Brand Strategy
‘Who’ is your brand? What do you do, and how do you do it? Most importantly, why should people care? Getting crystal-clear on who you are and what you contribute to the world is the best way to ensure your brand stands out. Brand strategy is about establishing a strong foundation—really understanding what you’re about, and how to communicate it in a way that resonates with the audiences on whom your success most depends. From clarity comes consistency. And consistency leads to familiarity, which breeds trust—the lifeblood of brand success. If being trusted is important to your brand (trust me, it is), start with brand strategy.
Ready? Get in touch.
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What’s in a name? When it comes to naming brands, a lot. Think about how much care goes into naming a new baby—not so bad if everyone’s opinions align perfectly, but how often does that happen? Now add in considerations like domain availability, trademarking, search engine competitiveness…
I’ve named and renamed a number of companies and organizations, from CLEAR (formerly PARF) to Uncharted (formerly Unreasonable Institute) to Connective (formerly John Howard Society Pacific) to Lightwater Cove (formerly King’s Cove). It can be a fraught process, and I’m here to walk your team through all of it, leading participatory workshops that allow your team to align around a name (best case), or at the very least a theme, style or direction. Then I come up with a list of contenders that meet your specific criteria, and make sure you get your new name across the finish line. It’s not easy, but I’m here with you every step of the way.
Taglines often go hand-in-hand with names, but not always. Again, a lot goes into those 3-5 little words. My process allows me to understand your brand, then distill the most important information into tagline options that tell your story as well as possible in as few characters as possible. Some examples from my portfolio: Leading Educators and 24seven Hotels.
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Your positioning is like your North Star. It’s an internal tool that identifies your most important audience(s) and paints a compelling picture of how you want them to perceive you. Basically, it stakes your claim within your market.
Positioning statements are intended to be short—ideally no more than two sentences. Brand pillars come in handy when what makes you different is difficult to boil down into a super-succinct positioning statement. Brand pillars are also more appropriate for external use.
Both are useful. Where possible, I recommend developing a positioning statement and brand pillars. Because positioning is just that important.
To see some examples, check out Power to Give, Bahia or Wallop.
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The proof is piling up: your consumers care that you have a reason for existing besides making money. That’s why purpose is so important. As Simon Sinek says in that now-ubiquitous TED Talk, “People don’t buy what you do. They buy why you do it.”
Lots of companies and organizations have bought into the idea of defining their ‘why.’ But what seems like a simple exercise…simply isn’t. I can help with that. Because figuring out your purpose—and how to authentically communicate that purpose to the world—is well worth investing in.
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If you try to appeal to everyone, you end up appealing to no one. That’s why getting crystal-clear on who you’re speaking to—the audience(s) on whom your success most depends—is critical. Who are they? What do they care about, and what keeps them up at night? What do they want and need from you? Only when you understand your key audiences can you hope to cut through the clutter and communicate to them in a way that resonates.
My approach to audience stories helps you get in the head of your key stakeholders—because a list of broad-range demographic data isn’t helping anybody.
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Anyone who’s been through a brand discovery process with me knows that personality is possibly my favourite part. It’s fun. And it’s important, too, in a world where every competitive landscape feels (over)crowded, and the difference between options seems negligible.
Just look at traditional bricks-and-mortar banks versus Wealthsimple. Or consider the difference between LensCrafters and Warby Parker. Or Mailchimp versus Constant Contact. There are probably some differences between their products and services, but what draws people to one over the other often comes down to brand—and specifically personality.
If you want to stand out, make people feel something. Trust me—a strong brand personality and tone of voice will make a big difference.
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What’s your story? Your core messaging takes your positioning, adds in your purpose and values, and packages it all in a way that will appeal to your key audiences…in the tone of voice established by your brand personality. Whereas all these brand strategy elements are intended to be internal, your core messaging is where we start to produce something for the world to see.
I typically start with a one-page brand story (see Tavia, Power to Give, Best Day Ever, or Wallop). That story is adapted into additional lengths and formats to cover a range of uses. If you speak to a number of audiences who need different things from you, your messaging framework may include audience-specific targeted messaging as well.
If I do my job right (I will, I promise), at the end of the process you’ll end up with ready-to-use messaging that can be copied and pasted onto your website and into press releases, among other places. That’s the point—that you use the messaging as much as possible. Because when it comes to your brand, consistency matters.
Copywriting
Every brand has its own personality and tone of voice (and if you don’t, we should talk…). My trademark tone is warm, conversational, and digital-friendly, so I tend to be a hit with clients and partners who value that voice. Though I’ve done plenty of technical writing and have ghostwritten for CEOs and university presidents, those styles are not my specialty. Translating complex into conversational? I can definitely help with that. In short, I’m a human who writes like one.
Like what you hear? Let’s talk.
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Websites are getting more image- and video-heavy, and increasingly text-light. That doesn’t make web copy less worthy of your time and attention. Actually, it makes each headline and every block of text that much more important. I’ll help you make more impact with fewer words—to get your brand’s most important messages into your site, elegantly and seamlessly.
If you’d like to see some examples, I wrote web copy for Miraval Resorts, Surf Grove, Great Canadian Heli-skiing, Fort Capital, Power to Give and CLEAR.
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Why invest in email marketing? Because it works. Even conservative estimates put the ROI of email at around $32 for every $1 spent (in Europe, it’s closer to $40). For industries like high-end travel, the ROI is considerably higher.
My warm, casual tone of voice is well-suited to email communication (just ask Surf Grove, for whom I’ve been writing monthly email newsletters for years). And one of my strong suits is fundraising emails, which is a highly specialized style of writing that I’ve perfected over years collaborating with nonprofits like Knowledge Network, Cuso International and EverFree.
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Although the vast majority of the writing I do is brand-related or for digital formats, there’s something so satisfying about a print piece. Even in the paperless age, print brochures remain important in industries like travel, post-secondary education, real estate and the nonprofit sector. If you’re looking to produce something that your stakeholders can hold in their hands, I can help with that. A couple print pieces I’ve particularly proud of: the SFU Viewbook and a brochure for Vancouver’s North Shore.
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If you’re looking to run a multichannel awareness or fundraising campaign and need some extra resources on your bench, my colleagues and I are at your service. We can help with strategy, creative concept and execution, plus reporting. Allow me to put a campaign dream team together—or simply offload your copy needs on me. I’ve written for multichannel campaigns for Sheridan College, imagine1day, and most recently Cuso International.
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If it has words, chances are I have written it and will write it: blog posts, articles and op eds; video scripts; digital and print ads; displays and signage; packaging and much more. My words have appeared on billboards, have been spray painted on sidewalks; have even been made into tattoos. If you have a question about what I do and don’t do, please get in touch: hello@chelseaherman.com.
Who I Work With*
Whenever possible, I work with purpose-driven brands—nonprofit organizations, social enterprises, and benefit corporations, but also what I call companies with conscience. Across industries, I find that when companies have something besides profit as their core purpose, they tend to attract great people. And I like working with great people. Purpose-driven companies also have more emotionally resonant stories to tell—which means they allow me to do my best work.
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From nonprofit organizations to foundations to social enterprises, I love working with brands that are hell-bent on making the world better. I’m particularly proud of the work I’ve done with charity: water, CLEAR, Cuso International, Grantbook, Meridian Institute, Nourish, Power to Give Foundation, Ribbon (previously AIDS Vancouver) and Tavia (to name but a few).
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Writing for place brands is all about capturing an experience—as well as what that experience means to and for guests. I love storytelling for experience brands like Miraval Resorts, Best Day Ever, Pacific Beachcomber, Pacific 19 Kona, Bahia Hotel & Beach House, Vancouver’s North Shore, Surf Grove, and Four Seasons Resort & Residences at Costa Palmas. And there’s more where that came from.
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I began my career in marketing and communications at my undergraduate alma mater, University of Victoria. That led to contract gigs with Monash University in Melbourne, Australia, and a range of strategy and copywriting work for Sheridan College, Simon Fraser University (SFU), British Columbia Insitute of Technology (BCIT), Columbia University, and Langara College. If you need a viewbook, materials for a capital campaign, a President’s Report or something of the like, I can help with that.
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From landscape architecture to investment banking to public relations, I’ve written copy for all kinds of professional services businesses—including for my friends and frequent collaborators Wallop and Briteweb.
*A dangling preposition and ‘who’ when it should be ‘whom’?!? Though good grammar is important to me, the rules have changed. If you’re looking for someone who writes in proper Queen’s English, I’m probably not your girl.
Let’s chat.
Every project begins with a complimentary conversation about your brand—where you are, where you want to go, and what challenges could stand in the way of your getting there. Based on what I hear, I’ll recommend a package of the services I think you might need—no more, no less.
Ready to start that conversation? Get in touch today.