Brand strategy is often misunderstood because people focus mainly on visuals. In reality, the strategic part of branding usually comes before any design work happens. It includes defining positioning, audience segments, messaging pillars, and competitive differentiation. These elements guide how the brand communicates everywhere. I recently looked into what agencies actually deliver during this stage and found a helpful breakdown here: https://clay.global/blog/top-b....randing-agencies/bra It shows how strategy documents, messaging frameworks, and brand guidelines work together to create consistency across marketing and product experiences.