A brand is more than the sum of its visual parts. It’s not just a logo, a colour palette, or a catchy tagline — it’s the guiding framework that shapes how your business behaves, communicates, and grows.
At Wide Open Co., we often remind our clients that a strong brand isn’t just about what looks good, but what feels right — because it’s built on strategy, not just aesthetics.
A logo is the tip of the iceberg
When businesses come to us asking for “a new logo,” we know that what they’re really searching for is clarity around their identity. A great logo doesn’t exist in isolation — it draws its strength from a clear brand strategy that defines your purpose, audience, and story.
Yes, design should look good — but it should also mean something. When it’s built on strategy rather than what is trending, that’s when it can truly connect and endure.
Building from the inside out
That’s why we start every project with Exploration — and, more specifically, with tools that ask our clients to examine and share elements of their business strategy.
The Brand Pyramid helps uncover the relationship between layers that scaffold your visual identity:
- Functional benefits: What your product or service delivers.
- Emotional benefits: How it makes your customers feel.
- Values and personality: The principles and tone that define you.
- Core purpose: The “why” that drives everything you do.
When we articulate these layers, we reveal the core drivers that shape both your internal culture and your external communications. Your brand stops being a surface-level exercise and becomes a decision-making tool — one that informs not just your marketing, but also your operations, hiring, partnerships, and product development.
Strategy and style
We’ve all seen how strategy-led branding transforms businesses. Think of Apple and McDonald’s — worlds apart, yet instantly recognisable. Even without knowing their internal strategies, we understand who they are and what to expect. A brand with clear values and purpose makes consistent decisions easier:
- Marketing becomes more authentic and focused because you know exactly what message you’re sending and to whom.
- Hiring becomes more strategic because you’re attracting people who align with your mission and culture.
- Design becomes more powerful because it’s expressing something meaningful, not just fashionable.
When your brand is anchored in strategy, your logo isn’t just a symbol — it’s a shorthand for everything your business stands for.
The power of clarity
A well-defined brand gives your team a shared language. It helps everyone — from leadership to front-line staff — understand what “on-brand” looks and feels like. That clarity turns branding from a marketing tool into an organisational compass.
At Wide Open Co., we help businesses uncover that clarity through structured exploration and collaboration. The creative work that follows — from logo design to messaging — flows naturally from those insights.
Because when your brand is built from strong foundations, every decision you make reinforces it.
But don’t just take our word for it…
Read a high-level discussion on how brand strategy, identity and emotional resonance are important qualities of business leadership in this Forbes article, More Than Just A Logo: The Essence Of A Brand And Why It's So Important by Trey Robinson, Former Forbes Councils Member.
