OTB Agency
Services / Strategy & Planning

Strategy and Planning

The thinking that makes everything else work harder. Clarity first, so your brand cuts through and grows.

The OTB team working through a strategic challenge together

What it is


Strategy and Planning is where clarity begins. Before a word is written or a logo drawn, we uncover the insight that tells us who your audience really is, what they believe and what will actually move them. We turn that understanding into positioning, messaging and campaign plans that give every pound you invest a sharper edge. For over 30 years our strategy hasn’t sat in a deck, it has shaped decisions and driven commercial growth.

Audience InsightsMessaging FrameworksCampaign StrategyCommunications PlanningGo-To-Market StrategyCustomer Journey Mapping

The problem you might be feeling


Most brands don’t have a creative problem. They have a clarity problem.

01

Your proposition is misunderstood

Customers can’t quite say what you stand for, so they default to price. A strong offer gets lost because the story around it isn’t clear.

02

You’re talking to everyone, reaching no one

Without a defined audience and message, budget spreads thin and campaigns quietly underperform.

03

Decisions run on opinion, not insight

Every brief starts from scratch and good ideas struggle to get traction, because there’s no strategic foundation to build on.

04

Growth has plateaued

You’ve outgrown the story that got you here, and the next chapter isn’t defined yet.

How we solve it


We start by understanding your world as well as you do. Through research, behavioural insight and stakeholder work, we define the proposition you can own, the audiences worth winning and the messages that will change minds. You leave with a strategy that is confident, testable and built to grow the business, not a document that gathers dust.

This is the discipline that has helped us rebuild propositions for banks, charities and household names alike. Get the thinking right and everything else gets easier.

The proof: work we’ve done for others


When the strategy is right, the results follow. Here is that thinking in action.

OTB work for Unity Trust BankWork — Unity Trust Bank
Financial Services

Unity Trust Bank

Financial ServicesStrategy & PlanningBrand Development

Unity’s social impact proposition simply wasn’t understood by customers. We redefined the proposition, built a robust brand framework and gave them a story people finally recognised.

A misunderstood proposition, rebuilt from the ground up.

Read the story →
OTB work for Benenden HealthWork — Benenden Health
Healthcare & Pharma

Benenden Health

Healthcare & PharmaStrategy & PlanningBrand Development

As they opened up eligibility, we led everything from strategy and research to proposition evolution, creating a modern, accessible brand for the UK’s largest discretionary mutual healthcare provider.

Membership decline reversed with a new proposition.

Read the story →
OTB work for Skipton Building SocietyWork — Skipton Building Society
Financial Services

Skipton Building Society

Financial ServicesStrategy & PlanningBrand Development

A 160-year-old society needed a consumer proposition for an ‘all of life’ future focused on worry-free retirement. We built the positioning and identity to seize it.

A trusted name, repositioned for its next market opportunity.

Read the story →
OTB work for Leeds Hospitals CharityWork — Leeds Hospitals Charity
Charity & Non-profit

Leeds Hospitals Charity

Charity & Non-profitStrategy & Planning

We built a strategic brand framework and defined donor personas using Experian Mosaic, so fundraising and marketing finally spoke to the right people, not everyone.

Broad, unfocused campaigns replaced with precise donor targeting.

Read the story →

Award-winning by any measure


King's Award for Enterprise, International Trade
Roses Design Awards
Chartered Institute of Marketing
Cyber Essentials Certified
The Drum Recommended
The Drum Awards, Digital Industries
Cream Yorkshire
Creative Yorkshire
King's Award for Enterprise, International Trade
Roses Design Awards
Chartered Institute of Marketing
Cyber Essentials Certified
The Drum Recommended
The Drum Awards, Digital Industries
Cream Yorkshire
Creative Yorkshire

Let’s find the clarity in your challenge


Bring us the knotty problem. In one conversation we’ll show you how sharper thinking turns it into a plan.

Chat to us

All content © 2026 OTB Agency. Registered number: 5687748