Sharpening Your Brand with Stefan Sippell
Written by:
Alexander von Streit
Clear brand positioning defines what media organizations stand for. Stefan Sippell explains why they need a strong value proposition, how a brand essence is developed, and how to determine whether a positioning holds up in everyday practice.
Why does a media outlet need clear brand positioning today?
When media organizations launch or relaunch a newsletter, podcast, social media format, or even an entire digital product, the most important question often remains unanswered: Why should anyone choose this particular offering? Yet answering this question is fundamental to delivering the right formats through the right channels to the right target audiences. After all, for an offering to succeed, it needs to be as unique, distinguishable, and recognizable as possible.
This has always been important for media organizations. But with fragmented media consumption, the creator economy, and AI, it has become even more urgent. A clear brand answers the question of why people should choose this particular medium – or even pay for it. That is why brand positioning is essential, including a distinct value proposition and defined success factors. The impact of a brand is felt primarily internally, because teams need a shared compass. Without a common understanding of the brand positioning, people within an organization quickly begin working in different directions. This reduces efficiency and motivation – and creates an inconsistent external perception. The website, newsletter, product, and overall brand presence then no longer tell the same story or convey a coherent image.
- What does this medium stand for?
- What specific value does it provide to its target audience?
- And in what distinctive, characteristic way does it deliver on this promise?
How do you develop a clear brand promise?
Brand development is not a communications project. Brand positioning is first and foremost an internal tool – a precisely formulated document that people within the organization can use to guide their work. The key principle is: Brand work is not just a task for top management. Those who will later bring the brand to life need to be involved from an early stage. Otherwise, the result will be a document that may sound sophisticated but has little practical impact. In every organization, every individual shapes the brand experience through their work – especially in small media organizations.
It is equally problematic to confuse brand positioning with external communication. A tagline may emerge from a positioning strategy, but that is not its primary purpose. The focus is not necessarily on whether the core competencies and success patterns sound appealing externally, but rather on whether they help the organization make better decisions internally. A meaningful branding process follows three steps.
- Honestly assessing the brand’s reality: This involves examining existing patterns of success. What is already working today? What makes the media outlet distinctive, and what is already contributing to its promise? Equally important are the points of friction: areas where tensions arise, where the brand has so far contradicted itself, or where it appears unclear to the outside world. This assessment is not always comfortable. But it is necessary.
- Defining the brand’s future: These points of friction should be transformed into patterns of success. At the center is the brand essence – the central statement that succinctly captures why people need this brand. The essence distills the value proposition; the patterns of success show how this promise is delivered. Together, they form the description of the positioning – the overall picture, or brand profile.
- Apply and test the positioning immediately: Brand positioning is only useful if it enables concrete decisions – for example, regarding a subscription campaign or the choice of editorial formats. The positioning should make clear which visual language, tone, headlines, or formats fit the brand. That is precisely why it should not be put away in a drawer after development; instead, it needs to be actively used from day one.
How can I tell if my brand positioning is working?
Brand positioning works when it is viable. In other words, it aligns with what the organization is genuinely capable of delivering, addresses a real need among the target audience, and remains clearly differentiated within the competitive landscape. Its value is not immediately reflected in metrics, but rather in better decisions – ones that are faster and more transparent.
A positioning is effective when products, formats, campaigns, or editorial decisions can be categorized more clearly. Does a new podcast idea align with the defined patterns of success? Does a subscription campaign contribute to the value proposition? Does a new newsletter actually convey the brand image it is intended to create?
A scorecard that translates the components of the brand positioning into a checklist is well suited for this purpose. It allows organizations to assess, for each new initiative, how strongly it contributes to the brand essence and the defined patterns of success. Not every product has to fully meet every component. What matters is that, across the entire portfolio, it remains clear what the brand stands for.
The external impact can also be assessed. User feedback, qualitative research (such as focus groups), or quantitative surveys can reveal whether what is described in the brand profile is actually reflected in products and offerings. However, it is not the positioning itself that should be delegated to market research, but rather its concrete applications: products, formats, or campaigns. The brand essence itself is a strategic decision.
To read: https://typografie.de/produkt/macht-marke/
To listen: https://markenkraft.podigee.io/71-story-first-uber-marken-medien-medienmarken-stefan-sippell-make-studio
Last updated: July 28, 2026
