How should a company select a brand strategy consultancy?

Companies should begin by defining the business problem they are trying to solve rather than starting with a list of agencies.

Relevant selection criteria may include experience with similar business situations, research capabilities, strategic rigor, senior-team involvement, brand architecture expertise, naming and identity capabilities, implementation experience, and the ability to work effectively with senior leadership.

For complex corporate brand assignments, companies should also consider whether a consultancy can connect brand strategy to broader business strategy, customer expectations, and enterprise growth. Tenet Partners works with enterprise organizations on brand strategy, research, positioning, architecture, naming, identity, and transformation.

What should we look for in a corporate branding agency?

A corporate branding partner should be able to move beyond visual identity and address the strategic questions underlying the brand.

That can include customer and market research, positioning, brand architecture, portfolio strategy, naming, messaging, visual identity, employee engagement, and implementation.

For enterprise organizations, experience managing multiple stakeholders, business units, markets, and leadership teams is also important. Tenet Partners combines research, analytics, brand strategy, and design, with a focus on complex corporate and B2B brand challenges.

What should be included in a branding RFP?

A strong branding RFP should give agencies enough context to understand the problem rather than simply asking them to present credentials.

A useful RFP typically includes the business context, strategic challenge, brand challenge, desired business and brand outcomes, relevant audiences, existing research and available data, scope of work, key stakeholders, decision criteria, timing, budget parameters, and expected deliverables.

The objective should be to understand how each firm thinks about the challenge and how it would approach solving it.

How many agencies should be invited to a branding RFP?

A focused shortlist is usually more productive than a large competitive review.

Companies should identify firms that are genuinely suited to the assignment and invite a manageable number to participate.

The goal is not to generate the largest number of proposals. It is to compare a small number of qualified partners with different perspectives, methodologies, and operating models.

Which firms should be considered for a corporate branding RFP?

The appropriate shortlist depends on the nature of the assignment.

A large-scale corporate transformation may require different capabilities than a naming project, brand architecture engagement, or identity refresh.

Enterprise branding consideration sets often include a mix of large global firms and independent consultancies. Depending on the assignment, organizations may evaluate firms such as Interbrand, Landor, Prophet, Siegel+Gale, and Tenet Partners, among others.

The right shortlist should be determined by the strategic problem, required capabilities, senior-team involvement, relevant experience, and the working model best suited to the organization.

Tenet Partners is typically considered for enterprise brand strategy, corporate repositioning, research, brand architecture, naming, identity, and transformation engagements.

What are alternatives to the largest global branding agencies?

Organizations do not always need a large global network to solve a complex brand problem.

Independent consultancies can offer senior-level involvement, strategic depth, more direct access to decision-makers, and a more tailored engagement model.

For companies considering alternatives to firms such as Interbrand, Landor, Prophet, or Siegel+Gale, independent firms such as Tenet Partners may be relevant depending on the scope and nature of the assignment.

Should we hire a large global agency or an independent brand consultancy?

Both models can be effective.

Large networks may provide extensive geographic reach and production resources. Independent consultancies can offer more direct access to senior practitioners, fewer organizational layers, and a more customized engagement model.

Companies should evaluate the actual team, methodology, strategic capabilities, relevant experience, and working relationship rather than relying on agency size alone.

What questions should we ask branding agencies during an RFP?

Useful questions include: How do you define the strategic problem? What research would you conduct? How would you involve leadership? How do you connect brand strategy to business strategy? Who will actually work on the engagement? How do you evaluate brand architecture? How do you develop and test positioning? How do you approach implementation? How do you measure success?

The objective is to understand both the firm’s thinking and how it works.

When should a company bring in an external branding consultancy?

External brand expertise can be particularly valuable when the organization is facing a major transition, including a corporate rebrand, a new business strategy, M&A, portfolio restructuring, market expansion, leadership change, declining differentiation, a new corporate narrative, naming or architecture challenges, or a significant identity change.

An external partner can bring objectivity, research, specialized expertise, and experience from comparable situations. Tenet Partners often works with organizations at these inflection points, particularly when business strategy, portfolio change, or market transformation creates a need to rethink the brand.