Branding Series Part 2: Strategy First — How to Build a Brand That Actually Works

This week I’m posting all about branding for arts organizations. In the first post of this series, we talked about how branding walks your audience partway down the path toward a purchase, making all your sales and outreach efforts more effective. But before you can build a strong brand — before you choose colors, craft messaging, or post anything online — you need something more fundamental:

A clear strategy.

If branding is how your organization shows up, strategy is why you show up that way. It’s the difference between grabbing attention and building trust.

Why Strategy Comes First

It’s tempting to jump ahead to the fun parts — designing a logo, picking fonts, brainstorming taglines. But without a strategy behind those choices, you end up with something that may look polished but doesn’t actually support your goals.

Instead of creating brand materials based on personal preference or imitation, your brand should be an outward expression of a smart, well-informed plan.

Your brand exists to help you reach your audience, communicate your value, and meet your mission. That work starts with understanding who you are and where you’re trying to go.

What Makes a Brand Strategy?

Let’s keep it simple. A brand strategy isn’t some secret formula — it’s a set of decisions based on self-awareness and audience insight.

Here’s what you need to know before you create or refine your brand:

1. Your Mission

• What are you trying to accomplish — and why?
• What contribution are you making to the world or your community?
• What would be missing if your organization didn’t exist?

This isn’t just for your grant applications. Your mission helps clarify your brand’s “center of gravity.”

2. Your Goals

• What specific outcomes are you working toward?
• Do you want more visitors? More donors? Stronger community partnerships?

Your brand should reinforce those goals — not work at cross purposes.

3. Your Audience

The main mistake that arts organizations make is that in an effort to be inclusive, they make half-baked strategy, not really putting in the time to understand their audiences.

• Who are you trying to reach?
• What do they need, want, or care about?
• How do they spend their time? What do they value?

This part can’t be wishful thinking. You need to know enough about your audience to make realistic decisions about how to reach and engage them.

4. Your Position

• Who else is doing similar work?
• What makes your organization different, in a way that matters to your audience?
• Why would someone choose you over another option?

This doesn’t mean tearing down other organizations — it means being clear about what you bring to the table.

5. Your Capacity

• What can you realistically do right now, with your team and budget?
• What channels or tools do you already have — and what’s missing?
• Where can you stretch, and where should you stay lean?

Good branding doesn’t require a big team or expensive tools — but it does require honest reflection.

Strategy Is a Filter, Not a Cage

When you have a strategy, you can evaluate every branding choice by asking:
Does this support our mission and goals?
Does it resonate with our audience?
Does it set us apart?

That kind of clarity makes everything easier — not just branding, but programming, partnerships, even staffing.

You’ll make fewer decisions based on impulse or urgency. And your communications will feel more consistent — because they actually are.

Real-Life Application: Brand Guidelines

One of the best ways to keep your strategy front and center is to create a simple brand guidelines document. This is something we explored in the NC Museum of Art video, where everything from fonts to messaging is grounded in the organization’s mission and voice.

Good brand guidelines do three things:

1. Clarify the brand’s purpose and tone
2. Give direction on how to use visual and written elements
3. Help everyone in the organization stay on the same page

You don’t need a massive manual — just a document that clearly connects your strategy to your expression.

Takeaway

Your brand should never be an afterthought or only an aesthetic decision. It should be a strategic tool that helps you accomplish your mission.

So before you start on the more tangible parts of branding (logos, colors, fonts, tagline), ask yourself:

• Are we clear on who we are and what we’re aiming for?
• Do we know who our audience is — and how we’re different from others?
• Are we ready to create a brand that actually works?

Because when strategy comes first, everything that follows — your messaging, your design, your presence in the community — is more focused, more consistent, and more effective.

In the next post, we’ll take that strategy and give it a voice — by crafting a brand statement that becomes your team’s North Star. By the end of the week, you’ll eagerly carve out time for yourself and maybe also your team to do some big think planning about branding.