In branding, we don’t just write words.
We study them. We test them. We dig into what they really mean and where their power lives.
Given the nature of our work – naming, positioning, brand storytelling, identity design – we’re always on the hunt for words that can anchor everything: strategy, tone, design, and narrative. Words that don’t just describe the brand, but define it.
We usually start with too many. Each team member contributes. Then we begin the real work paring them down. Editing with purpose. Honing until only the strongest remain. These are the words with weight. When tested against ideas, themes, or copy, they don’t flinch. And more importantly, they ring true to the brand work we’re tasked with.
The few that survive become the creative gravity for everything that follows.
We typically group them into four categories:
- Basic Nouns: Words directly tied to the brand’s product or service that are grounded, literal, and rational. They describe what the brand does or offers at face value.
- Brand Core: Single, high-impact words that express the emotional essence of the brand. What it stands for, aspires to, or promises at its most human level.
- Archetypes: Timeless character patterns that give the brand a recognizable human role, such as the Hero, Sage, Rebel, making the brand more relatable and memorable.
- Attributes: Descriptive traits that shape the brand’s personality. These are the qualities that define how a brand behaves, feels, and shows up in the world.
On a current project, one word keeps surfacing: advocate.
And in context, it’s a powerful word – because it shows up in nearly every category.
It’s an archetype. It’s a brand core. It’s a behavioral trait. It’s a mission that backs a belief.
Advocacy signals courage. Conviction. Protection. It’s not a marketing concept; It’s a human one. And when a brand truly embodies it, something powerful happens.
So I tried something.
I asked AI to surface a list of people throughout history who lived that word.
In the past, I would’ve turned to books, memory, and Google, a process that takes time away from the act of creating. But research is part of the job: locate the rabbit hole, and dive in.
What came back was immediate, and emotional. Mostly women. People of color. Individuals who stood up, spoke out, and risked safety, status, or life itself to fight for others. Exactly the kind of environment where advocacy lives.
In a very real way, it’s a reflection of the client we’re working with.
Each name sparked recognition. These weren’t just famous figures. They were human beings who embodied the kind of empathy, sacrifice, and conviction, traits we seek to find and express in our work.
In that moment, advocate became more than a word from a workshop.
It revealed itself as a lens. A way of understanding, seeing, and interpreting the client, their mission, and the road ahead through copy, storytelling, and visual design. The people on that list, and the commonalities they share, are the very things we search for. The stuff that gives brand work texture, weight, and direction.
They, as a collection of advocates, gave me a deeper appreciation for what’s now possible for the client – something I’ll be sharing with our creative team in our next session.
Branding is done right is about how clearly the human elements within a company can surface, be expressed, and shaped into assets people can feel when they interact with them.
A well-constructed brand doesn’t shout, “Hey, look at me.” It doesn’t need to. What it needs is to feel right. To radiate trust. To pull people in who feel compelled to spend time with it, work with it, or buy from it.
So beyond this initial exercise, we’re going to keep working.
We’ll study this direction, and others, in search of the most honest, expressive, and effective territory possible.
This is what brand strategy really is. In a nutshell.
