In today's competitive business world, brand strategists assume an increasingly essential role in helping businesses set themselves apart while building strong identities. If you're interested in a career where you can put your business acumen and creativity to work while exercising professional communication skills, pursuing a role as a brand strategist may be right for you.
What is a brand strategist, then, and what does this kind of work entail? With a better understanding of what makes up a brand strategy, as well as insight into some brand strategy examples, you can get a better feel for this line of work.
In other words, branding strategies are plans that outline how a company will differentiate itself from other businesses in the market and make important decisions. There are several elements that constitute a brand strategy, ranging from brand identity and messaging to positioning and customer experience.
Generally speaking, those in brand strategist jobs are responsible for developing long-term strategies that strengthen a brand's overall identity, voice, and market position. This entails a number of specific duties and responsibilities that blend research, creativity, and business insight.
Likewise, having some related work experience under your belt — like internships or entry-level work in PR, marketing, content creation, or advertising — could increase your chances of landing an advanced role as a brand strategist.
When seeking employment in this role, having a robust portfolio of your existing work (including case studies) can also help you set yourself apart from other applicants. This is especially true if you plan to apply for brand strategist roles within larger marketing agencies.
Connect with our team to learn more about this program, or take the next step by completing your online application today.
What is a brand strategist, then, and what does this kind of work entail? With a better understanding of what makes up a brand strategy, as well as insight into some brand strategy examples, you can get a better feel for this line of work.
What Is Brand Strategy?
According to a 2025 Journal of Business Research publication, brand strategy "serves as a comprehensive and forward-looking framework that guides firms' decisions and behaviors."In other words, branding strategies are plans that outline how a company will differentiate itself from other businesses in the market and make important decisions. There are several elements that constitute a brand strategy, ranging from brand identity and messaging to positioning and customer experience.
Strategic Communication in Brand Strategy
As you can likely imagine, building a brand strategy for a business of any size involves a fair amount of strategic communication among stakeholders. More specifically, brand strategists and other professionals need to be able to define and communicate a brand's purpose, values, personality, and messaging in a way that aligns with the company's strategic framework.Brand Purpose, Mission, and Vision (Communicating the "Why")
Strong communication is especially essential when it comes to demonstrating a brand's purpose, mission, and overall vision. These elements should guide every message sent by communication professionals, both internally and externally. By aligning all content (including press releases, campaigns, internal updates, and more) with the brand's mission and long-term vision, it is possible to execute the brand strategy consistently.Brand Values (Core Messaging Pillars)
A brand's overall values should also serve as the ethical and emotional backbone of a communication strategy — guiding other aspects like tone, content, and decision-making in both public messaging and internal employee communication. Falling back on brand values is particularly crucial when handling crisis communication response, building trust with stakeholders, and diversity/equity/inclusion (DEI) efforts.Target Audience (Knowing Who You're Talking To)
Another critical component of strategic communication in brand strategy is simply knowing your target audience. Taking the time to conduct detailed audience research is a must when developing your brand voice, language, and channel strategy. Knowing the types of communication platforms your target audience prefers, along with the voice and language that's most compelling to them, you can reach these groups more readily with your brand messaging.Brand Positioning (Shaping Perception Through Communication)
Meanwhile, brand positioning defines what the brand stands for in the minds of its audience. This central aspect of brand strategy is typically communicated through taglines, elevator pitches, and public relations (PR) messaging. Skilled strategic communicators are able to use this positioning to develop narratives that differentiate the brand in media, marketing, and stakeholder research.Brand Personality and Voice (Tone and Language in Action)
Likewise, strategic communicators should not overlook the importance of brand personality and tone in establishing and maintaining a strong brand image. Using a consistent voice and tone in all communication that goes out enables you to build recognition and trust across all channels — including social media, internal memos, advertising, and even executive messaging.Messaging Framework (Strategic Message Architecture)
Strategic communicators must also refer back to a brand's messaging framework as a means of ensuring clarity, cohesion, and consistency across all brand messaging. In many ways, a brand's messaging framework acts as a blueprint for communicators, featuring key messages, proof points, and audience-specific variations of messaging to reach different groups. This framework is used in everything from media relations and internal campaigns to content creation and leadership communication.Visual Identity (Supporting the Message Nonverbally)
Some people may associate communication with the written and verbal expression of words. However, visual identity and design elements also come into play regarding brand strategy, meaning communicators must understand and uphold visual standards to maintain message consistency. Visual branding needs to support and reinforce verbal communication in contexts such as slideshow presentations, infographics, and digital media.Brand Experience (Every Message Is a Moment of Engagement)
The best strategic communicators see every message crafted as an opportunity to engage with an audience. After all, brand experience is shaped by communication at practically every touchpoint. This includes not just website copy but also customer service scripts, internal newsletters, and even crisis response messaging. With this in mind, a strategic communicator works to ensure that all messages and interactions are on-brand, clear, and emotionally resonant with the target audience.Competitive Landscape (Crafting Differentiated Messaging)
In competitive industries, brands must leverage strategic communication to set themselves apart from other companies. This is where strategic communicators can really shine by monitoring competitors' messaging and crafting a distinct voice that stands out. This may be done through brand repositioning via storytelling and media strategy.What Does a Brand Strategist Do? Brand Strategist Job Description
Does working as a brand strategist with a focus on strategic communication sound like an appealing path? Gain a better understanding of what a brand strategist job description looks like to help decide for yourself if this career may be worth pursuing.Generally speaking, those in brand strategist jobs are responsible for developing long-term strategies that strengthen a brand's overall identity, voice, and market position. This entails a number of specific duties and responsibilities that blend research, creativity, and business insight.
Conduct Research and Analysis
Brand strategists work to identify industry trends, competitor positioning, and customer expectations as they craft branding strategies. This often entails work such as analyzing audience demographics and behaviors as well as exploring psychographics to create detailed audience profiles. From there, these professionals may also work to evaluate current brand perception, messaging, and consistency across communication channels.Develop and Refine Brand Strategy
Additionally, strategic communicators are responsible for defining or (in some cases) refining a brand's mission, values, vision, and personality while collaborating with leadership to ensure that these align with overarching business goals. This may include crafting brand positioning statements, which detail what makes a brand unique and why it matters.Create Messaging Frameworks
As part of their roles, brand strategists may also build consistent and audience-specific messaging — ensuring that these messages resonate with target audiences while supporting both marketing and internal communication. Examples here include brand taglines, value propositions, and storytelling themes.Collaborate with Creative and Marketing Teams
Another integral aspect of a brand strategist's job is to work alongside other creative professionals, including marketing teams. As part of this, brand strategists must essentially translate brand strategy into creative briefs for designers, content creators, advertisers, and other professionals to follow. Working cross-functionally with digital marketing, UX, PR, and leadership teams allows brand strategists to maintain consistent and effective marketing.Guide Brand Consistency Across Touchpoints
Oftentimes, brand strategists are also the ones who oversee the implementation of brand guidelines across websites, social media, campaigns, packaging, and internal communication. This is critical when it comes to ensuring consistency in messaging tone, visuals, and more.Monitor Performance and Adjust Strategy
Finally, brand strategists constantly monitor performance by tracking metrics like brand awareness, engagement, and sentiment. This information can then be used to evaluate the effectiveness of a brand strategy. When necessary, these professionals may make adjustments to communication or positioning based on performance data and other market shifts.Is a Career in Brand Strategy Right for You?
Becoming a brand strategist requires not only technical knowledge and business acumen but also strong communication and interpersonal skills. These professionals tend to have extensive knowledge of marketing and audience research — and know how to effectively communicate with a wide range of audiences. Successful brand strategists are creative problem-solvers and critical thinkers, too. If this sounds like you, then this career path could be worth pursuing.How to Become a Brand Strategist
What does it take to become a brand strategist? While a bachelor's degree in marketing, strategic communication, or a related field may be enough to explore entry-level work in this field, more employers are looking for those with graduate-level training in brand strategy and strategic communication.Likewise, having some related work experience under your belt — like internships or entry-level work in PR, marketing, content creation, or advertising — could increase your chances of landing an advanced role as a brand strategist.
When seeking employment in this role, having a robust portfolio of your existing work (including case studies) can also help you set yourself apart from other applicants. This is especially true if you plan to apply for brand strategist roles within larger marketing agencies.
Break Into Brand Strategy with a Graduate Degree in Strategic Communication
For those already working in advertising, PR, or communication and looking to enhance their strategic communication skills, it may be time to explore the University of Minnesota's Professional Master of Arts (MA) in Strategic Communication. This 30-credit program, consisting of just two classes per term, is designed to be completed in two years and can help you develop your strategic skill set.Connect with our team to learn more about this program, or take the next step by completing your online application today.
