Consulting and strategy
Hire a Brand Strategist/Consultant/Director | Brand Manager
A brand strategist decides who a company is for, what it promises and how it sounds. I define the customer, the positioning and the offer ladder, then turn them into messaging your website, ads and sales conversations can all use. It is the groundwork that makes later marketing cheaper to run.
Pricing is scoped to each project. Book a call and I will tell you what yours involves.
- 10 yearsin digital growth
- 4 marketsUK, Australia, USA and Bangladesh
- 30-60-90day plan with a written checkpoint
- 1 callto scope your project
The role
What a brand strategist does
As your brand strategist, I define the target customer and what they actually buy from you, write the positioning, promise and proof points, and report on message consistency across channels, conversion on key pages and quality of enquiries. I work as an adviser: I diagnose, set the direction and hand you a plan your team or agency can execute, with me reviewing the output.
Before
Customers describe you differently from how you describe yourself, and every channel says something slightly different.
With me as your brand strategist
- Define the target customer and what they actually buy from you
- Write the positioning, promise and proof points
- Build the offer ladder from entry offer to full engagement
- Turn it into messaging for website, ads and sales conversations
Process
Process: audit, strategy, roadmap, execution
The work follows four steps: audit, strategy, roadmap and execution with reporting. The first 90 days look like this, with checkpoints agreed in writing before work starts.
- Days 1-30
Interview customers and review competitors and current messaging.
- Days 31-60
Draft positioning and the offer ladder for your review.
- Days 61-90
Finalise the messaging document and apply it to the main pages.
Pricing
How pricing works
The cost of hiring a brand strategist depends on how many customer segments and offers need positioning, how many touchpoints the messaging must be applied to, the number of channels or platforms involved, the size of the team I work with, how long we work together and how quickly you need results. I scope every engagement to your situation and do not publish rates, so you pay only for the work your business needs.
What changes the scope
How many customer segments and offers need positioningHow many touchpoints the messaging must be applied toThe number of channels or platformsTeam size and who needs to be managedLength of the engagementHow fast you need results
- Project
A defined piece of brand strategist work with a start, an end and agreed deliverables.
- Monthly retainer
Ongoing brand strategist work with a fixed monthly scope, reviewed every month.
- Fractional or part-time
A set number of days or hours each week, with me working inside your team.
Freelancer vs agency vs in-house for brand strategist work
| Option | Speed | Control | Accountability | Flexibility |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Freelancer (me) | Starts within days of agreeing scope | Direct access to the person doing the work | One named person answers for results | Scale up or down by month |
| Agency | Slower to start; account and delivery teams | Work passes through several people | Shared across a team and account manager | Fixed packages and notice periods |
| In-house hire | Slowest: recruiting and onboarding first | Full day-to-day control | Direct line manager, but one person covers many tasks | Long-term commitment, harder to change |
Proof
Case studies with numbers
These are real projects from my own records, with the first number shown exactly as it is reported in the full case study.
Case study
Xnexz
0 → 125
URLs live from a blank page: 2 products, 24 pages, 8 collections, 98 articles
Read the case studyCase study
Guesthouse.co.uk
168
keywords in the 12-month organic plan
Read the case studyCase study
JAK’s Laundry
116
URLs on jakslaundry.com: 44 area pages, 9 sector pages, 30 item pages and 11 blog URLs
Read the case studyFit
Who it is for and who it is not for
Customers describe you differently from how you describe yourself, and every channel says something slightly different. That is the situation where brand strategist work pays back fastest.
Choosing well
How to choose a brand strategist: criteria and red flags
A good brand strategist shows their reasoning, not just their results. Check these points before you sign, and treat vague answers or guaranteed outcomes as red flags.
- 01
Ask to see a positioning statement and the page that implemented it.
- 02
Ask how they test whether messaging is clear to a new customer.
Tools
Tools and methodology
My method is audit first, then plan, then execute and report. For brand strategist work I rely on customer interviews, competitor review, a messaging document and website copy audit, and I record every change so results can be traced to decisions.
The stack
customer interviewscompetitor reviewa messaging documentwebsite copy audit
Before the call
What to prepare before the call
Bring these to the call so we can scope the work in one conversation.
What to prepare before the call
- Five customers you would like more of
- How each of them found you
- Your three nearest competitors
- What you want to be known for in one sentence
Questions
Frequently asked questions
Straight answers on scope, timing and fit. Pricing is always scoped to your project.
What does a brand strategist do?
As your brand strategist, I define the target customer and what they actually buy from you, write the positioning, promise and proof points, build the offer ladder from entry offer to full engagement and turn it into messaging for website, ads and sales conversations. I diagnose, set the direction and hand your team a plan to run.
How much does it cost to hire a brand strategist?
Cost depends on how many customer segments and offers need positioning, how many touchpoints the messaging must be applied to, the number of channels or platforms, team size, engagement length and how quickly you need results. I scope each project individually instead of quoting a standard rate. Book a Call for a scoped quote and I will tell you exactly what your situation involves.
Freelance brand strategist vs agency: which is better?
A marketing consultant fixes how marketing performs; a brand strategist fixes what marketing says and to whom, which usually comes first. A freelancer gives you direct access and flexible commitment; an agency adds a larger bench. Tell me what you need on a call and I will say honestly which suits you.
When should I hire a brand strategist?
Hire a brand strategist when customers describe you differently from how you describe yourself, and every channel says something slightly different. If that sounds familiar, a short call is enough to confirm whether the role fits or whether something simpler would do. Book a Call and I will answer this for your specific situation.
What should I ask before hiring a brand strategist?
Ask to see a positioning statement and the page that implemented it. Ask how they test whether messaging is clear to a new customer. Their answers matter less than whether they answer plainly, with specifics you can check. Book a Call and I will answer this for your specific situation.
How long until I see results from a brand strategist?
Timing depends on your starting point and the channel. In the first 30 days I interview customers and review competitors and current messaging. By day 60 I draft positioning and the offer ladder for your review. By day 90 I finalise the messaging document and apply it to the main pages. We agree these checkpoints before work starts.
Last updated:
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