About Dayne Smith, brand strategy expert NZ and founder of Flying Lizard.

Brand strategy treated as financial strategy.

Founder-first strategic foundations that make marketing efficient and compounding.

START THE BRAND CLARITY DIAGNOSTIC

Or, See the method Brand Strategy Workshop?

★★★★★

Brand strategy = financial strategy • Wellington, NZ • Serving clients globally.

Strategic tools and frameworks used by brand strategy expert NZ.

30+ years’ practice guiding founders and business owners across NZ and abroad. ✔

Proven frameworks from Marty Neumeier, Aaker, and Kapferer — applied, not quoted. ✔

Strategy-first ethos: clarity before design, brand before marketing. ✔

About Dayne Smith — Brand Strategy Expert NZ

I am a founder-first branding strategist with 30+ years’ commercial practice.

With over 30 years in commercial practice, I’ve helped more than 500 business owners and founders articulate their competitive difference. As a brand strategy expert in NZ, I help founders turn strategic vision into measurable growth.

My background bridges design, creative direction, and strategic architecture, a path that revealed the same pattern in every engagement: marketing was starting too early, and strategy was arriving too late.

Method, not guesswork.

I translate master-level frameworks (Neumeier, Aaker, Kapferer, Ries & Trout) into plain-spoken systems leaders can use. The result is a durable strategic architecture that governs messaging, creative, and spend.

What this means for you:

  • Capital protected before campaigns.
  • Pricing power from clear positioning.
  • Decisions made once—then executed consistently.

For proof of approach, see the Case Studies hub.

What I Do as a Brand Strategy Specialist in NZ

Building brands with clarity and vision as a brand strategy expert in NZ

I don’t offer design or marketing services. Instead, I work with leaders to establish the strategic foundation that governs every creative, marketing, and customer decision to follow. The result: brand strategies that protect capital and create measurable financial advantage.

Why Brand Strategy Comes Before Marketing

Most business owners spend $25–50K or more on marketing that doesn’t deliver.

The reason isn’t poor execution — it’s missing foundation. Branding strategy transforms that waste into growth, ensuring every downstream dollar compounds instead of dissipating.

How I Work as a Brand Strategy Expert NZ

Every engagement begins with the Brand Strategy Workshop.

An intensive session where we codify your brand architecture and positioning into an actionable framework. Sessions are confidential, online, and deliver immediate clarity with long-term financial impact.

BEGIN WITH A STRATEGY WORKSHOP

Who Benefits from Strategic Foundation Work

  • Early-Stage Business Owners launching new ventures who require strategic clarity before any marketing investment. Rather than guessing at positioning, they establish their brand architecture systematically.
  • Established Entrepreneurs who have built successful operations but lack cohesive brand strategy. They require strategic foundation to guide consistent growth rather than tactical marketing attempts.
  • Professional Service Providers developing personal brands who require strategic differentiation in competitive markets. They understand that professional reputation requires strategic positioning, not merely visibility.

These business owners recognise that strategic brand architecture is their primary profit multiplier—the foundation that transforms operational success into sustainable competitive advantage and premium pricing authority.

“Dayne is a talented individual with a great personality to boot. Working on several major bids, which involved the creation of complex branded documents, graphics, and packaging. Producing some great pieces of work – from high-quality branding and detailed information graphics to exceptional page spreads. I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend Dayne and look forward to working with him again.”

– Natalie Hewitt, Entrepreneur, Business Consultant and Proposal Specialist.

Client Experience & Ethic

Proof.

My ethic follows Jim Rohn’s principle of Just Ask — curiosity, initiative, and authenticity as the drivers of meaningful growth.

The Pod Rentals business logo in full colour.
The image features the GTS logo, which consists of a stylized blue diamond shape containing a white swoosh and a circular dot, resembling an abstract eye or orbit. To the right of the diamond, the letters “GTS” appear in bold, gray, italicized font, with a small “TM” (trademark) symbol positioned at the top right of the text. The overall design conveys a modern and professional brand identity.
Image of business logo for florist foliage supplier showing business name Florist Stock NZShop Co and blue gum, magnolia leaf, and green leaf foliage.
Logo of the Karim Centre for Meningitis Research, UK, featuring a stylised profile of two human faces in silhouette—one in white set against a teal background, and the other in black set against white—framed in opposing rectangular blocks. The visual design implies care, duality, and the interpersonal nature of medical research. Beneath the icon, the centre’s name is presented in a formal serif and sans-serif typographic combination, with “Meningitis” in prominent uppercase lettering.
Mainland Poultry product logos.
TranSys corporate logo in bold red sans-serif typeface, with the word ‘TranSys’. A solid red horizontal line runs above and below the entire wordmark, intersecting the uppercase ‘T’ and ‘S’, visually framing the logo and conveying a sense of forward motion and structural integrity—emblematic of transportation systems.

“The strategic work helped us understand exactly who we were and why customers should choose us. Once we got clear on our positioning as local ex-police experts, everything else fell into place—our marketing, our pricing, even how we talked to customers. The branding strategy gave us confidence to compete against the big companies.”

— Liz Williams, Co-Founder, The Pod Rental Company.

An invitation to Brand Strategy

I invite you to begin your Strategic Journey.

An intensive session where we codify your brand architecture and positioning into an actionable framework. Sessions are confidential, online, and deliver immediate clarity with long-term financial impact.

Ready to build your brand with strategic precision?

Work directly with a brand strategy expert NZ dedicated to founder-first success.

SCHEDULE INITIAL 30MIN CONSULTATION

“Strategy drives all communication. Your brand must precede your marketing.”