There comes a point in your business where the marketing is happening — but the brand is slipping.

The posts are going out. The newsletter is sending. The website has been updated. But somewhere between the calendar and the conversation, the consistency is fading, the voice is drifting, and the standard you set for your brand is no longer being met by the work going out the door.

 

You don’t need more execution. You need someone holding the line.

 

At Portia & Cleo, we hold it.

 

The Brand Strategist is a consultant engagement designed for  businesses who already have a team, a contractor, or in-house support producing the day-to-day marketing — and who need a senior strategic voice making sure that work lands consistently, clearly, and on-brand.

 

Think of this as your fractional Brand Director. Not the hands writing every caption, but the mind setting the strategy, reviewing the work, protecting the voice, and making the high-leverage calls that shape how your brand shows up in the market.

 

Because the brands that earn long-term trust aren’t the ones producing the most content. They’re the ones producing it with the most clarity.

 

This is the engagement for the founder or business who has built, hired the support, and now needs the seasoned creative leadership that ensures every piece of marketing reflects the caliber of the work behind it.

 

Monthly Scope & Deliverables

 

Strategy & Direction

• Monthly visibility strategy design outlining themes, campaigns, audience priorities, and KPI focus

• Quarterly creative direction for campaigns, launches, and seasonal storytelling

• Master content calendar architecture across digital channels and in-person activations

• Brand voice oversight document — a living guardrail for whoever is producing copy

 

Creative Direction & Standards

• Visual direction guidelines — a clear, actionable reference for photography style, color application, typography hierarchy, and design standards, so every visual asset meets the same bar

• Curated inspiration board updated quarterly to keep the aesthetic intentional and current — aligned to campaign themes, seasonal direction, or audience positioning

• Copy guidelines — defining tone, sentence structure, vocabulary, do's and don'ts, and how the brand sounds across every channel

• One round of sample copy per month — on-brand reference text your team can use as a model when producing new content, written directly to the month's themes and priorities

 

Review & Stewardship

• Weekly review of in-house or third-party content — social, newsletter, web copy — with edits returned within 48 hours

• Brand consistency audits across Google Business Profile, social media, the website, and key digital touchpoints

• Photography and visual direction review prior to publication

 

Partnership & Vendor Leadership

• Senior point of contact for your PR firm, photographer, designer, and influencer partners

• Quarterly recommendations on event, sponsorship, and activation opportunities — which to pursue, which to pass on

 

Communication & Reporting

• Bi-weekly check-ins, in-person within a 25-mile radius of Bellevue, WA, or virtual by request

• Monthly performance and recommendations memo, delivered ahead of the second check-in of each month

• Reasonable email correspondence between meetings

 

What’s Not Included at This Tier

• Daily content creation, scheduling, or community management

• Newsletter writing or send — direction and edits, yes; drafting from scratch, no

• Hands-on website edits, Google Business Profile updates, or platform management

• Crisis communications retainer — additional hours can be added with written approval

If those execution-heavy needs become priorities, this engagement can be extended or upgraded with two weeks’ notice.

 

Starting at $1,500/ month (3, 6 & 12 month retainers offered)

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