Building a differentiated AI brand
How we helped an AI photo editor develop a clear brand direction and roadmap in a noisy category
Introduction & context
Engagement structure: 6-month consulting retainer
Our client, a photo editing and design tool with 100M+ downloads, was in the process of refocusing on their prosumer segment: SMB owners and solopreneurs needing professional-quality product images for their digital surfaces. Moving at a breakneck pace in a crowded category, they needed to retool their brand foundations without missing a beat on execution.
The company’s Head of Brand and Content reached out to Bonfire for ongoing help with three main business concerns:
Review current brand strategy and team priorities in order to help make the right bets for the following year
Update their brand foundations of positioning and narratives
Review and update their brand measurement framework
Additionally, our client was seeking team management and org design / hiring advice on an ad hoc basis as issues and questions arose.
Summary
Bonfire met with the Head of Brand and Content on a weekly basis, worked through an agenda of prioritized talking points, and asynchronously reviewed and gave feedback on key strategic deliverables as they were prepared.
Bonfire also provided tried-and-true templates, frameworks, and philosophies that for our client to apply to her work and team, encouraging different perspectives on how the team could articulate the company’s purpose, values, and brand positioning.
Specifically, Bonfire helped:
Review the channel mix and advise on prioritization and investment in order to hit reach and awareness goals
This included:
Iteration on email marketing and lifecycle strategy for a customer base of millions
Development of partnership opportunities with household names that differentiated the brand and also support business goals
Advisement on community strategy, including platform and content
Define their key audiences, refining their list from approximately a dozen personae to a more focused handful
Explore, define, and socialize the company’s outdated brand values
Refine the company’s rather technical purpose and brand positioning to be more aspirational, inspirational, and expansive
Establish a brand narratives framework to address key themes across touchpoints for the most relevant audiences
Evaluate current team structure and resourcing, and make recommendations on hiring and role scope
Advise on brand metrics, measurement, and goal setting to more clearly show value and ROI
Structure and run Photoroom’s first brand awareness survey across 8 geographies, giving the company a baseline of its aided and unaided brand awareness and customer sentiment along key product attributes
Conclusion
At a time of explosive growth and strategic change in a highly hectic category landscape, Bonfire’s ongoing retainer allowed the company’s Head of Brand and Content access to partnership and expansive thinking on key brand initiatives.
