Build a brand your business can grow with.
Starting a business or rethinking an established brand? Get clear on who you’re for, what you stand for and why someone should choose you.
I help you set the brand foundations that guide your identity, messaging, website and marketing, so your team and suppliers can work from the same brief.
Discuss your brand ↗
Set the direction before the design
A name, a logo and a website all need something to say. Before you commission them, you need to know what your brand should represent and how it fits the business you’re building.
For an existing business, a new look might be part of the answer. The first step is to work out what has changed, what customers already value and what the brand needs to carry forward.
I’ll help you make those decisions and document the foundations behind them.
For a new business
You may know what you want to offer but still be working out how to describe it, who to focus on and where you fit among the alternatives.
We can define your intended audience, the problem you solve, your positioning and the reasons someone should believe your promise. That gives your designer, website team and marketing suppliers a shared starting point.
For a business ready to rebrand
Your services may have changed. You might be reaching a different audience, bringing businesses together or finding that your current brand no longer reflects the work you do.
We’ll examine the reasons for the rebrand, what should stay and what needs to change. The aim is to give the next version of your brand a sound business reason and a direction your people can explain.
What your brand foundations can cover
- Purpose and direction: what the business exists to do and the role your brand should play.
- Audience: the customers you’re choosing to focus on and what they need from you.
- Positioning: where you fit, what makes you a relevant choice and the evidence behind that claim.
- Values and personality: how the brand should behave and come across.
- Value proposition: the benefit you offer and why it should matter to your customer.
- Voice and messaging: how you explain the business, your offer and the reasons to choose you.
We’ll agree on which foundations your business needs before we start. The work can establish a new direction or refine parts of a brand that are already working.
A shared reference for the people doing the work
The agreed output is a written brand foundations document. It brings the decisions together so your team, designer, copywriter or agency can use them when developing the brand.
Depending on scope, it can include a positioning statement, audience priorities, a value proposition, personality and voice guidance, key messages and a brief for the next stage.
This is strategy and consultancy. Your team or chosen suppliers develop the visual identity, write the final website and campaign copy, and carry out the rollout.
How we work together
Background and preparation
You complete a background questionnaire and share the material we agree is relevant. I review the business context, your current brand if you have one, and the decisions you need to make.
A focused discussion
We work through the brand choices together, including your audience, positioning and the parts of the business the brand needs to reflect. We’ll agree on who needs to contribute before the discussion.
Your brand foundations
I bring the agreed direction into a written document. We’ll confirm the deliverables, review stages and timing in the project scope.
Direction for the next stage
We identify what your team or suppliers need to do next. Any further advice or review of their work is separately scoped.
Experience across the whole brand journey
My experience spans over 25 years across brand, marketing, web development, SEO and PPC, and now AI. I consider how your brand decisions will carry through to the website, search results and marketing your customers encounter.
You’ll work directly with me to set the direction. Your people then have a reference they can use to make decisions as the business moves forward.
Give the next version of your business a brand direction.
Tell me whether you’re starting something new or considering a rebrand, and what you need the brand to help you achieve.
Questions you might have
Can you help if we haven’t chosen a name yet?
Yes. Brand foundations can help you define what a name needs to communicate. If naming development is needed, we’ll agree on that scope separately.
Do we need to change our logo to do this work?
No. We can review your foundations while keeping an identity that still fits. The work helps you decide what needs to change before you commission design.
Will you design our logo and visual identity?
I provide the strategy and direction. Your designer or agency develops the visual identity from the agreed foundations and brief.
Can you work with our existing team or agency?
Yes. We can agree on their contribution to the strategy and the brief they’ll receive. You remain responsible for appointing and managing suppliers.
Is this included in a Direction Session?
A Direction Session can help you decide whether brand work is the right priority. Developing a brand foundations document is a separate strategy engagement with its own scope and fee.
What will it cost?
Brand Foundations starts from $4,950 including GST ($4,500 excluding GST). The written proposal confirms the scope, milestones, client inputs and delivery date. A 50% initial payment is required, with the remaining payment schedule agreed in the proposal. One consolidated revision round is included. Extra workshops, customer research, naming, multiple brands and design are separately quoted. Project cancellation arrangements are agreed in the proposal; the Direction Session cancellation terms do not apply.