About Dayne Smith, Brand Strategy Expert NZ

Critical Thinking and Originality at the Core. Shaped by 30 Years of Practice.

I am a founder-first branding strategist with more than 30 years’ commercial practice. My work centres on helping business owners and founders articulate their competitive difference and build strategies that protect capital before marketing begins.

As a Brand Strategy Expert NZ, I guide leaders in turning strategic vision into measurable growth. I can do this because of two meta-skills essential to this craft, critical thinking and originality. These have been refined over decades of practical application.

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 outcome 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 clarity, pricing power, and growth through critical thinking and originality.

I don’t sell design or marketing services. I work with founders and business owners to establish the brand strategy that governs every decision that follows.

Each engagement begins by defining one clear reason to choose you, the line that aligns every ad, proposal, and presentation. When that clarity exists, marketing becomes efficient and every campaign compounds.

A complete brand strategy saves thousands in re-work. Businesses that skip this stage often spend $25–$50k+ fixing what could have been built once. Clients who work through this process see measurable differences: nationwide orders instead of local sales, consistent messaging across teams, and a brand that keeps its value through growth and turnover.

That independence lets me apply the two meta-skills this craft demands. Critical thinking and originality, to solve complex problems from first principles, not templates.

The result is a documented system that protects capital, creates competitive advantage, and keeps your business leading its category rather than reacting to it.

If your professional work requires clear strategic foundations before delivery, see my brand strategy support for consultants and partners.

Why Brand Strategy Comes Before Marketing

Marketing spends capital; strategy protects it.

Most owners invest heavily in marketing that never compounds. The reason isn’t poor execution. It’s a missing foundation.

A brand strategy defines what the business stands for before a single dollar is spent on exposure. It tells your team what fits and what doesn’t, saving months of indecision and wasted spend.

With the right strategy:

• Every message, design, and campaign speaks with one voice.
• Decisions are made once, then executed consistently.
• Growth survives market shifts and staff changes.
• Bigger competitors can’t easily copy your story.

Strategic clarity turns marketing from trial-and-error into a compounding investment.
As many clients have found, once the framework is in place, each campaign strengthens the next. An effect impossible to achieve without a brand strategy first.

For a deeper explanation of this principle, see Marty Neumeier’s The Brand Gap. The classic work that informs much of modern brand architecture.

How I Work as a Brand Strategy Expert NZ

Method, not guesswork, a proven workshop process.

Every engagement begins with the Brand Strategy Workshop, a focused two-hour online session where we codify your brand architecture into a usable framework.
In that time, we document your positioning, define differentiation, and create the narrative that drives pricing power and belief.

You receive:

• A complete brand strategy written in real time.
• A strategic positioning framework that keeps future work aligned.
• Brand-expression guidelines: language, tone, and principles.
• Seven days of direct strategic support to clarify implementation.

This process replaces opinion with principle. It ensures every creative supplier, marketer, or stakeholder builds from the same foundation. Saving cost, time, and confusion.

Clients describe it as agency-level clarity without agency fees.
It’s confidential, independent, and designed for founders who want to lead with confidence rather than follow the noise.

An Invitation to Work with a Brand Strategy Expert

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.

• 30-minute consultation: Booking Link.
• Contact: Email design.solutions@flyinglizard.co.nz
• Or call +64 21 323 244
• Contact form: GET IN TOUCH