Brand concepts
between strategy and execution — as a bridge, not a moodboard workshop.

Brand strategy provides the foundation (positioning, segments, narrative, tonality); brand concepts use this foundation to build concrete initiatives (launch, campaign, content initiative, landing page).

Brand strategy — the one-time, periodically reviewed foundation work: who is the brand, for whom, with which promise, in which category, with which tonality. Typical cycle: every 3–5 years fully new or larger review; annually smaller updates.

Brand concepts — the ongoing, project-oriented work: how is a new product launch structured, what does the next seasonal campaign look like, which content initiative runs in the next 6 months. Typical cycle: multiple concepts per year depending on marketing plan.

How they connect: without brand strategy, concepts become either inconsistent or flatten into repetition. Without brand concepts, the strategy remains a handbook without execution.

How we typically work:

• Client with fresh brand strategy — we develop the first 2–3 concepts as roll-out initiatives so that strategy becomes visible
• Client with existing strategy (developed by us or others) — we continue concept work on this basis
• Client without clear strategy — then we advise against building concepts in isolation; first a lean strategy module (also compact in 6–8 weeks possible), then concept work

Creative production (design, copy, photo, video) runs via our partner network — we do not maintain an internal art-direction, copy or production pool. Digital execution (shop, landing, tracking) we build ourselves.

What we deliver internally:

• Concept work — strategy derivation, message architecture, channel plan, production briefings, concept documentation
• Digital execution — Shopify and WooCommerce themes, Next.js websites, landing pages, tracking setups (GA4, GTM)
• Partner coordination — vendor selection, brief quality, review steering, brand consistency
• Performance evaluation — after launch: what works, what needs sharpening

What partners deliver:

• Graphic design (logo applications, campaign creatives, social assets, print, packaging)
• Copywriting (landing texts, ad creatives, email sequences, content articles)
• Photography (product photo, lifestyle, team and location shoots)
• Video production (campaign films, product videos, short-form content, creator-content coordination)
• Illustration, animation, 3D visualisation — depending on project requirement

Why this separation: we do not want to deliver mediocre creative work under our flag for efficiency reasons. We keep concept depth and execution connection high and use specialised partners for creative work.

Two billing models depending on client preference: directly with partners or via us as general contractor.

Model A: direct billing with partners

• Transparent — you see what designers, copywriters, photo or video partners concretely cost; no agency markup on partner work
• Steering — clickpuls handles brief quality, interim reviews, brand consistency and remains point of contact across project
• Accounting — partners invoice you directly; your team coordinates approval
• Trigger — when you already have internal processes for freelance service providers and transparency matters

Model B: general contractor via clickpuls

• Simpler — one invoice per project phase from clickpuls, partner billing runs behind the scenes
• Faster — less internal coordination with you, payment and approval processes run via us
• Margin — small coordination markup on partner work, transparently shown in the offer
• Trigger — when you want to keep organisational effort small and are willing to pay for coordination

Which model when:

• Small, clearly defined projects (one landing page, one photo shoot) often run easier via general contractor
• Larger campaigns with many sub-deliverables often run cheaper via direct billing
• Ongoing collaboration in a retainer — usually general contractor because the billing rhythm runs monthly

We transparently recommend the fitting model per project and are open to changes between projects.

Fixed prices per concept engagement after initial conversation; ongoing concept accompaniment as a concept retainer from € 1,700/month net.

Concept engagements as fixed price:

• Compact individual concepts (landing page, single campaign wave) — 3–4 weeks runtime
• Standard concept engagements (product launch, seasonal campaign, content-hub architecture) — 4–8 weeks runtime
• Comprehensive concept engagements (customer-journey and loyalty programme, multi-stage relaunch campaign) — 8–12 weeks runtime

Fixed prices are concretely named in the offer after initial conversation and consider: concept complexity, number of channels, number of audience segments, research depth, scope of production briefings, planned partner coordination.

Concept retainer from € 1,700/month net — for ongoing collaboration with marketing teams that regularly need concept input: monthly sparring, ad-hoc briefing support, concept reviews for internal or external execution, partner coordination on demand.

Production costs with partners are shown separately — transparent per trade (design, copy, photo, video) and depending on billing model (direct with partner or via us).

What is included in the concept fixed price: initial conversation, research and data analysis, concept draft with review meeting, final concept document, production briefings, kick-off with partners, 24-h response on business days during the engagement phase.

What runs separately: creative production with partners, digital execution (shop, landing, tracking), long-term execution accompaniment as retainer.

After the initial conversation you receive a binding offer with clear concept scope — no surprise invoices, no hidden surcharges.

Between 3 and 12 weeks, depending on concept type and complexity.

Typical runtimes:

• Landing-page concept — 3–4 weeks
• Product-launch concept — 4–8 weeks
• Seasonal campaign umbrella — 4–6 weeks
• Content-hub architecture — 6–10 weeks
• Customer-journey and loyalty programme — 8–12 weeks

What extends duration:

• Many stakeholders and multi-stage decision processes
• Broad research depth (customer interviews, competition scan, data analysis)
• International or multilingual components (DACH + EU, multiple language registers)
• Complex system-connection concepts (customer journey with Shopify Flow + Klaviyo + external CRM)

What shortens duration:

• Clear trigger with unambiguous question
• Existing brand strategy as basis
• Well-structured shop and analytics data at start
• Decisive decision structure — when between concept draft and approval there are not 4 weeks of coordination loops

In principle we advise against building concepts without a strategic basis — because then every concept gets re-debated from scratch. Practically there are three paths.

Path 1: lean strategy sprint before the concept

• 4–6 weeks compact strategy sprint (positioning sharpening, segment priority, tonality)
• Afterwards directly into the actual concept engagement
• Cost: additional strategy module, but significantly more efficient than anchoring every concept strategically from scratch
• Recommendation when more than one concept is planned or the brand is in a growth phase

Path 2: implicit strategy building block in the concept

• We integrate a compact strategy share (2–3 weeks) into the concept engagement that creates the foundation for exactly this concept
• No complete brand-strategy engagement, but just enough that the concept stands
• Recommendation when it is a single concept with clear trigger and no ongoing brand work is planned

Path 3: concept work without strategic deepening

• We use the existing brand basis (website, campaigns, product communication) as working foundation and derive concept guardrails from it
• Risk: the concept can remain strategically vulnerable, later concepts can drift in other directions
• Recommendation when there are clear time or budget limits and the risk of a later strategy correction is consciously accepted

In every initial conversation we transparently name which path makes most sense for your situation — and sometimes advise against doing a concept at all if the basis is too thin.

Yes — via our partner network, but not as a classic production agency with an internal 40-person team.

What we take on production-side:

• Vendor selection and brief — fitting designer, copywriter, photographer, videographer per project
• Interim reviews — interim results are checked by us against the concept brief and sent back to partners with approval or change request
• Brand consistency control — we ensure consistent brand expression across all trades
• Production schedule — we coordinate timings between partners and keep oversight on dependencies
• Approval and handover — final approval with you, handover to performance and shop teams

What we do not deliver:

• Daily production needs (e.g. 20 creatives per week for ongoing Meta ads rotation) — for that we recommend dedicated performance-creative studios or an internal creator team
• Large production volumes with complex set logistics (e.g. TV spot production with direction, camera team, casting, set design) — for that specialised production houses are needed; we write the brief and coordinate but do not produce ourselves
• Annual contracts with dedicated creator crews — fits more with agencies with fixed creative teams

When our model fits: focused product launches, seasonal campaigns, content hubs, landing-page visuals, moderate ads creative volumes, photo and video shoots with clear scope. If your need exceeds our model's boundaries, we say so transparently in the initial conversation.

Every concept gets from us a metrics set already in the concept document — not only afterwards when the concept runs.

Typical concept metrics (depending on concept type):

Product launch:

• Pre-launch interest (waitlist sign-ups, teaser clicks)
• Launch-day and launch-week performance (ads ROAS, landing conversion, first-purchase rate)
• 30- and 90-day KPIs (repurchase rate, category cross-sell, review score)
• Branded-search lift for the product name

Seasonal campaign:

• Reach and engagement per phase
• Attributed revenue with channel role
• New vs. existing customer split
• Post-campaign seasonal retention

Content hub / SEO initiative:

• Organic traffic build-up across 3, 6, 12 months
• Ranking development on category and long-tail keywords
• Assisted conversions from content
• Backlink and authority signals

Landing-page concept:

• Conversion rate vs. predecessor page or shop average
• Scroll depth, interaction, abandonment rate
• Paid traffic performance (CPL, ROAS) vs. before

Customer journey / loyalty:

• Repurchase rate and LTV per cohort
• Programme participation rate
• Churn behaviour

Review rhythm:

• After 2–4 weeks — first indication: does creative run, are conversions in range
• After 90 days — robust evaluation with cohort comparison
• After 6–12 months — strategic impact (brand health, customer behaviour, SEO ranking)

Important: concept performance is always evaluated in context — a launch in a weak market environment with solid 90-day KPIs can be more successful than a launch in a booming market with seemingly impressive absolute numbers.