FRANBRANDS | BRAND STRATEGY + COMMUNICATIONS

You're building a business.

But your brand's lagging behind.

The strategy behind your marketing needs to evolve before it slows down business growth.

But as a founder who’s already doing the most, you don’t have the time, headspace or emotional support snacks to become your own brand strategist too.

Fran Ayala leads story-led brand and communications strategy for founders and independent experts whose work deserves a clearer, sharper, harder-to-ignore story.

The problem

The people you need to reach can't see the heart + hustle that built your business.

They only see the story you put in front of them.

And they’re encountering it in a market flooded with content, crowded with lookalike claims and increasingly sceptical of anyone declaring themselves “innovative,” “passionate” or “different.”They’re deciding quickly whether to keep reading, trust you, recommend you or move on.If they can’t understand what you do, why it matters, what makes it different and why they should believe you, they’ll choose the option that’s easier to get.

Not necessarily because it’s better.Because it’s clearer.


What it's costing you

When the story lags, the whole business feels it.

01 /Sales

Sales conversations become explanation marathons.

02 /Alignment

Your team improvises because nobody’s given them a shared message.

03 /Content

Content creates more noise instead of more understanding.

04 /Launches

Every launch feels like reintroducing the business from scratch.

05 /Perception

Opportunities keep reflecting the version of the business you’ve already outgrown.

06 /Competition

Competitors with a clearer story become easier to remember, recommend and choose.



An outdated strategy doesn’t preserve your momentum.

It creates drag on wherever the business is trying to go next.


The Lesson

Visibility gets you seen.
Clarity gets you chosen.

You probably don’t need to post every day, redesign your website or drag yourself onto yet another platform.

You need a clear strategy that gets your website, content and channels working together towards the same business goal.

That means understanding:

  • Who needs to care?

  • What do they need to believe?

  • What's stopping them from believing it?

  • What can your brand credibly own?

  • How will you build that belief across every meaningful touchpoint?

Because a content calendar isn't your strategy.

I help you uncover the story only your business can tell — then turn it into positioning, messaging and a communications plan your team can actually use.

It stops your marketing becoming an expensive, never-ending to-do list — and makes every campaign, channel and piece of content earn its place.


The Payoff

The point isn't attention.

It's influence.

Stop sounding like a brochure.

Stand for something with a clear point of view + a powerful story.

When every part of your brand reinforces the same powerful idea, people don’t have to work so hard to understand why you matter.

They remember what makes it yours.

And they have the words to recommend you when you’re not there to do all the explaining.

That means every launch, pitch and new offer doesn’t have to start from bloody zero.

You’re building recognition, trust and a reputation that travels — to reach people who'll buy because they believe in what you’re doing.

With a solid strategy, you get:

01.

CLEARER DECISIONS

Pinpoint exactly what you want to be known for, so your marketing stops behaving like seven unrelated side quests.

02.

A STORY THAT STICKS

One sharp through-line across every pitch, page, post and conversation.

03.

A REPUTATION THAT TRAVELS

Give people the language to explain why you matter — without needing you in the room to translate.

04.

PEOPLE WHO COME BACK

Attract people who share your values and care about what you do next, not only what you’re selling today.


This Is for You If...

You've built something brilliant.

But the story isn't pulling its weight.



Let's take a look.
You don’t need to know whether it’s a positioning problem, a messaging problem or a full-blown brand identity crisis.
That’s my job.

Do any of these sound like you?

01.

You started without a formal strategy

The offer works. The business has traction — maybe even funding — but the positioning, audience story and communications direction were never properly defined.

02.

Your brand's evolved.

Your story hasn't.

Your business, expertise or ambition has evolved, but your messaging keeps introducing an earlier, smaller version of what you do.

03.

Your next move needs an audience

A launch, relaunch, funding round, new market or major shift needs more than a last-minute campaign. It needs a story strong enough for what comes next.

04.

You've tried everything.

But it's not landing.

You’re visible and active, but people still don’t fully understand what makes your business distinctive, relevant or worth choosing.

If the answer's 'yes,' I'd like to help.


Why work with me?

I tell stories that outlast their formats — and shape brands that endure.

Strategy with a journalist’s eye, a comedian’s ear and a rebel’s audacity.

I started in journalism, when print still set the pace and social media hadn’t yet eaten the internet.Since then, I’ve worked across corporate communications, PR, content marketing, brand strategy and live events — through every new platform promising to change how brands reach people forever.What makes people care hasn’t changed: a sharp point of view, a human truth they recognise and a story worth passing on.

Journalism taught me what makes great stories.

PR taught me how to give them reach and influence.

Stand-up showed me how they create genuine connections.

I bring all three to help build your brand.

Fran Ayala leads story-led brand and communications strategy for founders and independent experts whose work deserves a clearer, sharper, harder-to-ignore story.

The Work

Fix the right problem.

Skip the expensive detours.

I won’t push for a full strategy build if an audit can give you the clarity you need — or recommend surface-level fixes when the foundations need rebuilding.

I meet your business where it is, with the level of support the problem actually needs: diagnose the gap, build the strategy or keep it working as you grow.

Not sure where to start? We’ll work that out together.


Zoom in on One Challenge

Brand Strategy Intensive

£350

For when you're stuck because one important brand decision is holding up the work… and you need a sharp strategic brain to help you work through it.

Bring me one focused challenge across your positioning, messaging, audience, or visibility. I’ll review one priority asset before our 75-minute meeting, where I'll ask the awkward questions, challenge assumptions and help you decide what needs to happen next.

Best for founders and independent experts with one defined problem.
This isn’t for brands that need a wider diagnosis or complete strategy rebuild.

What you get:

  • A short pre-session questionnaire

  • A strategic review of one priority asset

  • A 75-minute live strategy session

  • A recording of our session

  • Written Decision Notes and three focused next moves

  • One follow-up clarification question within seven days

Where you'll land:

Leave with the problem reframed, key decisions made and three focused moves to take next.


Start with a Diagnosis

Brand Clarity Audit

£750

For when you know something isn’t landing — and need to identify exactly what.

I’ll review your positioning, messaging, website and priority communications to identify what’s clear, what’s getting lost and where the experience stops matching the ambition.

Best for businesses that need an objective diagnosis and a sharper next move — not an entire strategy rebuild yet.

What you get:

  • A strategic review of your positioning and messaging

  • An audit of your website and priority touchpoints

  • Key gaps, contradictions and missed opportunities

  • A prioritised action plan

  • A 60-minute debrief to pressure-test the findings

Where you'll land:

Know exactly what’s getting lost, what needs fixing first and where not to waste any more time or money.

Prefer to investigate yourself first? 👀Take my framework for a test drive with the Brand Audit Starter Pack — a DIY workbook to help you check your brand, gather receipts, and choose one thing to fix first.


Build the system

Brand + Communications Strategy

£6,000 | Eight weeks

When the problem isn’t one weak headline or one underperforming channel. The underlying story needs to be created, clarified or rebuilt.

Together, we’ll define what your brand can credibly own, who needs to care, what needs to shift in their minds and the strategic story that makes your value impossible to miss.

You’ll receive a sharp, visual working deck your team can use to make decisions, brief collaborators and communicate the brand consistently.

Not a 90-page strategy document designed to die quietly in Google Drive.

This may include:

  • Brand, reputation and communications audit

  • Founder and stakeholder interviews

  • Audience, competitor and cultural research

  • Positioning and strategic proposition

  • Overarching narrative and message house

  • Customer journey mapping

  • Communications priorities

  • A focused 90-day activation plan

Where you'll land:

With a clear market position, a story people can repeat and a communications plan that tells every channel / campaign / collaborator what job they’re there to do.

“Fran brought a beginner’s mindset, sharp strategic thinking and an infectious energy that lifted every room she entered. Thanks to her, our strategy unit found a good footing and grew bolder with every challenge.”

— Diane Hidalgo, Managing Partner, Evident


Keep it moving

Ongoing Strategic Counsel

Three months

Available after Strategy Build

For selected clients, I stay involved to help apply the thinking across launches, campaigns, content, PR and whatever fresh chaos the business produces.

You’ll keep the strategy alive as the business moves — rather than leaving it stuck in a cursed PDF until it slowly becomes irrelevant.

Support may include:

  • Senior strategic reviews and decision support

  • Campaign, content and PR direction

  • Feedback on priority briefs and creative work

  • Audience-response and performance analysis

  • Messaging refinement as the business evolves

  • Forward planning around launches and commercial priorities

The scope is shaped around the senior strategic support implementation actually requires — while your team or creative partners handle day-to-day production and channel management.

Fran Ayala leads story-led brand and communications strategy for founders and independent experts whose work deserves a clearer, sharper, harder-to-ignore story.

Strategy makes your value crystal clear and your edge unmistakable.

It shows the right people that you're the obvious choice.


Why strategy? I need sales.

People can't buy what they don't understand.

Strategy doesn’t replace sales.

It gives every campaign, pitch, conversation and piece of content a clear job to do.

When your story is unclear, you spend more time and money getting attention — then leave your audience to work out what you do, why you’re different and whether you’re worth choosing.

I help you pinpoint:

  • Who do you need to reach?

  • What do they need to understand and believe?

  • What makes your business meaningfully different?

  • What proof turns those claims into trust?

  • What will move the right people towards choosing you?

Then every part of your marketing can work towards the same commercial goal — instead of each channel disappearing on its own little side quest.


How It Works

I turn evidence + insight into stories that move people.

No strategy built on vibes.

Frameworks with follow-through.

Filling in boxes isn’t the work.

I do the research, interrogation and strategic synthesis. You bring the context, candour and decisions only you can make.
We come together to define the ambition, challenge assumptions, pressure-test the thinking and decide what the business will stand behind — without turning the project into another full-time job for you.
By the end, you’ll know what the evidence means, what needs to change and how to put the strategy to work.

Here's How:

01.

GET YOUR BRAND RECEIPTS

I analyse data about your stakeholders, target audience, competitors, culture and reputation to see where your brand's landing, leaking or being lost.

02.

DEFINE THE AUDIENCE SHIFT

We define how your brand needs to impact your audience — and what's currently stopping that from happening.

03.

FIND YOUR EDGE + BUILD THE STORY

I use those insights to create a position, narrative and messages that you can own — without sanding off the weird, wonderful bits that make the business distinctly yours.

04.

MAKE YOUR STORY TRAVEL

We identify each touchpoint in the customer journey and its role in driving a sale.

I build a 90-day comms plan mapping how messaging, media and channels will move buyers towards a purchase.

That's how I build brands that move.

But don't take my word for it.


The receipts

SHARPER DECISIONS.

BOLDER WORK.

Hear about my work from people who had me in the room.

Fran Ayala leads story-led brand and communications strategy for founders and independent experts whose work deserves a clearer, sharper, harder-to-ignore story.

TESTIMONIALS


"Fran’s work with global agencies and leading brands positions her perfectly to elevate clients’ market presence and business growth through compelling storytelling."

– Cecile Dominguez–Yujuico
Founder,
Evident


"Fran's work consistently demonstrates a deep understanding of audience needs, brand voice and market trends.She's a joy to collaborate with: positive, thoughtful and always bringing fresh ideas to the table."

– Colby Jones,
Co-Founder,
Cognitive Humanity


“Fran brought a beginner’s mindset, sharp strategic thinking, and an infectious energy that lifted every room she entered.Thanks to her, our strategy unit found a good footing and grew bolder with every challenge.”

– Diane Hidalgo,
Managing Partner,
Evident

Want to see the work?


Before We Begin

Sensible questions before we hard launch a partnership

What if I choose the wrong offer?

You don’t need to choose before we speak. Tell me what’s changed, what isn’t landing and what the business needs to do next.

If an audit will give you enough clarity, I’ll say so. If the foundations need rebuilding, I’ll explain why.

How much of my time will this take?

I’ll need honest input, access to the right people and timely decisions — not every spare hour in your calendar.

Before we begin, we’ll agree who needs to be involved, when I need them and what only they can contribute.

Can you work with my existing team or agency?

Absolutely. I can work with founders, leadership teams, internal marketers and external creative partners.

The strategy gives everyone a shared story, clearer decisions and useful guardrails for the work they’re responsible for delivering.

Will you also implement the strategy?

My core work is strategy, not day-to-day production.

After a Strategy Build, I can stay involved as senior strategic counsel to guide launches, campaigns, content and PR while your team or creative partners handle execution.

Will this guarantee more sales?

No responsible strategist can guarantee a revenue number. Sales also depend on your offer, pricing, distribution, market, timing and sales process.

What I can do is stop unclear positioning, forgettable messaging and disconnected marketing from quietly sabotaging all of them.

We’ll agree what success needs to look like before the work begins — rather than deciding afterwards that one Reel popping off means the strategy worked.

My business is in its early stages. Is it too soon?

Not necessarily. If you have a proven offer, real evidence from customers or audiences and a consequential next move ahead, strategy can stop you scaling confusion.

If you’re still testing whether anyone wants what you’re selling, I’ll tell you if this work is premature.

Fran Ayala leads story-led brand and communications strategy for founders and independent experts whose work deserves a clearer, sharper, harder-to-ignore story.

Your Move

Bold brands don't behave.

Ready to build a brand to believe in?

Tell me where the business is going, who needs to care and what they aren’t understanding yet.

I’ll ask loads of follow-up questions, dig deeper past the evidence and tell you honestly what I think needs doing first.

Let's get messy.

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