Brand Code Diagnostic
A clear read of the brand you already have.
The Diagnostic reads every brand book, deck, brief, and guideline you have, and our strategists review each finding. You see what is strong, what contradicts, and what is missing, plus an action plan.
2 weeks
Diagnostic, kickoff to readout
14
items in a fixed read
3
sessions of your time
A-01 · Positioning statement
v1.0
doc_id: A-01 family: A-foundation
informs: [A-02, A-03, A-04]
1 · The positioning
Skin healthspan: proven ingredients at effective doses, for skin that stays strong for decades.
The rival: anti-aging care that treats her face as a problem to fix.
6 · Guardrails
Say this
“Skin that works as well at 65 as it does at 45.”
Not this
“Turn back the clock on fine lines.”
A page from a sample Brand Code for a premium skincare brand.
Inside the Diagnostic
A fixed 14-point read
of your foundations.
Our diagnostic tool reads each document first. Then a strategist reviews it on four dimensions before anything is shared.
01
Coverage
In place, partial, or missing. Could a new agency find it tomorrow, or is it a treasure hunt?
02
Strategic quality
Scored 1 to 10: placeholder, competent but undifferentiated, decision-grade, or category-leading.
03
Evidence base
Grounded in real research, or an internal assumption written up with confidence.
04
Read confidence
How firm each assessment is, so a thin read is never presented as a verdict.
Brand Code Diagnostic · sample output
Illustrative client
A-01
Positioning
In place
7/10
Clear and defensible in a crowded category.
A-02
Purpose, mission, values
Partial
5/10
Three overlapping statements that give teams some, but confusing, direction.
A-03
Personality, archetype
In place
6/10
Bold and irreverent on paper. Genuinely ownable.
A-04
Tone of voice
Partial
4/10
Rules read corporate and cautious. Nothing like the personality.
A-05
Distinctive brand assets
Partial
5/10
Strong brand assets, but none chosen or declared.
A-06
Visual identity system
In place
7/10
Consistent, but stretched thin across new SKUs.
B-01
Personas
Partial
5/10
Demographic profiles. They say who buys, not why.
B-02
Demand spaces, jobs to be done
Missing
—
No view of the occasions you actually compete for.
B-04
Competitive set
In place
6/10
Named brands, not the substitutes shoppers weigh.
C-01
Brand architecture
Partial
4/10
Sub-brands added opportunistically. No shopper logic.
C-02
Role map
Missing
—
No job defined per product. Everything competes with everything.
C-03
Message house
Partial
5/10
Messages per SKU, no hierarchy up to the master brand.
D-01
Channel and distribution
In place
6/10
Solid in retail, thin in club and e-commerce.
D-04
Comms strategy, media mandatories
Partial
3/10
Buys against reach, not against demand.
It reads the brand as a system.
Small contradictions between documents compound over time. The Diagnostic maps them so you can write down one clean version of the brand.
A-03 ✕ A-04
Bold, irreverent personality vs. cautious corporate tone rules
What it costs
Every asset splits the difference and lands generic. The challenger out-voices you in a category you built.
A-01 ✕ D-04
Premium positioning vs. media bought against reach in value channels
What it costs
You position premium and buy like private label. You cannot hold the price the positioning promises.
B-02 ✕ C-02
No demand spaces defined vs. no role map for the portfolio
What it costs
With no occasions, no product has a job. Every SKU competes with every other and cannibalizes your own shelf.
The recommended move
Two focused work streams first, not a full rebrand.
1. Settle the voice (A-03 vs. A-04).
2. Define the demand spaces (B-02).
Start with the Diagnostic.
A strategist’s read of your brand in 2–4 weeks. Your time: a kickoff, a working session, and a readout. It is complete on its own. Act on it yourself, or continue to a full code.