Career guide
Brand Strategist Job Description: Agency and In-House Templates
A brand strategist works out what a brand should stand for and how it should be different, then turns that into positioning, messaging and creative briefs other teams can use. At an agency they do this for clients, often inside the strategy or planning department; in-house they do it for one company's brands. Below are templates for both, plus how the job changes with seniority.
Key takeaways
- A brand strategist turns research into a brand's positioning, messaging and creative briefs that other teams can act on.
- Agency brand strategists work across several clients and pitches, while in-house brand strategists go deeper on one company's brands over time.
- The core brand strategist deliverables are a brand platform, a positioning statement, a messaging framework and creative briefs.
- Senior brand strategists lead the research and present to client or company leadership; junior strategists gather and synthesize the inputs.
- Brand strategists are judged on whether their thinking gets used: adopted positioning, briefs that lead to strong work and brand measures moving.
Download all 2 templates (Word) Opens in Google Docs too.
What does a brand strategist do?
A brand strategist decides what a brand should mean to people and why anyone should choose it, then writes that down in a form other teams can use. The output isn’t ads or a logo; it’s the thinking that the ads, the logo, the website and the sales pitch are built on.
Most brand strategy work follows four steps:
- Research. Customer interviews, surveys, a review of competitors and the category, sometimes a brand audit.
- Insight. Finding the tension or truth worth building on: what people want that nobody’s giving them, or what the brand already does better than it says.
- Positioning and platform. A positioning statement, values, personality, tone of voice and key messages.
- Briefs and guidance. Creative briefs, workshops and reviews that keep the work on strategy.
Our main brand strategist page covers how to become one and what goes in a portfolio. This page is the job description in detail.
Brand strategist job description template (agency)
At an agency, brand strategists usually sit in the strategy or planning team and work across several clients, plus new-business pitches. Copy this and replace the [brackets].
Job title: Brand Strategist [or Senior Brand Strategist], Strategy About [Agency] [Two sentences: the kind of agency you are and two or three types of client you work with.] About the role We're hiring a Brand Strategist to lead the thinking behind [client] brand work. You'll run research, find the insight, write the strategy and the brief, and stay close to the creative team until the work ships. You'll work on [number] accounts at once and report to [Strategy Director / Head of Planning]. What you'll do - Plan and run research: interviews, surveys, social listening, category and cultural reviews. - Turn findings into insights and brand positioning for clients. - Write brand platforms, messaging frameworks and tone of voice guidance. - Write creative briefs and present them to creative teams; join creative reviews. - Present strategy to clients and help them make decisions in workshops. - Contribute strategy and research to new-business pitches. - Keep track of how campaigns perform against the strategy. What you'll bring - [X]+ years in brand strategy, planning or research, at an agency or in-house. - Examples of positioning or brand platforms you wrote and how they were used. - Confident presenting to clients and senior stakeholders. - Comfort with qualitative and quantitative research. - Clear, persuasive writing. How we'll measure success - [Metric 1: e.g. strategy adopted by clients] - [Metric 2: e.g. creative work that tests well and wins internal reviews] - [Metric 3: e.g. contribution to pitch wins] Pay and benefits [Salary range], [benefits], [location / hybrid / remote].
Brand strategist job description template (in-house)
In-house, a brand strategist works on one company’s brand or portfolio of brands, usually inside marketing or a brand team, alongside brand managers and an agency.
Job title: Brand Strategist, [Brand or Portfolio] About [Company] [Two sentences: what you sell, to whom, and what's changing for the brand now.] About the role We're hiring a Brand Strategist to define and protect how [brand] shows up everywhere. You'll own the brand platform, guide our agencies and teams on positioning and messaging, and track how the brand is perceived. You'll report to [Head of Brand / Brand Director] and work with [brand managers, product marketing, creative, agencies]. What you'll do - Own and update the brand platform: positioning, values, personality, voice. - Write messaging frameworks for [launches / audiences / product lines]. - Brief agencies and internal creative teams, and review work against the strategy. - Run or commission brand research and tracking, and share what it shows. - Advise on brand architecture as [products / sub-brands] are added. - Train teams across the company to use the brand consistently. What you'll bring - [X]+ years in brand strategy, brand management or agency planning. - Experience writing positioning and messaging that teams adopted. - Comfort working with agencies and senior leaders. - [Category experience, if it matters.] How we'll measure success - [Metric 1: e.g. brand tracking measures such as awareness and consideration] - [Metric 2: e.g. consistent use of messaging across channels] - [Metric 3: e.g. agency work approved against the brief in fewer rounds] Pay and benefits [Salary range], [benefits], [location / hybrid / remote].
How does the job change with seniority?
| Level | What they do | Who they work with |
|---|---|---|
| Junior or associate strategist | Desk research, interview notes, competitor reviews, first drafts of insights and briefs | A senior strategist; the account team |
| Brand strategist | Runs the research, writes the strategy and briefs for a few accounts or brands | Creative teams, clients or brand managers |
| Senior brand strategist | Leads bigger projects end to end, presents to senior clients, mentors juniors | Client leadership, creative directors |
| Strategy director / head of brand strategy | Owns the strategy offer or the brand, leads pitches or the brand roadmap, manages the team | Agency leadership or the CMO |
The account planner page covers the agency strategy ladder in more detail.
How is a brand strategist different from similar roles?
| Role | Main focus |
|---|---|
| Brand strategist | What the brand stands for and how it’s positioned |
| Brand manager | Running the brand’s business: plans, budget, campaigns, results |
| Creative strategist | What the ads themselves should say and show, often for paid social |
| Account planner | Agency strategy focused on the audience and the brief |
| Content strategist | What content to make, for whom, and how it’s organized |
Titles overlap a lot. Read the “what you’ll do” list rather than the title to see which job a posting really is.
How do you use this job description when applying?
Pull out the two or three deliverables the posting stresses (brand platform, messaging, briefs, research) and find one piece of your work for each, with what happened after it was adopted. That’s your resume’s first bullet and your strongest interview story. When you tell it, explain your reasoning the way you’d explain it to a colleague; strategy interviews are partly a test of how you think out loud, and your natural voice does that better than a rehearsed pitch.
Pay varies by agency, company and city; the marketing manager and marketing specialist salary pages give government figures for the nearest occupations.
FAQ
What qualifications does a brand strategist need?
Postings commonly ask for a bachelor’s degree, often in marketing, communications, psychology or a related field, plus experience in strategy, research, brand management or agency planning. A portfolio showing your reasoning matters more than the degree subject.
Is brand strategist an entry-level job?
Sometimes, as junior or associate strategist at an agency. Many strategists start in research, account management, copywriting or brand management and move across.
What does a brand strategist deliver?
Typically a brand platform (purpose, positioning, values, personality), a messaging framework, tone of voice guidance and creative briefs. Bigger projects add research reports, naming or architecture recommendations, and workshops.
What’s the difference between a brand strategist and a marketing strategist?
A brand strategist focuses on the brand’s meaning and positioning. A marketing strategist is broader: which audiences, channels, budgets and goals the whole marketing plan should pursue. Some companies use the titles interchangeably, so check the duties.
Do brand strategists work at agencies or in-house?
Both. Agencies, branding consultancies and design studios employ many strategists; larger companies with several brands often have in-house strategists too.