The HASTINGS Method
Over the years I’ve spent a lot of time sitting across the table from brand leaders trying to solve what they believed were marketing problems. Campaigns were running. Marketing activity was happening. But something about the brand simply wasn’t sitting right.
In many cases the instinct is to fix the marketing. Adjust the message. Launch another campaign. Refresh the creative.
Over the years I’ve spent a lot of time sitting across the table from brand leaders trying to solve what they believed were marketing problems. Campaigns were running. Marketing activity was happening. But something about the brand simply wasn’t sitting right.
In many cases the instinct is to fix the marketing. Adjust the message. Launch another campaign. Refresh the creative.
But in most situations the real issue isn’t marketing activity.
It is clarity.
The HASTINGS Method exists to address that problem by helping leaders rediscover the truth of their brand, express that truth clearly, and connect it to the people the brand is meant to serve.
The process moves through three stages.
— CLARIFY —
Over time organizations accumulate layers of messaging, campaigns, and market pressure that slowly blur the original purpose of the brand. Teams may be working hard, but they often struggle to clearly explain what truly differentiates the brand or why it matters.
The Clarify stage steps back from tactics and returns to fundamental questions.
When those answers become clear again, leadership gains confidence and decisions become easier.
Over time organizations accumulate layers of messaging, campaigns, and market pressure that slowly blur the original purpose of the brand. Teams may be working hard, but they often struggle to clearly explain what truly differentiates the brand or why it matters.
The Clarify stage steps back from tactics and returns to fundamental questions.
What is true about the brand?
What makes the brand meaningfully different?
What role should the brand play in people’s lives?
What makes the brand meaningfully different?
What role should the brand play in people’s lives?
When those answers become clear again, leadership gains confidence and decisions become easier.
— CREATE —
Once the truth of the brand is clear, the next step is expressing that truth through purposeful design and messaging.
Creative work should not exist in isolation from strategy. Every element of the brand should reinforce what the brand truly stands for.
During the Create stage the visual and verbal language of the brand begins to take shape so the brand’s identity, messaging, and story all communicate the same underlying truth.
— CONNECT —
Once the brand has clarity and expression,
the final stage focuses on bringing the brand to life.
The Connect stage transitions from branding into marketing by establishing a clear roadmap for how the brand should communicate with both internal teams and external audiences.
When this stage is successful, marketing activity reinforces the clarity of the brand rather than diluting it.