What is a Brand Sprint?

Here, Neil Sheakey, Continuous Senior Strategist, talks us through what a Brand Sprint involves and what you’ll get out of the sessions.

Q1: I’ve booked a Brand Sprint and got my leadership team to take time out of their schedules. What can they expect from you on Day 1? ‍

My job is to guide your leadership team through a structured, high-energy process that turns your collective ambition into an actionable brand strategy. It's not just about the marketing side, we look at the impact it will have for all aspects of the business, from customer service to people and recruitment.

When a team walks in, they’re often carrying months of internal debate and day-to-day operational baggage. 

We strip all that away, creating a focused, distraction-free space where we can put everything on the table, ask the tough questions that maybe some members have been avoiding, and design the strategy together in real time.

We know that stakeholders come in with preconceived ideas, challenges or frustrations, but we find that by the end of the process the time spent together outside of the day-to-day helps galvanise and strengthen the collective way forward.

Stakeholders often talk about how they feel more focused, invigorated or aligned – even more connected to the people they're in here with. We've seen teams leave at the end of day two in agreement that they'll meet, talk and work through challenges more frequently. We've heard stakeholders talk about how it's felt like therapy – in a good way.

But one thing that really stands out is that even those most removed from branding and marketing enjoy the sessions.

It's serious work, but we make sure the process is enjoyable and we balance that through energetic collaboration and an informal setting and approach.

Q2: How do you help a business uncover what actually makes them different in a crowded market? 

Most leadership teams know they have something special, but they struggle to articulate it without falling into corporate jargon.

People talk about the secret sauce – everyone knows it, feels it, values it but it can be hard to get down into words. People's views on it can sometimes just be ever so slightly out of parallel but so we help correct that into an agreed consensus. 

Disagree and commit is a mantra we try to bring through on the tougher decisions. We need to make progress in the room and we often find some of the sticking points eventually get resolved overnight when teams are unwinding off site. Day two and three often start with stories about the conversations that take place the evening before and either agreements have been found, or points strengthened.

During a Brand Sprint, we lock down your market position and extract your unfair competitive advantage. 

We look at the genuine truths inside your business. The good, the bad, we're kind to the ugly and we're always looking for those rough cut gems. It sounds cliché, but we genuinely find some amazing facts or proof-points about a business or culture that just isn't made more off.

Once we pinpoint that core truth, we simplify your message so it lands instantly with buyers.

A key thing here is the alignment between the business or commercial plan / strategy and the brand’s role in helping execute it. Knowing what you want to be and what you've got to do to get your there are critical. Then translating that so it's both relevant and desirable for your customers is the role of the sprint.

We align messaging to be relevant and resonate with them, supporting your desired position in the market.

We move from blanket statements to hooks of value that drive customer interest and engagement.

Q3: What happens when the CEO, Commercial Director, and Founders all have different ideas about where the business should go?‍

That friction is completely normal – in fact, it's where the best breakthroughs happen. In traditional rebrands, conflicting opinions can lead to months of internal debate. In a Brand Sprint, we use structured facilitation to get all those ideas out of people's heads and onto the wall. We stop debating in circles and start building consensus. 

We define who has the final say.

How does it meet the objectives of the business or commercial plan?

Where does it strengthen or undermine operational requirements? 

There's many ways to drive decision making, even if it's just to set-up further discourse offline and to keep the sessions on track.

Instead of a top-down mandate forced by an agency or the boss, it’s a bottom-up process where your entire leadership team takes ownership of the outcome.

‍Q4: Can you walk us through what those 3 weeks actually feel like for the client?

It’s fast, intense, and incredibly energising.

Week 1 is all about discovery – A deep dive into your business to uncover the key challenges and opportunities, engage with a broader set of stakeholders, and draw insights from your category, competitors and beyond.

Week 2 is strategy – Working in collaboration, this is a fast-paced, intensive exploration and development of your brand strategy, unifying the team around the core ideas that will transform your business.

Week 3 shifts to identity and planning – The development of the critical components of your brand identity, enabling you to communicate effectively and drive impact.

By the end of the process you go from feeling disjointed to having total alignment and a clear roadmap in just 21 days.

Q5: What’s your key advice for a leadership team getting ready for their first Brand Sprint?‍

Come in with an open mind, leaving any preconceived ideas behind. 

Trust the process. The more you give us, and the more you engage with the process, the better the outcome is.

When you give us three focused weeks, we don't just build a brand – we build the momentum your business needs to overtake the competition.