Brand Strategist for Social Media Repositioning

We are looking for a brand strategist — someone who thinks in positioning, messaging and creative territories — to reboot how a portfolio of brands shows up on social media. To be direct about what this is not: we are not looking for a social media manager, a posting service, or an agency with a rate card for "20 posts a month." Execution, scheduling, community management and reporting are already handled internally. What we don't have is a point of view. The accounts look competent and forgettable. Each brand sounds broadly like the others, and broadly like every competitor in its category. We want that fixed at the root — positioning and messaging — before anyone opens a content calendar. The engagement The brands sit across functional, considered-purchase categories — the kind of products people research rather than impulse-buy, where the marketing usually defaults to specifications and product shots. We will work through them one brand at a time, as separate paid projects, over an extended period. Each project ends in one deliverable: a Brand & Social Playbook. If the first is strong, more follow. We would rather pay properly for one excellent document than cheaply for several average ones. Brand details, handles and background are shared with shortlisted candidates under NDA. What we need per brand 1. Positioning. Where the brand should sit in the mind of its audience and why that space is winnable and defensible. Who exactly we're talking to, what they currently believe, what we want them to believe instead. What we stand for — and what we deliberately don't. 2. Competitive landscape. The 4–6 brands we actually compete with for attention. What territory each has claimed, where they're all saying the same thing, and the gap that leaves open. Whitespace identified, not follower counts listed. 3. Messaging architecture. The part we care most about and the part usually skipped. Before any calendar exists: what are we actually saying? Core message, supporting pillars, how the brand sounds when it speaks, what it never says. Written so a copywriter who has never met us can produce on-brand work from it. 4. Creative territories and themes. 3–5 distinct territories the brand can own, each with a rationale and enough examples to make it real. Not "educational, behind-the-scenes, testimonials" — we can write that list ourselves. Our products are functional and, on paper, unemotional. Part of the job is finding the human truth underneath them — the impact, the problem solved, the moment in someone's life the product sits inside. If your instinct is to lead with features and specifications, this isn't the right project for you. 5. Visual direction / mood board. The visual world of the brand — art direction, palette, photography style, typography, motion feel, composition. Reference-led, drawn from anywhere, not just our category. We want to see what "good" looks like before spending on production. 6. Content calendar. Only after everything above is settled. A 4–6 week calendar showing how the strategy becomes actual posts — formats, hooks, sample copy, visual treatment. Enough that our team can extend the pattern themselves. 7. AI-assisted content approach. Practical guidance on producing lifestyle imagery and short-form video with AI tools — which tools for which job, prompt approaches, workflow, quality control, and where AI should not be used for this brand. Real examples you've produced, not a tool roundup. What you'll get from us Brand background, current handles and analytics, existing guidelines where they exist, product information, business objectives, and access to whoever you need internally. A kickoff call, a mid-point review, and prompt feedback. We are not a client that goes quiet for two weeks. Who we're looking for Background in brand strategy, planning or creative direction — agency-side, in-house or independent Evidence you've built positioning and messaging from scratch, not just executed someone else's Work showing a point of view, especially in functional or "boring" categories Comfort with the visual side — you needn't be a designer, but you must be able to art-direct Indian market knowledge is a plus, not a requirement. A strong strategic mind from anywhere matters more. Budget and timeline Fixed price for the first brand. Quote your own number against the scope above with a realistic timeline. We have a figure in mind but would rather hear yours than anchor you to ours. How to apply Please don't send a generic proposal. We'll read the ones that engage with the actual problem. A short POV (200–300 words). Pick any brand you like in a functional, considered-purchase category — building materials, appliances, industrial products, insurance, healthcare, B2B. Tell us what's strategically wrong with how they show up on social. Strategically, not tactically — we're not looking for "post more reels." 2–3 pieces of relevant work, each with a line on what the strategic problem was and what you decided. Your process — how you get from a brief to a positioning. Your quote and timeline for the first brand. Applications opening with "I have 10+ years of experience managing social media accounts" will not be shortlisted.