Making the invisible visible: Building a strong brand

In a world defined by a lot of noice and a tremendous speed, building a strong brand isn’t merely a marketing tactic but a business imperative. We know that higher-performing companies consistently prioritise brand. Research by Lloyds and KPMG also shows that up to 90% of the market value of S&P 500 companies today comes from intangible assets. That tells us one important thing: brand is not just about visibility but the foundation of sustainable success.

A strong brand drives growth. It helps you win customers. But just as importantly, it helps you retain them, also when the going gets tough.

Brand first -thinking: The Swedish case for brand

In Sweden, the value of a branding is already well understood. According to research by the Swedish Advertisers Association and NOA Consulting, 80% of leadership teams in high-performing companies, see the importance of a strong brand in driving profitability and growth. A strong brand isn’t just seen as a lever for business results, it’s also regarded as key to attracting and retaining talent.

Organisations that succeed over time are guided by boards and leaders who strike the balance between short-term activation and long-term brand building. They see brand as a long-term strategic asset and not just a tool to sell more today. They view branding as the foundation for sustained growth, resilience, and relevance. It's about understanding that building a strong brand is not a campaign, but a commitment.

What makes a strong brand?

Visual identity is obviously one of the most tangible aspects of a brand, but it’s not the whole picture. A truly strong brand is built on a clear strategy, a consistent tone of voice, and the brand experiences you create across every touchpoint. It’s about the feeling you evoke and the story you tell, both externally and internally. There’s a well-known saying: “A brand is not what you say it is. It’s what they say it is.”

In our work, we use a proven, methodical, yet creative approach that begins with defining the Core: Why do we exist? Where are we going? What is our purpose? From there, we move on to shaping the narrative, asking: What do we stand for? What promises are we making to the world around us? These foundations set the stage for building the experience, identifying what has to be true to make the narrative to come alive, engage, inspire and drive business. Only then do we move into activation, reaching and impacting the world beyond.

A good brand narrative is authentic and told in your own voice. It’s rooted in purpose and strategy. It’s not just about what resonates today — it’s what makes hearts beat faster ten years from now.

Consistency and creativity are partners, not opposites. A strong brand is not too reactive to market trends or external noise. Instead, it’s anchored by a great idea and narrative that endures, even as activation adapts between short-term action and long-term positioning.

The DNA of a strong brand could be summarised as being authentic, engaging and relevant.

Making the invisible visible

There is no such thing as one fixed future, there are many possible futures. And since we can’t control outcomes, only our actions, the most effective approach is to lay a strong foundation that prepares us for both times of success and rocky seas.

“Making the invisible visible” is about recognising that just because brand doesn’t appear on your balance sheet, doesn’t mean it isn’t critical. Quite the opposite. Your brand, your intellectual property, your story, your culture, are among your most valuable assets.

Asking ourselves: “What has to be true today for us to reach the position and goals of tomorrow?” That question alone challenges one to go beyond the status quo, and to step into the many plausible futures that await. That’s where the invisible resides.

Yet even the invisible needs form. The visual identity of a brand is one of the clearest expressions of its strategy — a tangible embodiment of its purpose, tone, customer promise, and aspirations. It serves as a vital building block for all communications and brand-building efforts. When done right, it makes the intangible visible; it translates strategic intent into design, emotion, and recognition.

Where to begin

Building a strong brand is all about playing the long game. The first step is to ensure you have a good brand strategy — one that takes you towards the invisible futures you hope to bring into reality. Build a strong creative idea that resonates with your vision. And if that foundation is already in place, conducting a brand audit is a powerful tool to align and maximise the potential of your brand: “Is what we’re expressing truly aligned with what we aim to achieve?”

The reality is, many organisations still overlook or undervalue their brand and intangible assets. Partly because we still imagine decision-making as rational and transactional, especially in B2B. But in truth, every business is human. Emotion and authenticity are essential, and often underappreciated.

Tommi Tervanen, known to many finns as “The Pizza Guy”, former CEO of Kotipizza and now heading the European Pizza Company, has talked about a “revolution for the human touch”. We meet automation, algoritms and chatbots wherever we go, but we still crave human interaction, maybe more than ever. There is a good case to be made that we need more emotion and a more human approach to brand building, and communications.

Another reason is the pressure of short-term performance. Yet, research shows that short-term marketing measures tend to dilute both tactical communication as well as long-term brand effectiveness. Taking a holistic, consistent and future(s)-focused approach across all brand elements. From visual identity and tone to experience and culture. All essential for enduring success.

A future(s) proof brand

For building a brand for the future, the advice is simple:

Tell a good story. A story that is true to who you are. Make sure it communicates your purpose. Make it feel authentic and real. Ensure it gets communicated coherently. And, maybe, don’t do it all internally. An external perspective can be invaluable. And then, most importantly: involve your team. A brand shouldn’t only drive business — it should inspire from within.

“Great stories happens to the ones who can tell them” - Ira Glass

The article is written by Kalle Ulff, the creative director of ODDVISORY & CO. Oddvisory is a strategic creative advisory helping it's clients develop and manage it's brand and concepts.
Kalle has over a decade of experience in the creative field. Oddvisory & Abraca are working closely on several projects, making the invisible visible, and driving regenerative growth.