Brand discovery

Brand Discovery#

Use this skill to conduct a structured, adaptive brand identity interview. The goal is a complete 90_SYNTHESIS.md — a master brandbook the organization can use to brief designers, writers, and external collaborators.

The interview runs across multiple sessions. Capture answers to disk as you go so that no elicited knowledge is lost when a conversation ends, and so a later session can resume from where the last one stopped.

When to Activate#

• A brand is being created, repositioned, or needs a written identity reference to brief collaborators.
• Multiple sessions are expected — the conversation will span days or weeks.
• Multiple founders or stakeholders need individual interviews before a reconciliation pass.
• The user wants a structured, repeatable method rather than an ad-hoc chat.
• Existing brand documentation is scattered, implicit, or founder-dependent and needs to be made explicit.

Session start protocol#

On every activation, perform these steps before asking any interview question:

1. Check for prior progress. Look for an existing set of module files and a state.json checkpoint in the project's brand-identity directory. If none exists, this is a fresh start — confirm the brand name, participants, and where to save the brand-identity files, then begin at the first module.
2. Read the current module file if one is in progress, and scan its Raw section for previously captured answers.
3. Report to the user in two or three sentences: which module we are in, its status, and what remains. Then ask: "Continue here, or switch module?"

Interview discipline#

Apply these rules throughout every module:

1. One question at a time. Never present a list of questions.
2. After each answer: short paraphrase → one deepening probe OR close the thread if the topic is saturated. Never move on silently.
3. Laddering: for every "what" answer, follow with "Why does that matter to you?" until a core value surfaces (typically two to four iterations).
4. 5 Whys: for beliefs or positioning claims — push until the root reason, not the surface declaration, is on the table.
5. Detect thin answers: if generic, jargon-heavy, or vague, ask for one concrete example, a client story, or a number.
6. Projective techniques (use once per module to break a plateau):
   • "If the brand were a person, how would they walk into a room?"
   • Brand obituary: "If the organization closed in five years, what would customers miss? What would you regret not having said?"
   • Competitive contrast: "Name one peer you admire but would never want to become. What specifically makes them the wrong model?"
7. Saturation signal: when two consecutive probes produce no new information, summarise and close the module.
8. End of module: write a structured module file with two sections:
   • ## Raw — verbatim quotes and examples.
   • ## Synthesis — your interpretation, three candidate formulations, open questions, contradictions between participants. Then update the state.json checkpoint (see State protocol below).

Module sequence#

Complete modules in order. Honour a user request to jump modules and note the skip in state.json.

State write protocol#

After each module reaches saturation or done status, write two files:

Module file at modules/{moduleFile} — full Raw and Synthesis content.

state.json — a lightweight checkpoint so a later session can resume. Update completedModules, inProgressModule, nextModule, lastUpdated. Schema:

{
  "session": "{brand_name}-brand-{YYYY-MM}",
  "outputPath": "{path_to_brand_identity_directory}",
  "completedModules": [],
  "inProgressModule": "10_purpose-why.md",
  "nextModule": "20_positioning.md",
  "participants": ["founder-A"],
  "lastUpdated": "{ISO-8601}"
}

After writing, confirm: "Module X saved. State updated. Next: Y."

Terminal module (90_SYNTHESIS.md): when writing the final synthesis, set inProgressModule to "90_SYNTHESIS.md" and nextModule to null in state.json. After writing, set completedModules to include "90_SYNTHESIS.md", then set inProgressModule to null — leaving it populated would cause a future resumption to treat the completed brandbook as still in progress. Confirm: "Brandbook complete. All modules saved."

Multi-founder mode#

When more than one founder participates, write each founder's answers to founders/{participant}.md instead of the main module files. Validate the participant name before writing: accept only alphanumeric characters and hyphens (e.g. founder-a, anna); reject names containing path separators (/, \, ..) or special characters. Validate moduleFile against the enumerated module sequence (10 through 90 only). Validate outputPath to ensure it is an absolute path within the project directory — reject relative paths and paths that escape via .. segments. After all founders complete a module, run a reconciliation pass: summarise convergences and divergences in the module file, flag "productive tensions" for the group alignment workshop.

Anti-Patterns#

• Starting without reading state first. Every session must open by checking for existing module files and state.json. Skipping this loses all continuity from prior sessions.
• Asking multiple questions at once. One question at a time is not optional — lists produce checklist answers, not real insight.
• Moving to Synthesis before saturation. If the last two probes produced no new information, the module is done. If they did — it isn't.
• Skipping multi-founder reconciliation. When multiple stakeholders are involved, individual interviews must complete before reconciliation. Discussing the brand collectively first introduces anchoring bias.
• Treating this as a one-shot session. This skill is designed for multiple sessions. Rushing to 90_SYNTHESIS.md in one conversation produces shallow output.

Related Skills#

• competitive-platform-analysis — after brand-discovery establishes the positioning brief, use this to scope and categorise the competitor set.
• brand-voice (ECC) — if the brand-discovery voice-and-tone module needs a separate, source-derived writing-style profile.

Supporting file: references/10_purpose-why.md#

Module 10 — Purpose / Why#

Frameworks: Sinek Golden Circle · Lencioni organisational purpose

Goal: Surface the brand's core belief — the Why that exists independently of what the organisation sells or how it delivers. Captures the founding conviction, not the elevator pitch.

Raw#

Core belief (why does this exist?)#

The behavioural How (values in action, not poster slogans)#

What the brand refuses to be or do#

Founder quotes strong enough to become internal anchors#

Synthesis#

Candidate Why formulations (offer 2–3 versions, vary register and specificity)#

3. Open questions / threads to pursue in later modules#

Contradictions or tensions between participants (multi-founder only)#

How does this Why constrain or enable positioning? (bridge to Module 20)#

Supporting file: references/20_positioning.md#

Module 20 — Positioning#

Frameworks: Dunford Obviously Awesome · Moore crossing-the-chasm template · Jobs-to-be-done lens

Goal: Define the brand's competitive frame — who it's for, what category it competes in, what it does uniquely, and why that matters to the target client. Output is the raw material for a positioning statement the brand can act on.

Raw#

Who is the target client? (role, company type, situation)#

What category does the brand compete in? (how clients currently solve this problem)#

What makes the brand different from alternatives in that category?#

What does the target client care about most? (the value they get that others can't match)#

Competitive alternatives named by the founder (include "do nothing" / "hire in-house")#

Phrases or metaphors the founder uses naturally to describe what they do#

Synthesis#

Positioning statement draft (Dunford template)#

For [target client] who [situation / JTBD], [brand name] is the [category] that [unique value]. Unlike [alternatives], we [key differentiator].

Alternative framings (vary the category or the differentiator)#

2. White-space hypothesis (what no competitor is claiming that this brand could own)#

Open questions / ambiguities#

Tensions with Module 10 Why (flag any contradictions for Module 90 reconciliation)#

Supporting file: references/30_audience-niche.md#

Module 30 — Audience & Niche#

Frameworks: Baker The Business of Expertise · Ideal Client Profile (ICP) · Pain / trigger / desired outcome lens

Goal: Make the target audience concrete enough to brief a copywriter or run a paid campaign — not a demographic sketch, but a psychographic and situational portrait of the best client the brand wants more of.

Raw#

Who is the ideal client? (describe a specific person, not a segment)#

What situation or trigger brings them to look for help?#

What have they tried before and why did it fall short?#

What does success look like to them? (in their words, not the brand's)#

What do they fear or want to avoid?#

Worst-fit clients (who the brand doesn't want to work with, and why)#

Quotes or stories from real past clients that illustrate the ideal fit#

Synthesis#

Ideal Client Profile (ICP)#

Psychographic portrait (2–3 sentences: how this person thinks, what they value, what they distrust)#

Niche hypothesis (the smallest viable market the brand could credibly own)#

Audience segments to test (if there is ambiguity about primary vs secondary ICP)#

Open questions / threads for Module 20 positioning reconciliation#

Supporting file: references/40_personality-archetype.md#

Module 40 — Personality & Archetype#

Frameworks: Mark & Pearson 12 brand archetypes · J. Aaker 5 brand personality dimensions (sincerity / excitement / competence / sophistication / ruggedness)

Goal: Establish the brand's character — how it would behave if it were a person. Personality governs tone, visual register, and what feels "on brand" versus "wrong". A sharp archetype makes a hundred small decisions automatic.

Raw#

"If the brand were a person, how would they walk into a room?"#

Archetype instinct (which of the 12 resonates immediately, and why?)#

Creator · Caregiver · Ruler · Jester · Regular Person · Lover · Hero · Outlaw · Magician · Innocent · Sage · Explorer

Three adjectives the founder uses most naturally to describe the brand's character#

One brand or public figure the founder admires but the brand should NOT become (and specifically what to avoid)#

One brand or public figure whose personality register the brand aspires to#

How should the brand make clients feel? (not think — feel)#

Synthesis#

Primary archetype + shadow#

J. Aaker personality scores (1–5, 5 = strongly applies)#

Personality in action (3 behavioural guidelines derived from the archetype)#

3. What the brand must never sound or look like (the anti-personality)#

Open questions / tensions with Module 50 Voice#

Supporting file: references/50_voice-tone.md#

Module 50 — Voice & Tone#

Frameworks: Brand voice spectrum (formal <-> casual, serious <-> playful, distant <-> warm, conventional <-> irreverent) · Content-type tone matrix

Goal: Codify the brand's verbal register precisely enough that two different writers produce copy that sounds like the same person. Voice is constant; tone shifts by context (home page vs. error message vs. proposal cover).

Raw#

Copy the founder admires (from their own brand or others) — include the source#

Copy the founder dislikes or finds "wrong register" — what specifically is wrong?#

Words or phrases the brand uses all the time (even informally)#

Words or phrases the brand actively avoids#

How should the brand sound on: a sales page? an error message? a proposal?#

"We always…" / "We never…" statements about how the brand communicates#

Synthesis#

Voice spectrum (mark the brand's position on each axis)#

Voice statement (one paragraph a writer can internalise)#

Tone matrix by content type#

The three things to check every draft against#

3. Open questions / tensions with Module 40 Personality#

Supporting file: references/60_narrative-story.md#

Module 60 — Narrative / Story#

Frameworks: Neumeier trueline · Brand story arc (context → conflict → resolution → invitation) · Hero's journey (brand as guide, client as hero)

Goal: Crystallise the brand's founding story and its narrative arc — the conflict it was built to resolve, the transformation it delivers, and the invitation it extends to clients. The trueline is the single sentence that holds every story the brand tells.

Raw#

The founding story (what happened, when, why this — not the polished version)#

The conflict or frustration that made the brand necessary#

What the world looks like when the brand's work succeeds (the transformation)#

A client story that best illustrates what the brand does and why it matters#

What would be lost if the brand didn't exist? (brand obituary prompt)#

The invitation: what does the brand ask clients to do or believe?#

Synthesis#

Trueline draft (Neumeier: "[Brand] is the only [category] that [unique claim].")#

Alternative truelines (2–3 variations, vary level of abstraction)#

3. Brand story arc#

The brand as guide (not hero) — what the client achieves, not the brand#

Open questions / tensions with Module 20 Positioning and Module 10 Why#

Supporting file: references/70_founder-tension.md#

Module 70 — Founder Brand vs Organisation Brand#

Frameworks: Enns Win Without Pitching · Personal brand vs institutional brand spectrum

Goal: Map the relationship between the founder's personal reputation and the organisation's brand. Clarify how much equity each carries, what the healthy boundary is, and how to sequence personal vs organisation brand investment. Unresolved founder-brand tension is a common scaling bottleneck.

Raw#

Is the founder personally known in the market? How?#

Do clients buy the founder or the organisation? (ask for evidence, not instinct)#

What happens to the brand if the founder steps back or is unavailable?#

What does the founder want for their personal brand in 3–5 years?#

What does the organisation's brand need to be able to do independently?#

Where has the founder-brand been an asset? Where has it been a constraint?#

Synthesis#

Current state: where on the spectrum?#

[Founder IS the brand] ←————————→ [Organisation brand stands alone]
         1         2         3         4         5

Current position: ___ Target position (3-year): ___

What the founder brand should own (and keeps owning)#

What the organisation brand needs to own (independently of the founder)#

Transition plan sketch (if moving from founder-centric toward institutional)#

Risk if nothing changes#

Open questions / threads for Module 90 Synthesis#

Supporting file: references/90_SYNTHESIS.md#

Module 90 — Master Brandbook (Synthesis)#

Frameworks: Kapferer Brand Identity Prism · Aaker brand system (identity / personality / associations / equity)

Goal: Reconcile all seven preceding modules into a single, actionable brandbook. This document is the source of truth the brand uses to brief designers, writers, and external collaborators. It resolves tensions between modules, commits to specific formulations, and translates them into practical guidelines.

Raw#

Synthesis#

1. The Why (from Module 10)#

Core belief:

Behavioural How (values in action):

What we refuse to be:

2. Positioning (from Module 20)#

Positioning statement: For [target client] who [situation], [brand name] is the [category] that [unique value]. Unlike [alternatives], we [key differentiator].

White-space the brand owns:

3. Audience (from Module 30)#

Ideal Client Profile (one-paragraph portrait):

Niche the brand is building toward:

Red-flag / disqualifier:

4. Kapferer Brand Identity Prism#

4b. Aaker Brand System (from Module 40)#

Primary archetype (Mark & Pearson):

Secondary archetype (if present):

Aaker brand identity — four dimensions:

• Brand as product:
• Brand as organisation:
• Brand as person (personality):
• Brand as symbol:

Brand associations (3–5 key associations the brand should own):

Brand equity signals (what clients would lose if this brand disappeared):

5. Voice & Tone summary (from Module 50)#

Voice statement (one paragraph):

The three checks every draft must pass: 1. 2. 3.

6. Narrative assets (from Module 60)#

Trueline:

Brand story arc (one paragraph, usable as an About page starting point):

7. Founder / organisation brand boundary (from Module 70)#

What the founder brand owns:

What the organisation brand owns:

8. Tensions resolved (record any module-to-module conflicts and how they were settled)#

9. Open questions deferred to next session#

10. Practical next steps#