Brand Research & Diagnostics

Executive teams need insight that is sharp, relevant, and decision-ready. Effective reporting includes:

• A concise narrative supported by clear themes
• Direct links to business strategy and risks
• Representative quotes and stakeholder voices
• Visual summaries for fast absorption (e.g. heatmaps, diagrams)
• Clear, actionable recommendations, not just observations

Brand Council specialises in delivering insights that land at board and ELT level.

Effective diagnostic research isn’t just about data, it’s about surfacing meaningful insights that drive action. It must be:

• Clear in scope and purpose
• Designed around business priorities
• Inclusive of diverse voices and perspectives
• Led by skilled facilitators who can build trust
• Synthesised into actionable, executive-ready insights.

The best research moves people, not just metrics.

Diagnostic research ensures your strategy is grounded in truth, not assumptions. It helps you define your brand, purpose, or EVP with clarity, credibility, and relevance. It informs:

• Brand positioning : How you're perceived vs how you want to be known
• Purpose discovery : What your stakeholders value most about you
• Tone of voice and messaging : What language connects and what doesn’t
• Culture alignment : Whether internal behaviours reflect external promises
• Proof points : Real examples that validate your strategic claims.

At Brand Council, diagnostic insight is the foundation of every strategic engagement.

Timing matters. Diagnostic research is most valuable when you're facing complexity, transformation, or uncertainty. It helps guide decision-making with clarity and evidence. Key triggers include:

• Planning a rebrand, purpose, or culture strategy
• Mergers, acquisitions, or organisational change
• Declining staff engagement or stakeholder trust
• New leadership or strategic pivot
• Developing a corporate reputation strategy
• Launching a new EVP or employee experience initiative
• Experiencing reputational challenges or brand inconsistency

Don’t wait for a crisis: diagnostics are most powerful when used proactively.

When engaging people in research, especially staff, clients, or vulnerable stakeholders, ethical practice is critical. Key considerations:

• Informed consent : Ensure participants understand the purpose and use of data
• Confidentiality : Protect personal information and identities
• Transparency : Be clear about who is conducting the research and why
• Respect and inclusion : Ensure diverse voices are heard in safe, inclusive ways
• Integrity : Avoid manipulation of data and present findings honestly

Experienced partners will have protocols to ensure your research builds trust with participants.

The best methodology depends on the business question and context. Most robust diagnostics use a mixed-method approach, combining depth and breadth. Common methods include:

• Qualitative : In-depth interviews, focus groups, and facilitated workshops
• Quantitative : Surveys, sentiment analysis, pulse diagnostics, behavioural data
• Desktop review : Internal reports, staff data, market research, brand audits

A good diagnostic blends data with empathy, bringing together numbers and nuance.

The purpose of diagnostic research is to support informed, strategic decision-making. Depending on your challenge, the specific objectives may include:

• Identify gaps or tensions : Between stated values and lived culture, or between brand promise and customer experience
• Understand stakeholder perceptions : Of your brand, leadership, or service
• Uncover barriers to change : Cultural, behavioural, or operational
• Test strategic direction : Before committing to major change
• Provide a foundation for strategy : Across brand, purpose, EVP, or culture.

Research is not just about measurement: it’s about meaning.

Diagnostic research generates rich insight that informs strategy and unlocks opportunity. It provides a structured, evidence-based lens for leaders to understand their organisation more deeply. It can reveal:

• Stakeholder sentiment, desired engagement approach, and unmet needs
• Patterns of cultural misalignment or friction
• Barriers to trust, brand loyalty, or employee engagement
• Opportunity areas for innovation, growth, or reform
• Themes that should inform purpose, brand, EVP, or transformation.

Good diagnostics don’t just describe what’s happening; they explain why it’s happening.

Timelines vary depending on the project’s scope, number of stakeholders, and research methods. Typical durations:

• Small-scale diagnostic : 2-4 weeks (e.g. focused interviews, desktop audit)
• Mid-size engagement : 6-8 weeks (e.g. staff and client engagement across 1-2 locations)
• Large-scale diagnostic : 2-4 months (e.g. national stakeholder engagement, multi-sector interviews, deep thematic analysis).

Factors that affect timing: Number and diversity of participants; access and availability of stakeholders; whether qualitative, quantitative, or both methods are used.

While internal teams may lead simple reviews, meaningful diagnostic research should be led by experienced qualitative researchers or strategic consultants - especially for high-stakes, sensitive, or reputationally important topics. An ideal partner brings:

• Research rigour and facilitation skill
• Industry knowledge and contextual understanding
• Emotional intelligence and neutrality
• Ability to synthesise findings into strategic insights.

Brand Council’s senior consultants often lead stakeholder diagnostics to inform strategy development across brand, purpose, EVP, or culture.

A robust diagnostic process includes diverse stakeholder groups relevant to your challenge or opportunity. Who you engage will depend on your project focus. Participants may include:

• Internal staff at different levels and functions
• Customers, clients, or consumers
• Board members, executive leaders, and key influencers
• Partners, community stakeholders, or referral agencies
• Regulators, investors, or funding bodies (if relevant).

Inclusive research creates buy-in and improves the accuracy of your insights.

Like any strategic activity, diagnostic research can face barriers, especially if organisations attempt it internally or without enough resourcing. Common challenges include:

• Limited time or funding : Research is often under-prioritised during BAU activity
• Internal bias : In-house teams may lack objectivity or stakeholder trust
• Access issues : Difficulty engaging the right mix of voices
• Data quality : Insufficient or fragmented existing insights
• Misalignment on purpose : Vague research briefs lead to unhelpful results.

Engaging an independent, experienced partner helps overcome these issues and surface deeper insights. It also ensures the research and insights are utilised throughout the strategy and embedded throughout the organisation.

Conducting diagnostic research requires structured methodology, experience, and sensitivity, particularly when engaging internal teams, vulnerable stakeholders, or emotionally sensitive topics. The typical process includes:

• Define the business questions : Clearly identify the issues or opportunities
• Conduct desktop review : Assess existing data, past research, and market context
• Design the research : Choose appropriate qualitative, quantitative, or mixed methods
• Engage stakeholders : Interviews, focus groups, surveys, or projective techniques
• Analyse the findings : Identify key themes, tensions, insights, and opportunities
• Interpret and advise : Translate insights into actionable considerations.

Experienced research partners bring the neutrality and skill to navigate complexity, draw out insight, and ensure psychological safety.

Diagnostic research is a strategic method used to uncover the underlying business challenges or opportunities within a specific organisational context. It forms the evidence base for confident executive decision-making, innovation, brand, culture or purpose strategy. It goes beyond surface-level symptoms to uncover what’s really happening inside your organisation or with key stakeholders. Diagnostic research helps:

• Identify areas of weakness and strengths
• Identify the root causes of business problems or cultural misalignment
• Uncover unmet stakeholder needs and expectations
• Explore strategic or operational blind spots
• Provide evidence to support business cases or transformation.

At Brand Council, diagnostic research (along with desktop research) is often the critical first step in developing brand, culture, EVP or purpose strategy.