Essays and articles on brand strategy, positioning and voice.https://garrettreil.com/en-GBhttps://garrettreil.com/post/brand-voice-radar/https://garrettreil.com/post/brand-voice-radar/Brand voice usually gets one page in a seventy-page brand guideline – a handful of generic adjectives that say nothing distinctive. Brand Voice Radar measures voice as it actually appears, comparing a brand to its competitors or mapping it across a whole sector.Mon, 11 May 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://garrettreil.com/post/what-you-should-get-from-a-brand-strategy-engagement/https://garrettreil.com/post/what-you-should-get-from-a-brand-strategy-engagement/A workshop and a document is one version of brand strategy. Here’s what it should look like – and what you should expect to walk away with.Fri, 27 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://garrettreil.com/post/brand-purpose-is-not-your-positioning-except-when-it-is/https://garrettreil.com/post/brand-purpose-is-not-your-positioning-except-when-it-is/Is purpose all-powerful or pointlessly performative? Should we start with why - or with what customers need? Sorry keyboard warriors – It depends.Sat, 21 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://garrettreil.com/post/why-do-most-consultancies-sound-the-same/https://garrettreil.com/post/why-do-most-consultancies-sound-the-same/Most consultancies have a positioning problem. Their brand voice is where it shows up. The instinct is to fix the writing. The writing isn’t the problem.Fri, 13 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://garrettreil.com/post/before-you-rebrand-read-this/https://garrettreil.com/post/before-you-rebrand-read-this/Thinking of a rebrand? Consider this. A rebrand is a signal. If the story isn’t ready before you make the change, the moment passes. You don’t get it back.Tue, 10 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://garrettreil.com/post/the-power-of-brand-in-building-a-cohesive-company-culture/https://garrettreil.com/post/the-power-of-brand-in-building-a-cohesive-company-culture/So many organisations run their brand programme and their culture programme separately. Often involving different people and using different language. Then they wonder why neither lands.Tue, 10 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://garrettreil.com/post/b2b-brands-with-no-spark-miss-the-mark/https://garrettreil.com/post/b2b-brands-with-no-spark-miss-the-mark/Most B2B brands hide behind rationality – features, specs, credentials – because it feels safe. But business buyers are still people. They still need to feel confident, excited, reassured.Tue, 10 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://garrettreil.com/post/business-strategy-made-sticky/https://garrettreil.com/post/business-strategy-made-sticky/You have a business strategy. It’s ambitious. Well-conceived. The board, on-board. So why isn’t everyone moving in the same direction? Because strategy on paper isn’t strategy in action. And the gap between the two is where most good plans fall apart.Fri, 06 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://garrettreil.com/post/digging-for-foundations-of-your-brand/https://garrettreil.com/post/digging-for-foundations-of-your-brand/If you want to build something enduring – strong enough to stand in the changing winds – you start with the foundation. Right? Tell me, is that controversial? In the rush to produce more, faster, have we forgotten this?Thu, 05 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://garrettreil.com/post/do-you-have-a-positioning-problem-six-ways-to-tell/https://garrettreil.com/post/do-you-have-a-positioning-problem-six-ways-to-tell/You have a great offer. Your customers love it. But new prospects aren’t biting, every conversation drifts to price, and your own team describe what you do differently every time. Sound familiar? These are symptoms. The problem probably isn’t your marketing.Mon, 02 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://garrettreil.com/post/brand-tone-of-voice-strategy-before-style/https://garrettreil.com/post/brand-tone-of-voice-strategy-before-style/When people talk about tone of voice, they often mean some basic word choice. A vocabulary. Maybe a list of ‘words we use' and ‘words we don't.' That’s not wrong, exactly. But it’s not where to start.Thu, 08 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://garrettreil.com/post/brand-messaging-to-cut-through-you-need-a-strategy/https://garrettreil.com/post/brand-messaging-to-cut-through-you-need-a-strategy/Do you want to send consistent and cohesive messages across all platforms, to cut through the competition to your customer? Create a messaging strategy – a toolbox of words and phrases that convey your brand’s unique value proposition. Here are some elements of a messaging toolbox and the building blocks of  a cut-through messaging strategy.Tue, 06 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://garrettreil.com/post/to-be-more-successful-stop-competing/https://garrettreil.com/post/to-be-more-successful-stop-competing/Conventional wisdom tells us we must constantly compete to stay ahead, right? But this can lead to a pitch battle around benefits and price. One of your greatest assets in executing your business strategy can be a strong brand strategy...Mon, 03 Nov 2025 00:00:00 GMThttps://garrettreil.com/post/create-a-brand-strategy-that-actually-works-for-a-growing-business/https://garrettreil.com/post/create-a-brand-strategy-that-actually-works-for-a-growing-business/Growing a business or a brand? Building a brand strategy that actually works isn’t about ticking boxes or following frameworks – it’s about getting clear on who you are, where you are headed, and why that matters. How do you approach it without getting lost in the process?Thu, 14 Aug 2025 00:00:00 GMThttps://garrettreil.com/post/why-would-you-bring-in-an-external-brand-strategist/https://garrettreil.com/post/why-would-you-bring-in-an-external-brand-strategist/Sometimes you’re too close to see it clearly. An external strategist brings objectivity, pattern recognition, and a process your own team can’t provide – and gets you to a strategy they’ll actually own.Tue, 12 Aug 2025 00:00:00 GMThttps://garrettreil.com/post/inside-out-branding-employer-brand/https://garrettreil.com/post/inside-out-branding-employer-brand/Most briefs arrive focused outward. But in almost every project I've worked on, the gap between a brand that works and one that doesn’t comes down to what happens inside.Sun, 01 Jun 2025 00:00:00 GMThttps://garrettreil.com/post/on-purpose-brand/https://garrettreil.com/post/on-purpose-brand/Purpose-led brands outperform the market, times three. Why did purpose get a bad name?Sun, 30 Jun 2024 00:00:00 GMThttps://garrettreil.com/post/distinctive-culture-distinctive-brand-strategy/https://garrettreil.com/post/distinctive-culture-distinctive-brand-strategy/How do we craft a unique culture that empowers both your team, and in turn, your customers. Fostering a clear identity will have meaningful impact on employee, and customer, experience.Wed, 03 Jan 2024 00:00:00 GMThttps://garrettreil.com/post/the-brand-creation-story/https://garrettreil.com/post/the-brand-creation-story/In the beginning, there was... Your brand’s creation story.Tue, 28 Mar 2023 00:00:00 GMThttps://garrettreil.com/post/brand-codes-is-less-more/https://garrettreil.com/post/brand-codes-is-less-more/The most recognisable brands in the world own a surprisingly small number of assets. The discipline is in knowing which ones to protect – and which to cut.Wed, 01 Mar 2023 00:00:00 GMThttps://garrettreil.com/post/navigating-brand-management/https://garrettreil.com/post/navigating-brand-management/Generally, when we are building a successful brand we are engaged in looking outward to the market. But increasingly, it’s how we manage our brands internally that determines a brand’s long term success. Based on the successes (and some failures) of major brand projects, here’s my absolute top line on brand management…Sun, 01 Sep 2019 00:00:00 GMThttps://garrettreil.com/post/mindfulness-trend-gathers-pace/https://garrettreil.com/post/mindfulness-trend-gathers-pace/As we continue to seek the perfect balance between the states of stress and flow, Nike has teamed up with the creators of the leading mindfulness meditation brand Headspace to create audio-guides that use established meditation techniques to give you an enhanced experience of exercise.Sun, 03 Dec 2017 00:00:00 GMThttps://garrettreil.com/post/trends-and-brands/https://garrettreil.com/post/trends-and-brands/Trends can be our friends – it’s important to know the terrain and the likely challenges and opportunities you’ll encounter before starting your journey. But, if you’re creating brand assets and behaviours and aiming to follow trends, there may be trouble ahead, you are not navigating your own path.Fri, 05 May 2017 00:00:00 GMT