"Hands down, one of the best courses I have completed in my 18 years as a designer"

Ready to unlock a new level?

Packed with practical content, real-life projects and actionable takeaways, Bare Brand Strat is an online learning program that lifts the lid on the reality of pitching, planning and delivering brand strategy in the real world.

Designed for creatives, studios and teams looking to make their work stronger, their value higher and their voice matter more where it counts.

Program Includes:

4 x live 2 hour online workshops
3 x live 1 hour group QnA sessions
Live Program Recap Session
Access to all recordings, slide decks & resource kit
Miro strategy workshop template
Cohort Slack channel
One-on-one consult session for all cohort members

Quotes from BBS March 2025 cohort members:
Average rating (9.78)

"Bare Brand Strat seriously lit a fire under me. It pushed me to rethink and totally level up how I approach brand strategy. Richie’s no-fluff, straight-to-the-point style brought so much clarity. Every session was super focused, practical, and full of strategic depth. I walked away with tools, insights, and frameworks I’ll be leaning on for years. Honestly, a total game-changer."

"My only regret is that I wasn't able to do Bare Brand Strat 10 years ago. I feel more empowered after taking this course and have a clearer way forward with regards to refining my brand strategy process and keeping brand/marketing projects focused on goals and objectives, as well as walking away with a wealth of materials and resources to keep skills honed."

"Richie's BBS program is all killer, no filler. Spaced over a series of weeks, and interspersed with 'ask me anything' sessions, each module was full of practical and straightforward tips, processes and systems covering the A to Z of strategy. Absolutely recommend the BBS program to anyone who moves in marketing circles!"

"This course transformed the way our team collaborates and delivers creative solutions. Since the course, our design team has implemented a stronger brand strategy process across branding and event campaigns. Hands down, one of the best courses I have completed in my eighteen years as a designer."

Program Outline

Week #1 Workshop - Pitching, Pricing & Research
Thursday 16th October - 10am-12pm AEDT (UTC+11)

Starts with hard work, ends with champagne! In the first workshop of the program, we’ll be learning how to kick-start your brand strategy properly with an in-depth look at the all-important research and discovery stage of a brand or rebrand project. This will include conducting audits, analyzing data, exploring your competitor landscape and conducting interviews with internal and external stakeholders - who to ask, what to ask, how to ask it, all that good stuff. We’ll also look at the business side of things, including how to scope, cost, pitch and plan your project.

Week #2: Workshop Design, Facilitation & Strategy Playback
Thursday 23rd October - 10am-12pm AEDT (UTC+11)

In week two, we’ll look at how to extract, test, align and impress with a step-by-step guide to organising, designing and facilitating custom brand strategy workshops that hit the sweet spots with the top dogs on any given project. We’ll look at how to use your research insights to design bespoke exercises and activities to run during the workshop and how to spark and steer the right kind of discussions. We’ll also cover presenting a ‘strategy playback’ to your client or team that documents your research and outlines the path for the next stages of your project.

Week #3: Frameworks, Naming and Narratives

Thursday 30th October - 10am-12pm AEDT (UTC+11)

Get ready to hone in on the main meal in week 3. No endless decks of waffle, ‘your brand is a Volvo’ or pointless arrows and diagrams. Instead we’ll focus on how to develop a practical and useful brand framework covering audiences, positioning, architecture and more. We’ll explore the complex world of developing a name for a new brand and go deep into writing, with tips and tricks on crafting a compelling narrative, message and story that forms the foundation of a brand’s verbal identity. Finally, we’ll cover how best to present all this work back to those that matter in your project.

Week #4: Brand ID Design, Rollouts and Brand Operating Systems

Thursday 6th November - 10am-12pm AEDT (UTC+11)

Strategy gives the assist, design score the goal! To make sure your brand gets the birth it deserves in week 4, we’ll be focusing on how to feed all your strategy work into the development of your brand’s new or revamped identity. You’ll learn how to present the new concept, master the rollout process and develop key brand touch points across on and offline channels. We’ll also cover ways to document your strategy, narrative and identity with clear, robust and practical application guidelines to keep it strong, fit and healthy for many, many moons.

Program Recap Session
Thursday 10th November - 10am-11am AEDT (UTC+11)

After a 2 week gap to let all the learning sink in, and time to rewatch the workshop recordings, we meet again! In the recap session we'll go over some of the key areas from all 4 workshops. We'll delve into the most important bits and have an opportunity for questions and discussion, so that everyone is ready and able to hit the ground running.

QnA Sessions

In addition to the weekly workshops, all cohort members can join three live group Q&A sessions. In these sessions we dive deeper into the content from the previous week, creating a space for a wide range of questions and give people the chance to listen, share and explore areas they want more info on or the topics that matter most to them.

Group QnA Session #1
Tuesday 21st October 10am-11am AEDT (UTC+11)

Group QnA Session #2
Tuesday 28th October 10am-11am AEDT (UTC+11)

Group QnA Session #3
Tuesday 4th 10am-11am AEDT (UTC+11)