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Our Perspective

What this means for leaders navigating growth, change or transformation in their organisation.

The Real Divide

The frequent comparison between a brand consultant and a creative agency overlooks a crucial point. It isn’t really about thinkers versus makers. The practical difference lies in whether someone holds the thread that ties brand choices to market outcomes and decision-making rights. Without that thread, you get a series of outputs that look busy but don’t move the numbers that matter.

A consultant’s value is architectural: clarifying the business problem, defining choices, and setting the operating cadence. An agency’s value is translational: turning those choices into experiences that show up in channels your audience cares about. We see the gap emerge when no one is accountable for the bridge between the two.

From Strategy To Execution

A single accountable line from strategy to delivery changes the tempo of brand work. It sharpens decision-making, reduces rework, and makes room for creativity that has a purpose. In fact, Planview reports that organisations that link strategy and execution are three times more likely to exceed financial targets than their peers that do not, which aligns with what leaders feel when the work is aligned to their vision.

In our experience with leadership teams at key inflection points, momentum accelerates once there’s one owner for important brand decisions. That is the difference between creative work and building market advantage, you can actually measure.

Questions That Matter

Before choosing partners, clarify the operating model that will govern their relationship. You’ll move faster when the fundamentals are plain, owned, and time-bound.

• What is the commercial problem, and how will success be measured over 90 days and 12 months?
• Who owns the brief, the budget, and final decision rights across brand and go-to-market?
• Which choices must be made weekly, by whom, and on what evidence?
• What early signals (e.g., message recall, sales confidence) will you track alongside results?

Roles In Context

Think complementary roles, not competing mandates. The consultant defines the north star and the operating rules; the agency amplifies, crafts, and scales. When they work to one brief, you get coherence and speed without sacrificing ambition.

• Consultant: positioning strategy, brand messaging, stakeholder alignment, architecture, decision cadence.
• Agency: identity system, creative platform, content and asset design, digital experience.
• Shared: testing plan, learning loops, and the discipline to stop what doesn’t advance the goal.

Sources:

• Planview: The State of Strategy Execution: Embracing Uncertainty to Adapt at Speed — Planview

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2. Defining Your Brand Platform: Key Choices for Market Impact
3. How CEOs Align Brand and Strategy for Success