Milestone 7: Branding Strategy

  

Milestone 7: Branding Strategy

100 points · One submission per student, 2–3 pages · 

Define what your brand stands for and how it will consistently communicate that.

A brand is not a logo. It is the accumulated network of meanings, memories and expectations customers connect to your offering. This milestone is about deciding what those meanings should be and how you will deliver them without contradicting yourself.

This is a strategic brand milestone — you're not going into logo design, taglines, or creative execution yet.

THE TOOLS YOU NEED

Everything required is below. Chapter 9 of the course readings covers each idea in more depth if you want it.

The building blocks

• Brand      promise:      the benefit, quality or experience you guarantee customers can expect
• Brand      identity:      the intended meaning: values, purpose, desired perception
• Brand      associations:      the functional, emotional and cultural qualities customers link to you in      memory
• Brand      personality:      the human-like traits, tone and behavioural style you express across every      interaction
• Brand      touchpoint:      any interaction where a customer experiences and judges the promise
• Brand      equity:      the value created by how customers think, feel and act toward the brand

Brand architecture (pick ONE)

• Corporate      brand:      the company name fronts everything (e.g. one identity across all      offerings)
• Family      brand:      one name across a related group of products organised around a shared      benefit
• Individual      brand:      a standalone identity with no visible link to a parent
• Endorsed      brand:      its own identity, visibly backed by a recognised parent

Your choice determines what your brand borrows and what it risks. An individual brand builds trust from nothing; a corporate brand inherits trust but shares the damage when something goes wrong.

Two risks worth keeping in mind

• Brand      dilution:      identity weakened or blurred by poor-fitting or excessive extensions
• Brand      fit:      whether customers see a new offering as a logical, credible expression of      the brand

WHAT TO SUBMIT

You must include these six sections:

1. Your      brand promise:      One sentence. What customers can expect, every time. It should be specific      enough that you could fail to deliver it.
2. Brand      identity:      • What the brand stands for (two or three sentences), and • Three to five      brand associations you intend customers to hold. For each association, say      what would have to be true for a customer to actually believe it. Without support,      an association is nothing more than a wish.
3. Brand      personality and tone: • Three to five human traits that describe how      the brand behaves, and • A short voice example: one sentence written the      way your brand would say it, and the same message written the way it would      NOT (the contrast is the point).
4. Meaningful      differentiation:      • What competitors' brands stand for (name two or three and characterize      them in a line each), • What yours stands for that they do not, and • Why your      target market would find that difference worth acting on.
5. Architecture      and touchpoints:      • Which brand architecture you are using and why, including what it      borrows and what it risks. • Three to five touchpoints where the promise      will be delivered, and for each, the specific way it could be broken      (Naming how a promise breaks is how you find out whether you can actually      keep it).
6. Alignment: Two or three      sentences connecting the brand to your target market, your product      strategy and your SWOT.

WHAT LOSES MARKS

• Adjectives      with nothing behind them, such as "Trusted,"      "innovative," "high quality," and      "customer-focused." Every brand claims these, and none of them      differentiate. If you use one, the next sentence must say what makes it      true for you and not for your competitors.
• A      promise you cannot fail. "We promise great      experiences" cannot be broken, which means it cannot be kept either.
• Personality      with no evidence. Traits listed without showing how the brand would      actually sound.
• Competitors      not characterised. You cannot claim difference without saying what      you differ from.
• Logo      and tagline design. Out of scope here.
• A      brand that does not fit the product. A premium identity on a budget      offering tells customers you do not know what you are.

Brand decisions should stay consistent across every element of your Marketing Plan.

SUBMISSION AND AI USE

Submission — One PDF per student.Bullets and short paragraphs are preferred over continuous prose.

AI use — limited and transparent. You may use AI tools for support: background research on competitor brands, organising your ideas, or editing for clarity. You may not use AI to define your brand strategy or make branding decisions on your behalf. The judgement must be yours and yours alone.

If you use AI, add two or three sentences at the end describing how. You will not be penalized for disclosing. If you didn't use AI for this assignment, include a sentence saying so.

Grading Criteria

Points

Brand Promise

15

Excellent. The brand promise is a single, specific sentence that clearly defines the guaranteed benefit or experience. Most importantly, it is 'breakable,' meaning it is clear how the brand could fail to live up to it, making it a credible promise.

15 / 15

Proficient. A clear promise is provided in a single sentence, though it may lean slightly toward a generic value or be marginally less specific in its ability to be 'failed' or measured.

12 / 15

Developing. The promise is either a vague 'unbreakable' statement (e.g., 'we provide quality'), exceeds one sentence, or lacks a clear benefit for the customer.

8 / 15

Non-performing. The brand promise is missing or consists entirely of empty corporate jargon with no defined customer expectation.

0 / 15

Brand Identity & Associations

20

Excellent. Brand identity is clearly defined in 2-3 sentences. 3-5 associations are provided with concrete support—meaning the student describes what must be true for the customer to believe each association, successfully avoiding 'adjectives with nothing behind them.'

20 / 20

Proficient. Identity and 3-5 associations are included. Associations are generally well-supported, but one or two may border on generic or lack specific supporting evidence for why a customer would believe them.

16 / 20

Developing. Identity is present, but fewer than three associations are listed, or the associations are provided without explaining what makes them true (the 'support' is missing).

12 / 20

Emerging. Minimal description of identity. Associations are purely aspirational adjectives (e.g., 'Trusted,' 'Innovative') without any justification or evidence provided.

6 / 20

Non-performing. Content is missing or focuses entirely on creative visual design rather than strategic identity.

0 / 20

Brand Personality & Tone

15

Excellent. Provides 3-5 distinct human traits and a compelling voice example. The contrast between how the brand 'would say it' and 'would NOT say it' clearly illustrates the intended tone and behavioral style.

15 / 15

Proficient. 3-5 traits are listed. A voice example is provided, though the contrast between the two versions of the message could be sharper or the traits slightly more specific.

11 / 15

Developing. Provides traits, but the voice example is missing, or the traits are descriptors of the product rather than human-like personality characteristics.

7 / 15

Non-performing. No personality traits or tone examples are provided.

0 / 15

Differentiation

15

Excellent. Effectively characterizes 2-3 competitors, identifies a unique and credible brand stand for the student's company, and provides a logical, compelling reason why the target market would value this difference.

15 / 15

Proficient. Competitors are identified and characterized. The differentiation is clear but could be more strongly linked to why the target market would act on it specifically.

11 / 15

Developing. Competitors are named but not characterized, or the 'unique' stand is something that competitors also claim, resulting in weak differentiation.

7 / 15

Non-performing. Fails to identify competitors or fails to state what the brand stands for that others do not.

0 / 15

Brand Architecture

20

Excellent. Selects one of the four architecture types with a strong 'why,' detailing specific risks and borrowed equity. Lists 3-5 touchpoints and accurately identifies the specific way the promise could be broken at each.

20 / 20

Proficient. Architecture is correctly identified and justified. 3-5 touchpoints are listed with breakage points, though the analysis of 'risks' or 'borrowed equity' could be more detailed.

16 / 20

Developing. Either the architecture choice is missing the risk/borrowed analysis, or the touchpoints lack a clear definition of how the promise at that point could specifically be broken.

12 / 20

Emerging. Architecture is incorrectly classified (e.g., mixing types), or only one or two touchpoints are provided.

6 / 20

Non-performing. Section is missing or fails to address architecture and touchpoints.

0 / 20

Alignment with Previous Milestones

10

Excellent. A concise, 2-3 sentence explanation that logically links the brand strategy to the previously established target market, product strategy, and SWOT analysis.

10 / 10

Proficient. The connection to previous milestones is made but feels slightly forced or misses a clear link to one of the required elements (e.g., missed the SWOT or Target Market link).

7 / 10

Developing. The alignment is vague or potentially contradicts earlier milestones (e.g., a premium brand strategy for a product previously described as a budget/commodity offering).

4 / 10

Non-performing. No alignment section provided, or the brand strategy is completely disconnected from the rest of the marketing plan.

0 / 10

AI Disclosure

5

Full Marks. Includes a clear, transparent statement (2-3 sentences) detailing how AI was used or a sentence confirming it was not used.

5 / 5

No Marks. No disclosure or confirmation of non-use provided.

0 / 5