give me a call or shoot me an email? I’m always happy to have a chat or lend any upfront advice I can.