The client-side guide to managing stakeholders during your next branding project

Before you embark on a major branding project, take a minute to consider your stakeholders. Kate Murchison, General Manager at branding agency Principals Aotearoa, explains.


Stakeholder engagement can be the trickiest part of a branding project. The challenge is branding is subjective: what one person loves, another might hate. It becomes a balancing act where you need to get buy-in, ensure everyone feels included while deciding which feedback to take on board and which to ignore.

But with clear communication, well-defined goals, and a bit of planning, you can keep everyone on the same page.

Remember – you’re the expert 

It’s easy to lose sight of that with all the questions and differing opinions, but you were hired for your expertise. 

People look to you for direction, leadership, and a clear point of view. They expect you to listen to their feedback and explain why some things work and others don’t.

But you’re not on your own. Your branding agency wants the same success you do and will happily help. 

So, when you need to refine your message or deal with a tricky query, don’t hesitate to lean on them.

Identify your key ‘players’ 

At the start, take some time to identify your key stakeholders. A power-interest grid is a great tool for this. It lets you quickly sort people into four groups: players (high power, high interest), subjects (high interest, low power), context setters (low interest, high power), and the crowd (low power, low interest).

Your top priority should be the “players”, the folks with the most influence and the biggest stake. They’re the VIPs, so keep them in the loop. 

Think of the grid as your cheat sheet – it shows you where to focus your energy and who should be at the key meetings. It also helps you avoid being sidetracked by the “crowd,” so you can stay on track with the people who matter most to the project’s success.

Prep your engagement

Once you have identified your key stakeholders, make sure you plan how and when to bring them into the mix. 

It’s easy to be overly optimistic about how much time you’ll have to process feedback but this can lead to a mad scramble. 

So do yourself a favour, give yourself a couple of extra days after stakeholder presentations to really let the feedback simmer and figure out what’s useful and what’s just noise.

Share these plans with your agency so they can add key meeting dates, discussion needs, and feedback timing to the production schedule. This way, everyone is on the same page. Your future self will thank you. 

Set some boundaries

We’ve all been there: you’re cruising through a project, everything’s going smoothly, and then, out of nowhere, someone questions a decision that was made ages ago. Suddenly, everyone’s spooked and you’re back to square one.

To avoid this kind of chaos, it’s crucial to clearly communicate which parts of the project are open to feedback and which ones aren’t, either because they’re already agreed or it comes down to personal taste.

By setting these boundaries at each engagement, you can keep everyone focused and prevent unnecessary backtracking. 

Embarking on a branding project can feel daunting. It takes confidence, co-ordination, and a knack for keeping everyone on track. But with a solid engagement plan, a few well-placed boundaries and a trusty branding agency by your side, you can juggle all the feedback and steer the project to success without losing your sanity. 


This was first published in the 2024 June-July NZ Marketing Magazine issue. Subscribe here.

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About Kate Murchison

Kate Murchison has led a host of branding projects, agency and client-side, including the most recent rebrand of Kiwi telco Chorus.