How to Share Brand Strategy Case Studies: A Complete Guide

Great brand strategy work often lives in notebook scribbles, messy Miro boards, and a hundred half-formed Post-its. Turning that into a clean, compelling case study is an art! The goal is to make the value obvious and to give the client you're presenting to confidence that you can run a brand strategy process for them. After selling brand strategy projects for over 20 years, here are my tips.

How to share brand strategy case studies: a complete guide

1. Understand what you have permission to share

You want to promote your work, but you must protect your reputation too. Don't share anything without client approval. Read your NDA and always reach out to clients before you publish something about them on your website or in any marketing materials. Mask sensitive data, get approvals, and avoid proprietary numbers when unnecessary. Anonymized categories still sell your capability and give a new client reassurance that you will be a safe pair of hands.

How to show it:

• Slide: "Notes on confidentiality" — A discreet footer badge: "Shared with permission; sensitive data redacted." Or whatever is the agreement you have made with your client.

2. Lead with outcomes, not activities

Open with the change you created, not the steps you took.

Give the brief in one sentence, the context in three. Attention is scarce. Summarize the assignment crisply, then frame constraints (e.g., market, timing, internal realities).

Describe 'What Changed' — A single headline (e.g., "From confusion to clarity") and three strong metrics if you have them. Metrics could come from all sorts of different sources depending upon the goal of the strategy in the first place. Employee metrics are usually the first to shift—this could be understanding of the strategy, awareness of the answers within the strategy, employee engagement, pride, clarity on role. Customer data might include marketing funnel metrics and brand associations. You don't have to know all the answers—work through it with HR and read Chapter 7 of Rebrand Right if you want to explore measurement in more detail.

Take a look at how the best brand consultancies write theirs for inspiration—e.g., Wolff Olins, Landor, Interbrand, Prophet, Futurebrand.

• Slide: "Results dashboard" — Three to four tiles: e.g., Employee engagement +18% (6-week avg), Time-to-approve creative −40% (internal ops), eNPS +7. Footnote sources and measurement windows.

If you do't have any metrics to share, or if they are confidential, you can talk about expected results from a better brand strategy. Take look at the value of brand strategy here for points you could share.

3. Use client testimonials

Alongside measurements, or if you don't have measurements, ensure you include testimonials. If possible, ask the client to frame them in a 'before and after' state. Consider not just the main client but also if there is any employee or customer feedback you can use.

Don't worry about reaching out to the client to ask. The worst they can say is no! And they may surprise you with the care and consideration they take.

Here's my favourite one. 😊

When you ask the client for testimonials, ask if they'd be willing to chat to someone about how it was to work with you. Being able to provide not just testimonials but also people to call is powerful. It shows you are proud of the work and have nothing to hide!

4. Share your philosophy and approach

When presenting your work, don't just share client case studies. Everyone will have client case studies. Share your philosophy on brand strategy. Share your model and your criteria on what makes a strong brand strategy and why. This can then lead nicely into a topline overview of your approach.

If you don't have many examples because you're just starting off, this is even more important. Share what the world's best brands do and what the client can learn from this—so you're not just promoting yourself, you're giving them something of value from the outset.

5. Focus on relevance

If you have lots of examples you can share, ensure you are choosing case studies that have an analogy to something the potential client is going through. Three really strong cases are better than six partly relevant ones. Elsewhere, just cover on one page all the brands you've worked on.

Frame your work in the client's language. If they've come to you asking for a mission statement, don't bamboozle them with your own terminology for the same deliverable.

6. State the brand strategy on one page

This also gives you a way of explaining your framework. The one I've found that works best for all clients is the Four Question Framework. This can lead into a conversation about creating a strategy that people actually understand and use that doesn't sound like brand strategy jargon. This will help you stand apart from people who are pushing brand pyramids, onions, and keys! To understand this approach better, grab this free course on making brand strategy simple.

Here's an example of one filled out.

7. Show how you discovered the insights

Revealing the insights the strategy was based on, and how you got to them, can give the clients a look 'behind the scenes.' This also helps to sell in your proposal to this client and the need to do research. Keep the method simple and the insight specific. Just another reminder here—ensure you have client permission!

How to show it:

• Slide: "Insights that led to the strategy" — Structure this using the three lens framework (as shared in this free course, Brand Strategy in 7 Simple Steps)

8. Show how the brand strategy led to clear decisions

Bridge the abstract to the actionable. Show what changed because of the brand strategy. If the identity evolved, tie the choices back to strategy and explain how the strategy helped to make decisions on the identity easier. If you can show identity changes, that's great. Make sure you credit the agency or person that led that work if it wasn't you.

Even if you can't share specifics, you could talk about how you worked through the impact on the customer and employee experiences with exercises like 'stop, start, and continue,' and identify the number of things the client felt needed to change based on the exercise.

If you worked with the client on the implementation of the strategy, give an overview of how that worked—what launched first, why, and how learnings fed the next phase. Share photos of the launch if you have permission.

9. Bring it back to them

No one really wants a case study—they want to understand what a case study suggests you can do for them. So frame what you learned from this case study into some implications for the client you're pitching. This could be about how they are facing a similar problem, how they will need similar research, or what opportunities you see for their brand.

How to show it:

• Slide: "What this means for you" — Connect the dots between your case study insights and their specific challenges. Show you understand their context.

Key Takeaway

Brand strategy is not the easiest thing to share. It's not as visceral as an identity change, and its impact is usually long-term, so short-term metrics are hard to identify. That's why testimonials can work hard for you. Share what you can, and if client confidentiality prevents you from sharing anything other than their name, then talk about your unique approach and the Four Question Framework. That will differentiate you from so many other brand strategists pushing a lot of jargon and terminology that clients don't want and don't understand.

Good luck!

Optional Deck Structure

1. Title & outcomes
2. The brief (1 sentence) and the before (symptoms)
3. The after (results and testimonials)
4. Your philosophy and approach
5. The strategy on a page
6. Insights discovery process
7. How strategy led to decisions
8. Implementation overview (if applicable)
9. How this can help you

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: How do I create brand strategy case studies without violating NDAs? A: Always get explicit client permission before sharing any work. You can anonymize data, redact sensitive information, and focus on your methodology and approach rather than specific client details.

Q: What metrics should I include in a brand strategy case study? A: Focus on employee metrics (engagement, strategy understanding, clarity on role) and customer metrics (brand associations, marketing funnel performance). Work with HR to identify meaningful measurements.

Q: How many case studies should I present to a prospective client? A: Three strong, relevant case studies are better than six partly relevant ones. Quality and relevance trump quantity.

Q: What if I'm new to brand strategy and don't have many case studies? A: Share your philosophy and approach, use the Four Question Framework, and explain what world-class brands do. Provide value through your knowledge and methodology even without extensive case studies.

Q: How can I make my brand strategy case studies stand out? A: Lead with outcomes, use client testimonials, show your unique framework, and always connect back to the prospective client's specific needs. Avoid jargon and make the strategy accessible