Unified brand strategy and identity for Orca Group
Two sister brands became one firm: one name, one voice, one messaging strategy, and a Framer website the team runs themselves. Their clients moved across without noticing a seam.
A brand strategy agency in Johannesburg that makes you easy to understand.
We help businesses work out who they are for, what makes them the obvious choice and how to say it, then turn that into words your whole team can use.
What brand strategy actually is.
The thinking underneath everything you say and show.
Brand strategy decides your position in the market, the story you tell and the exact words your team uses on the website, in proposals and on sales calls. Without it, every new campaign starts from scratch and every channel says something slightly different.
We are a creative agency in Rosebank, Johannesburg, and strategy is where most of our best work begins. It suits businesses at a turning point: two brands becoming one, a new offer in a crowded market, a company that has outgrown its founder explaining it in person, or a team about to spend real money on a website or advertising.
Signs it is time
- Everyone describes you differentlyYour website, your proposals and your sales team each tell a slightly different story.
- You sound like your competitorsProspects struggle to tell you apart, so they compare you on price.
- Something is changingYou are merging, renaming, launching or moving into a new market.
- A big spend is comingYou are about to invest in a website, a campaign or a video, and want it to land.
Strategy works best in the room.
The right people round one table, writing the story together.
When Orca Risk and Orca Finance, two sister brands in Johannesburg, decided to become one firm, we ran a full-day workshop with both teams in the room. We went through all their messaging, drew out what mattered to each side, and wrote the brand story with them, so both teams left owning the same story.
Our home office is in Rosebank, so Johannesburg workshops are usually in person. We run them remotely too, and work with businesses far from here, such as Drovers Vet Hospital in Wanneroo, Western Australia.
What you walk away with
- A clear positionWho you are for, and why choosing you is the obvious call.
- A brand storyWritten with your team, in plain words anyone can repeat.
- A brand messaging frameworkThe reference everyone writing for you can check their work against, with the tone of voice to match.
- A roadmapWhat comes next, from the website to the campaigns, with the identity and website made by the same team if you need them.
How a strategy project runs.
The same four steps we use on every project, with the thinking done together rather than handed over.
01
Discovery call
We ask about your business, your market and what is not working, and tell you honestly and early if we are not the right fit. You get a cost estimate on the call.
02
Decide together
Clear options in a fixed-fee proposal, agreed upfront. If clearer messaging will do the job of a full rebrand, we will say so.
03
Develop your plan
Workshops with your leadership and team, in person or remotely, then the position, story and messaging framework written up and tested with you.
04
Deliver your results
We hand over the framework and roadmap, and the same team can carry them into your website, content and campaigns.
Strategy that held up in the real world.
Four businesses that started with the words, and what changed because of it.
Brand messaging strategy for ADOWA Living
A messaging framework for student accommodation, where every provider says the same thing. The paid campaign that filled their first residence was built on it.
Brand messaging and website strategy for Drovers Vet Hospital
Drovers came for a website and left with messaging that reframed pet owners as pet parents. The new positioning later proved instrumental when the practice was acquired.
Brand refresh for TomorrowToday Global
A refresh that protected what people already recognised: the logo updated rather than reinvented, with a new palette and typeface built around it.
How to choose a brand strategy agency in Johannesburg.
Strategy is hard to judge before you buy it. These questions help.
Will they tell you what you don’t need?
An honest agency will say when clearer messaging will do the work of a full rebrand. Ask what they would leave alone.
Do they write the words, or only the slides?
A framework is only useful if it gives your team real sentences to use. Ask to see the kind of document you will get.
Who will be in the room?
Find out who runs the workshop, and whether they stay on to carry the strategy into your website and content.
Can your team use it without them?
The aim is a strategy your people apply on their own, from a pitch deck to an email signature, without calling the agency each time.
Is the fee fixed before you start?
Strategy can drift. A fixed fee and a written scope, agreed upfront, keep it focused.
What our strategy clients say.
“They offered guidance, shared insight, and gently nudged the storyline in a clear, brand-focused direction when needed. Their input was always thoughtful, always helpful, always in service of the brand and the story.”
“ThinkStory has definitely added a new level to our business and has integrated an ongoing connection with our clients that is both professional and practical.”
“We’re proud of our new website and would highly recommend ThinkStory to anyone looking for a reliable, insightful, and creative partner.”
“ThinkStory has played a pivotal role in our journey as a company as well as understanding what our students want and what they respond to.”
Frequently asked questions.
It helps you decide where you sit in the market, who you are for and what you should say about yourself, then writes it down so every channel says the same thing. With us, that becomes a position, a brand story and a brand messaging framework your team can use straight away.
No. Strategy decides what you stand for and how you say it; a logo and identity express it. Sometimes both change, as they did for Orca Group. Often the messaging alone does the job, and we will tell you honestly if a full rebrand is not worth your money.
Before you spend on the things that depend on it: a new website, a campaign, a video series or a sales push. ADOWA’s messaging came first, and the campaign that filled their first residence was built on it.
Yes. Our home office is in Rosebank, with a team in Cape Town, and we run workshops in person or remotely. Drovers Vet Hospital in Western Australia is one of our strategy clients.
Every engagement is scoped to what your business needs and quoted as a fixed fee, agreed upfront. You get a cost estimate on the discovery call, and no surprises later.
Read more on messaging.
- Our strategy and brand messaging services
Marketing strategy, positioning, brand messaging and voice, in one service.
- How to Develop a Brand Messaging Framework
The step-by-step process we use to build a messaging framework.
- How to Write an Effective Creative Brief
How to turn a strategy into a brief your creative team can act on.
Start with a conversation.
Tell us where your business is heading and what feels unclear. We reply to every enquiry within one working day, and we will tell you honestly whether strategy is what you need.