Where I can help
Sales have stalled.
Promotions no longer work, and each one erodes your margin. I help you find a clearer reason for customers to choose you, and a brand experience that proves it.
The company is growing faster than its marketing.
New products, channels and people, and everyone tells the brand story a little differently. I define positioning for the company you are today and build foundations that keep growth from falling apart.
We have a strategy, but customers don't see or experience it.
The presentation says one thing; the website, the offer and the sales team say another. I translate strategy into concrete decisions at each touchpoint, so the brand keeps its promises instead of just making them.
We have a great product, but we don't stand out from the competition.
I name your real advantages and find a story competitors can't copy. Then I decide where customers should experience it: on the website, in the packaging, in the sales conversation.
Strategy promises.
Experience proves.
A brand strategy only works when customers feel it in every interaction with the company. That's why I work in two steps.
1. Brand Strategy: what we promise
We look for the place where the company's strengths meet customer needs and open space in the market.
Outcome: positioning and Brand Story.
2. Brand Experience Framework: how we prove it
We identify the moments when customers interact with the brand, and the places where the promise doesn't match reality.
Outcome: priorities for change and guidelines for your team and agencies.
Example: “the simplest solution in the category”
A promise like that has to hold true at every stage: Can customers understand the offer without a salesperson? Are choosing and buying simple? Does service work the way we say it does?
My role: direction and consistency. Your team and agencies implement.
Is your brand:
Credible?
In strategy: is the promise based on the company's real advantages — product, expertise, experience and culture?
In the customer's experience: do customers get proof of it in the product, the service and the sales conversation?
Relevant?
In strategy: does it answer a real customer need, problem or aspiration?
In the customer's experience: does it show up where customers make their decision?
Different?
In strategy: could competitors say exactly the same thing?
In the customer's experience: would customers notice the difference if you covered the logo?
What you gain when the answer is YES three times
Brand demand
Customers and partners come to you on their own because they know what makes you different. Less pushing sales with discounts, more people asking for your brand.
Margin
A differentiator customers pay more for, instead of price wars and endless promotions.
Foundations for further growth
One story and a consistent brand experience that scale with the company, across every channel and touchpoint.
Not sure where to start?
Let's meet for a one-day workshop with your leadership team: a diagnosis of the situation, a first version of the brand's purpose and a list of decisions. The simplest way to see whether we want to go further.
Optional: implementation support. I help your team and agencies implement the recommendations, including temporarily as an interim CMO. We agree the scope at the start — I don't take over day-to-day campaign execution or content production.
I prepare a quote for each project after our first conversation.
brand audit
A diagnosis of the brand and how it's experienced.
For companies that want to know what works, what doesn't and where the biggest potential lies.
Scope: positioning and value proposition, communication compared with competitors, key touchpoints, consistency between promise and experience, how clearly search engines and AI understand the brand.
What you get: a diagnosis, a map of inconsistencies and a list of priorities.
Timing: usually 2–3 weeks.
brand strategy
A strategy that sets the direction.
For companies that need clearer positioning or are entering a new stage of growth.
Scope: the market and customer needs, target groups and their motivations, Brand Purpose, positioning, value proposition, differentiators, reasons to believe and Brand Story.
What you get: a short and a full version of the brand strategy, in the form of a simple brand book.
Timing: usually 3–4 weeks.
brand experience framework
Strategy turned into the customer's experience.
For companies that have a strategy, but customers don't feel it in the offer, the purchase or the service.
Scope: the customer journey, key touchpoints, customer expectations and pain points, consistency with positioning, the desired experiences and priorities for change.
What you get: a Brand Experience strategy, a map of priority touchpoints and recommendations for teams and agencies.
Timing: usually 3–4 weeks.
Brands I've worked on
Corega, “9 Million Reasons”. Understanding the needs and motivations of denture wearers led to a strategy built on breaking a taboo and giving people back the freedom to live normally. The campaign significantly increased understanding of the brand's role and, as a result, its penetration in the category.
Gold Effie in Poland and Bronze Euro Effie.
PEPCO, a communication platform about talent. Brand strategy run across 13 markets. A communication platform built around developing talent connected Brand Purpose with activities that support sales.
A strategist who understands brands, business and people
My name is Krzysztof Wierzbicki. For almost 20 years I've built brands from three perspectives: at agencies, as a marketing director at companies, and in my own consultancy. So I know how a strategy looks in a presentation, how it looks in a budget and a team, and what it takes to make it actually work.
I understand people. I'm a social psychologist by training — I look at a brand through customers' needs, motivations and behaviour.
Agencies · 13 years
Grey, Saatchi & Saatchi. I co-created the Corega strategy that won a Gold Effie and a Bronze Euro Effie, and led PEPCO's brand strategy across 13 markets.
Marketing director · 4 years
Head of Marketing and CMO at EDISONDA (Grant Thornton) and Cleantle. Responsible for budget, team, agencies and sales in international markets.
Own consultancy · today
I combine the agency and client perspectives so that brand strategy doesn't end with a presentation but translates into sales. Projects for clients including Primagran and Predica / SoftwareOne.
Three canvases I work with
Brand strategy doesn't have to be complicated.
The Brand Purpose and positioning canvases structure the strategy. The Brand Experience canvas shows where and how customers should experience the brand promise. Download them and see how I work.
Frequently asked questions
We start with a conversation to set goals and check whether the process makes sense for your brand.
Then we usually run an audit or a diagnostic workshop: we map out the situation and decide what else we need to learn, e.g. what research to do.
In the Brand Strategy stage, we define the positioning and Brand Story in workshops using the criteria Credible, Relevant, Different.
In the Brand Experience Framework we decide where and how to translate the strategy into the customer journey and the most important touchpoints.
No. I specialise in brand strategy and Brand Experience, not visual identity design. If your brand needs a new identity, I'll prepare the strategic foundations and the brief, and work with the studio or designer of your choice.
Yes, absolutely. AI helps me analyse the market, competitors, customer reviews and data faster, and prepare first drafts. That leaves more time for conversations with your team and customers, and for the strategic decisions AI won't make for you. The result: a shorter process and a more reasonable budget. I only use company data with your consent and never put it into public tools.
I translate the strategy into concrete recommendations, priorities and directions for change. I don't need to replace your current partners — I work with your team, agencies, studios and software houses. When needed, I support implementation, including temporarily as an interim CMO. We agree the scope at the start of the project.
Written, ready-to-implement recommendations: brand positioning and Brand Story — in a short or full version, as a simple brand book — and a strategy for the most important touchpoints with concrete examples of actions.
An audit usually takes 2–3 weeks, a strategy 3–4 weeks, and a Brand Experience Framework 3–4 weeks. I prepare a quote after our first conversation, because it depends on the scope of research and the number of touchpoints.
Before we start, we measure the baseline: brand searches, conversion, returning customers, average price and margin, and enquiries from partners. After 3, 6 and 12 months we check the same metrics, so you can see what the brand changes in sales.
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Contact
Let's see what your brand could do better.
Let's talk about what isn't working today — and whether brand strategy or the customer's experience could change it. I work with companies that want to build a brand, not just run campaigns. The first conversation (30 min) is free.