Built for businesses
at inflection points.
We bring structure, story, and strategic thinking to your biggest brand decisions.
We partner with businesses navigating growth, change, and reinvention.
OUR CLIENTS ARE:
Growth-stage companies rebranding or repositioning
PE/VC-backed orgs seeking strategic expertise + credibility
Founders looking for a seasoned brand partner
Agencies and research firms in need of senior brand strategy capabilities
Startups defining their identity, audience and unique value
Our projects follow a simple, reliable five-step process designed to bring clarity and momentum at every stage. We tailor the approach to your needs — leading the work end-to-end or plugging in alongside your internal team.
For faster or focused projects, including plug-in strategy support, we adapt this framework so you get exactly what you need without unnecessary steps.
Our Process
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First, we get grounded — together.
We dig into your business model, goals, audience, competitors, internal dynamics, and existing materials. We listen closely to understand not just what you do, but why it matters and where you’re heading.
What this phase includes:Kickoff workshop or interviews with key stakeholders
Review of existing materials, research, and current strategy
Alignment on goals, challenges, and success criteria
A clear understanding of your near-term realities and long-term vision
Why this matters:
This is where we uncover the truth beneath the noise. It sets the tone for everything that follows and ensures we’re solving the right problem. -
This is where clarity takes shape.
We synthesize our discovery findings into a strategic foundation: positioning, messaging, brand architecture, narrative, and recommendations for where the brand should go next.What this phase includes:
Brand positioning and strategic territories
Narrative development and core messaging
Audience insights and value propositions
Brand principles and strategic recommendations
Why this matters:
You walk away with a clear, confident direction — the kind that unlocks alignment across founders, teams, boards, and partners. This is your north star. -
Once strategy is set, we bring it to life creatively.
Depending on the project, this may include visual identity, verbal identity, tone of voice, naming, design concepts, or campaign design. Each creative decision ties back to your strategy — always.What this phase includes:
Visual or verbal identity exploration
Naming or language systems, if applicable
Key creative concepts aligned to strategy
Collaborative feedback rounds
Why this matters:
This is where your brand starts to feel real — expressive, cohesive, beautiful, and unmistakably you. -
Now it’s time to turn ideas into usable tools and assets your team can run with.
This phase may include building brand guidelines, refining messaging, developing templates, or supporting your creative or internal teams through rollout.
What this phase includes:Brand guidelines + asset delivery
Messaging toolkits or content frameworks
Templates for presentations, collateral, or digital channels
Direct collaboration with internal/external teams to ensure alignment
Why this matters:
Your team gets the tools, guardrails, and confidence to bring the brand to life consistently — without confusion or backtracking. -
This is where everything comes together.
We support you through internal rollout, external launch, or phased activation — so your brand steps into the world with clarity and momentum.What this phase includes:
Internal launch plan and stakeholder alignment
External launch or rollout recommendations
Final storytelling, messaging, or visual refinements
Optional ongoing advisory support
Why this matters:
A strong launch amplifies everything we built together — and ensures the brand lands with the people who matter most.
Our Capabilities
General Brand Consulting
Brand Audits + Market Analysis
Strategy + Positioning
Naming
Visual Identity Design
Graphic Design
Brand Messaging
Website Design
Website Development
Writing + Content Strategy
Print + Digital Materials
Campaigns
Meet the Founder
Emily Positano founded Made Better Brands to help organizations at pivotal moments find the clarity, strategy and story they need to move forward.
As the founder and principal strategist of Made Better Brands, she works closely with founders, leadership teams, and investment partners to build strategic brand foundations that support growth, alignment, launches, and funding.
With more than 15 years of experience across brand strategy and communications, Emily has helped organizations of all sizes sharpen their voice, clarify their value, and communicate with purpose. Her background spans national nonprofits, global companies, early-stage startups, and mission-driven ventures — with work for clients including Intel, Turner Media, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Teach For America, Univision, and the United Nations.
Emily leads every engagement with a blend of strategic rigor, message clarity, and a grounded, collaborative presence. She works closely with teams to translate strategy into clear direction and coordinated action, helping organizations move forward with confidence and momentum.
She studied Strategic Communications and Social Justice at Marquette University where she earned her B.A., and holds a certification in Social Impact Strategy from the University of Pennsylvania. Emily recently served for four years on the board of Working For Women, a New York–based nonprofit supporting economic independence for marginalized women, and currently serves on the Advisory Council for Cinema Femme, an organization dedicated to elevating emerging women and nonbinary filmmakers.
Emily is originally from the Chicago area and spent the first decade of her career in Washington, DC and New York City before heading west. She now lives in beautiful Denver, Colorado with her husband, their endlessly energetic two-year-old daughter, and a dog who has far more personality than his size suggests.