Research & Diagnose
Analyze the market, competitors, audiences, and the organization's capabilities to identify relevant strategic opportunities.
Brand Strategy Training for Consultants & Agencies
You Already Know Branding Matters. What You Need Is a System.
Stop piecing together disconnected frameworks every time you develop a brand strategy.
The Ultimate Brand Building System gives brand consultants, designers, and agency professionals a complete, step-by-step methodology to research, develop, execute, and measure brand strategies. Apply a clearer, repeatable process to your client projects and in-house brand work.
- 50 Video Lessons
- 5 Strategic Chapters
- 60+ Page Workbook
- Lifetime Access
See How the Course Works
Get a closer look at The Ultimate Brand Building System. Watch the course trailer to discover how the lessons, frameworks, and practical exercises come together to help you approach brand strategy with greater confidence.
Watch the Course Trailer →From Disconnected Frameworks to a Clear Process
Effective brand strategy starts with understanding the context, but it doesn't end with a positioning statement. This course connects the key stages into a process you can follow from research through implementation and measurement.
Define the Strategy
Bring your findings together to develop the brand's essence, positioning, promise, identity, and architecture.
Activate & Evaluate
Translate the strategy into organizational and communication decisions, then measure performance and adjust over time.
A Clearer Approach to Your Next Brand Strategy Project
Develop a more structured approach to brand strategy, from turning research into meaningful decisions to building strategies you can confidently explain and apply.
Turn Research Into Strategic Direction
Connect market, competitor, customer, and organizational insights to the decisions that shape brand positioning and identity.
Develop Strategies You Can Explain
Work systematically through the essential elements of brand strategy and learn to articulate the thinking behind your strategic recommendations.
Apply the Process Across Projects
Use a consistent methodology across different client briefs, brand challenges, and in-house branding initiatives.
Bring More Structure to Every Brand Strategy Project
Learn a complete methodology you can confidently apply to client briefs, explain to stakeholders, and adapt to different branding challenges.
Designed for Professionals Who Build Brands
Especially useful if brand strategy is part of the work you deliver, manage, or want to take on with more confidence.
Independent Brand Consultants
Develop a more systematic way to take a brand strategy project from research to recommendations.
Small Branding & Creative Agencies
Bring greater consistency to the strategic thinking behind identity, communication, and client work.
Designers Moving Into Strategy
Build the research and positioning skills that give visual and verbal brand identity a clearer foundation.
Built on More Than a Decade of Branding Expertise
Since 2014, The Branding Journal has helped branding and marketing professionals deepen their understanding of strategic branding through expert perspectives, practical frameworks, and real-world case studies.
The Ultimate Brand Building System brings this knowledge together into a structured learning experience for professionals who need to develop, explain, and implement brand strategies.
Featured & Referenced By
A Brand Strategy Template You Can Use Again and Again
The Brand Strategy Workbook helps you apply the methodology to real client projects. Work through the exercises as you learn, then reuse and personalize the template for each new brief, adapting it to your client's business, market, and strategic needs.
- 60+ pages of editable exercises, worksheets, and guided questions
- Customize the template to each client's context, research, and strategic direction
- Reuse the same structured framework across projects, from research and positioning to execution and measurement
Preview the Brand Positioning Module
Explore the Brand Positioning module before enrolling. Get access to four video lessons covering the general concept of brand positioning, positioning maps, positioning statements, and brand promises, plus a preview of the Brand Strategy Workbook.
See how the course combines strategic concepts with practical applications you can bring to your own branding projects.
Preview the ModuleThe Complete Brand-Building Process, Step by Step
Explore five chapters covering the foundations of branding, context analysis, strategy development, execution, and measurement. Each stage builds on the last.
Course Introduction
- Welcome to the course!03:08
- Before we start---
Chapter 1 - Understanding the Concept of a Brand and the Importance of Branding
- Introduction02:04
- What is a brand?04:40
- What is branding?05:02
- Who does branding affect?03:06
- Why is branding important?01:43
Chapter 2 - Preparing for the Brand Strategy: A Context Analysis
Introduction to Context Analysis
- Introduction01:30
Analyze Your Environment
- What business are you in?02:30
- Who are your competitors?01:53
- Who are your stakeholders?01:27
- Identify opportunities and threats in the market or industry01:24
- Identify opportunities and threats in society03:25
Get to Know Your Organization
- What are your organization’s capabilities?02:26
- Assessing your organization's strengths and weaknesses01:32
Understand Your Customers
- What are your different market segments?05:57
- Which market segments do you target with your brand?02:15
- Bring your final target customers to life02:43
- Consolidating Insights and Thinking Ahead---
Chapter 3 - Creating a Successful Brand Strategy From Scratch
Introduction to Brand Strategy
- Introduction01:19
Brand Essence
- Introduction01:07
- Brand purpose06:19
- Brand vision01:33
- Brand mission01:58
- Brand values & guiding principles04:44
Brand Positioning
- What is brand positioning?01:20
- Brand positioning map05:44
- Brand positioning statement04:13
- Brand promise03:48
Brand Identity
- Introduction05:18
- Cultural, geographical & historical roots01:39
- Naming06:00
- Personality04:54
- Communication style & tone of voice04:38
- The brand as a product or service05:07
- An Introduction to visual identity03:02
- Color palette08:41
- Logo06:36
- Typography, typefaces & fonts11:37
- Imagery and photography style08:32
- Graphic design layouts02:57
- Product and packaging design06:55
- Sensory identity, or appealing to the other senses11:34
Brand architecture
- Brand architecture06:21
Chapter 4 - Executing the New Brand Strategy
- Introduction01:59
- Organizational alignment10:00
- Informing and engaging employees05:10
- Brand communication plan13:35
Chapter 5 - Measuring and Adjusting the Brand Strategy
- Introduction01:56
- Brand measurement and KPIs05:03
- The 4-step measurement approach14:41
- Brand strategy adjustments06:37
Conclusion
- Congratulations & conclusion02:02
What Students Say About the System
What Students Say About the System
Hear how students experienced the course's structured approach, practical examples, and brand-building methodology.
Marta Arrojo
Marta Arrojo
Brand Consultant / Web & Graphic Designer
“It gives you all the steps you need to build the perfect brand together with heaps of practical examples.”
Sinead Shannon-Roche
Sinead Shannon-Roche
Fashion Entrepreneur
“This course becomes your GPS through the entire process of how to build a brand and how to create a solid brand strategy for your business.”
Frequently Asked Questions
Is this course useful if I already work in branding?
Yes. The course is particularly relevant for branding professionals, consultants, and designers who want to strengthen their strategic skills and follow a more structured approach. Rather than teaching disconnected concepts, it brings the entire brand-building process together into one repeatable methodology, from research to strategy development, execution, and measurement. The focus is on brand strategy, not graphic design software.
Can I reuse and customize the workbook for client projects?
Absolutely. The 60+ page Brand Strategy Workbook includes editable exercises and templates that you can personalize for different clients and branding projects. You can adapt the worksheets to each client's business, market, and strategic needs, making the workbook a reusable resource for your professional work.
What's included in the course?
Your enrollment includes 50 practical video lessons across five strategic chapters, along with a reusable 60+ page Brand Strategy Workbook, available as a PDF and an editable Canva template that you can customize for your client projects. You'll also receive a Brand Guidelines Template, a Brand Strategy Checklist, access to our private student community on Discord, and direct access to The Branding Journal team for course support. You'll also have access to an AI-powered brand-building assistant trained on The Ultimate Brand Building System, designed to answer your questions, clarify concepts, and help you move forward with your branding projects. A certificate of completion is also included. Everything is available for a one-time payment, with lifetime course access and future updates.
How long does the course take, and can I learn at my own pace?
The course contains more than 3.5 hours of video lessons. We recommend allowing approximately 18 additional hours to work through the exercises and apply the methodology to a branding project. The entire course is available immediately after purchase and is completely self-paced. You can revisit the lessons and resources whenever you need them.
Can I preview the course before enrolling?
Yes. You can watch the course trailer to get an introduction to the methodology and teaching approach. You can also explore the Brand Positioning module , which includes four video lessons and a preview of the Brand Strategy Workbook.
Who created the course, and who presents it?
The course was developed by Marion Andrivet, founder of The Branding Journal, who has worked in marketing and brand strategy for more than a decade. The video lessons are presented by Brian Connolly, a professional American voice-over artist. The methodology and scripts were developed by Marion before generative AI tools became widely used. AI was only used to assist with the short lesson descriptions in the course outline, not to create the educational content.
Can I enroll multiple people from my agency?
If you'd like to provide course access to several members of your branding agency or marketing team, please contact us at [email protected] with the number of people you'd like to enroll. We'll be happy to discuss the available options.
Do you offer refunds?
Because the course and its digital resources are available immediately after purchase, payments are generally non-refundable, subject to applicable consumer rights. If you experience an issue or would like to request a refund, please contact [email protected] . Requests are reviewed on a case-by-case basis in accordance with our terms and applicable law.
Ready to Put the System Into Practice?
Get the complete methodology, practical workbook, and supporting resources to bring more structure to your next brand strategy project.