You’ve probably already realized that having a groundbreaking product or service is just one piece of the puzzle. The real challenge? Standing out, building trust, and connecting emotionally with your audience, especially when you’re just about to go live for the first time. That’s where your brand strategy—specifically your messaging position and brand personality or archetype—comes into play.
We use this framework as the foundation for every brand we craft—whether we’re building a brand from scratch or undertaking a rebranding initiative. While it’s particularly effective for startups preparing for their first launch, rebranding projects would involve a deeper dive. This usually includes analyzing current positioning, conducting a brand audit, exploring brand territories, refining tone of voice, and more.
Whether you’re in biotech revolutionizing drug discovery or creating the next big thing in AI, crafting a brand that resonates is essential. This guide will walk you through how to position your brand in the market and define a personality that turns heads and wins hearts.
Let’s dive in.
What sets your startup apart?
Your unique value proposition answers the fundamental question: What sets your startup apart? Creating a positioning map can help visualize your place in the competitive landscape and highlight your value proposition. A positioning map is not only about plotting your product’s strengths but also about showing how your brand is perceived both visually and in its messaging.
How do you create a Positioning Map?
A positioning map plots brands along two axes that represent key attributes relevant to your industry or audience. For a biotech startup focused on drug discovery, consider axes such as:
- Communication (precise vs. shallow)
- Innovation (slow development vs. rapid delivery)
Here’s how to create your map:
- Define your competitors: At this stage, you will already have identified your main competitors and their UVP. However, keep in mind that users are not impressed by a product at first sight but by its visual appeal and messaging. Thus, define your competitors also in terms of visual perception.
Based on our experience, this point often requires clarification, as it can lead to friction in brand strategy meetings. As a startup founder, CPO, or CMO, you likely know your own and your competitors’ products better than a branding agency conducting a speed deep-dive into your tech sector. You probably even recall the colors your competitors use on their websites and aim to differentiate yourself from them product-wise or visually.
However, at this stage, it’s critical to analyze not only your competitors’ products but also their communication of them. Do they highlight the cutting-edge nature of their product in their messaging, or do they focus on a specific feature? They might have excellent customer service, but are they effectively leveraging it as part of their brand identity?
We emphasize this because when presenting the positioning map to clients, they sometimes feel misunderstood initially.
It’s only after further explanation and deeper exploration that the “aha” moment occurs, where they fully grasp how these elements shape their competitive positioning. As such a positioning map incorporates the way a brand is perceived, we use to call it Brand Perception Map.
- Determine your unique value proposition (UVP): What makes your company different? How is your UVP related to the first impression you want to make? And how can this be different from your competitors?
- Define your axes: Look for things your competitors have in common to differentiate your company from them. Align your offering with the visual appeal. Rapid development might be communicated by straight-forward, results-oriented communication. If you’re looking to promote your customer service, you want to be perceived as a partner with a human, people-oriented identity.
- Account for opposites: Ensure your axes have clear and contrasting ends (e.g., “research-focused vs. partner-focused”) to create a distinct visual framework for mapping your brand and competitors. This clarity ensures that your positioning is both intuitive and meaningful.
- Place your startup and your competitors on the map: Analyze how competitors position themselves on the same axes and find your positioning, ideally in the right upper quadrant.
Keep in mind: Your position on the map should align with your ideal visual identity and tone of voice. A biotech startup revolutionizing drug discovery with AI might choose futuristic visuals (e.g., sleek typography, dynamic visuals) and a bold, confident tone to reinforce its placement in the “disruptive” and “fast” quadrant.
What kind of person is your startup?
Your brand personality is how your startup brand comes to life in communication and interactions—essentially, the human traits associated with your company. A strong personality fosters emotional connections and trust.
Based on the values of your X and Y-axes, brand archetypes offer a framework to humanize your brand further. Archetypes help define how your brand is perceived. Common archetypes for a Biotech or Healthtech startup include:
- The Creator: Focused on innovation and building something new (aligns with progress).
- The Sage: Valued for knowledge and expertise (aligns with precision).
- The Caregiver: Empathetic and focused on helping others (alternative if you want to focus your brand on B2C).
How does your startup talk?
This might sound kind of abstract at first. Just imagine your brand being a real person. How would someone very creative, inspirational, and open-minded talk? How would your bio lecturer at college talk? How would a volunteer doctor talk?
Your brand might say:
- The Creator: “Our AI technology redefines the boundaries of what’s possible in drug discovery.”
- The Sage: “Grounded in rigorous research and AI-driven insights, we deliver solutions that matter.”
- The Caregiver: “We deliver solutions that prioritize the well-being of those we serve.”
Also, your brand can have traits of up to 3 brand archetypes. One might fall short, as you can be a creative expert or an empathetic creator—more than 3 would be confusing, though.
How are the positioning map and the brand archetype translated into brand identity?
By blending your brand perception or positioning map with the brand archetype, you get the first indications of how your brand strategy and, thus, your visual and verbal identity could be. Of course, there is no ultimate formula. But here are some points that will serve you as inspiration.
A progressive brand emphasizes efficiency, cutting-edge innovation, and speed-to-market. Messaging should convey:
- Speed & agility: Use action-oriented language such as "Accelerating breakthroughs", "Fast-tracking innovation", or "Bringing solutions to market 3X faster."
- Innovation & forward thinking: Highlight how your startup is shaping the future with messaging like "Redefining what's possible in biotech".
- Efficiency & smart solutions: Emphasize process improvements, e.g., "AI-driven automation that cuts development timelines in half".
A precise, data-driven brand messaging style prioritizes accuracy, efficiency, and technical expertise. This can be conveyed by:
- Technical & clarity-focused language: Use phrases like "Engineered for researchers, optimized for results," or "Advancing biotech through data-driven precision."
- Clear & exact tone: Avoid vague or overly emotional language. Instead of "We work hand-in-hand to bring therapies to patients faster," say "Our AI-driven platform accelerates drug discovery with unmatched accuracy and efficiency."
On a visual level, a sleek deep blue primary color with vibrant highlights can indicate high-tech precision and cutting-edge biotech solutions. Bold, geometric sans-serif fonts, with subtle italics or oblique angles can bring across movement. Imagery with data points, research photography, and zoom into details further promotes a precision-oriented approach.
Check out how we brought Causaly's brand strategy to life, blending precision and progress to showcase their cutting-edge AI for life sciences.
Now what?
Positioning your startup and building a strong brand personality takes time, research, and reflection. By aligning your unique value proposition with a clear tone of voice and archetypes, you create a cohesive brand that resonates with stakeholders.
With a clear messaging position and personality, ensure consistency across all touchpoints. Your website, pitch decks, press releases, and social media should reflect your strategy.
Curious about what AI can do for your brand strategy? Check out our Branx AI Tool. You will get your Brand House, Elevator Pitch, and Tone of Voice in seconds.