Getting Started With Brand Strategy in Los Angeles
If you're preparing to hire a brand strategy partner for the first time, start with a conversation, not a contract. East 2 West Collective builds messaging and positioning for entertainers, authors, lifestyle experts, and corporate brands from its Los Angeles office, folding brand strategy together with media relations, public relations, and influencer engagement so nothing sits in a silo. The first step is simply telling them where your brand stands today and where it needs to go.
This guide walks through what "brand strategy" actually covers, what to have ready before your first call, what a reasonable first conversation looks like, and how to tell if this is the right service for where your brand or career is right now.
Is Brand Strategy the Right Service for Your Situation?
Brand strategy is the right starting point if you have a name, a product, a book, a show, or a career that media and audiences don't yet understand clearly — or understand in a way that's working against you. It's distinct from a single press release or a one-off media placement: it's the messaging and positioning work that makes every later placement land harder, because the story underneath it is already sharp.
East 2 West Collective describes this work as identifying and employing the right strategy with the right messaging, then engaging the media and influencers who can carry that story to the audience that matters most. If you already have a defined message and just need outlets pitched, you may be closer to needing entertainment publicity or straight media relations than a full strategy build. If your story, positioning, or public narrative itself needs work first, brand strategy is the starting point.
What to Decide Before You Call
Before reaching out, it helps to have a point of view — even a rough one — on:
- What you're building a brand around. A personal career, a book, a company, a product line, or an event.
- Where the gap is. Are you unknown to the audience that matters, misunderstood by them, or simply not being talked about at all?
- What "working" looks like for you. Media coverage, enrolled clients or customers, brand partnerships, or all three.
- Your timeline drivers. A launch date, an award cycle, a product release, or no fixed date at all.
You don't need polished answers. You need enough of a starting point that the first call is a real conversation, not a blank page.
What to Have Ready
East 2 West Collective builds a tailored blueprint for every client rather than a copied plan, which means the quality of that blueprint depends on what you bring to the table. Before your first conversation, gather:
- Any existing bio, press kit, website copy, or book/show materials
- A list of past media coverage, if any exists
- Names of brands, partners, or competitors you admire or want to be positioned against
- Any existing partnerships, endorsement deals, or philanthropic work tied to your name or brand
- A sense of your budget range and decision timeline, even approximate
What the First Conversation Covers
A first call with East 2 West Collective is a scoping conversation: where the brand stands today, where it needs to go, and which of their disciplines apply. Depending on your situation, that blueprint might draw from brand strategy and consultancy, media relations, strategic partnership development, influencer engagement, experiential marketing, or crisis and internal communications — pulled together, not treated as separate line items. You can review the full brand marketing and consultancy approach before your call to see how these pieces typically connect.
What the Estimate Will Include
Because every blueprint is built around the specific client in front of them, there's no fixed package to quote off a menu. What you should expect an estimate to cover is scope: which disciplines are included (media relations, influencer engagement, event tie-ins, partnership development, crisis readiness), how actively your story will be pitched versus positioned, and what success is being measured against. The agency structures this per engagement, so the clearest path to a real number is a direct conversation rather than a published rate card.
How Long Things Typically Take, and What That Depends On
Timelines in brand strategy work depend on the scope of the blueprint, the number of disciplines involved, and whether there's a fixed external deadline — a book release date, an award season, a product launch — driving the work. A single-channel engagement moves differently than one that folds in media relations, events, and influencer engagement at once. Rather than quoting a generic duration, East 2 West Collective builds the schedule around your actual deadline once that first conversation establishes it.
What to Expect on the Day-to-Day
Once a blueprint is set, work typically moves through strategy and messaging development, media list building, outreach, and ongoing refinement as placements come in. This isn't a "set it and forget it" plan — the site describes blueprints as continuously refined as the team secures media exposure, which means early results shape later outreach.
After the Work: What Ongoing Support Looks Like
Brand strategy isn't positioned as a one-time document. For authors specifically, the agency notes it builds brand campaigns so a launch becomes "the start of an ongoing platform, not a one-off press cycle" — the same logic applies across their entertainment, fashion, and wellness roster. Expect strategy to keep evolving as your public story develops, not a binder handed over once and left alone.
Proof: What This Has Looked Like in Practice
East 2 West Collective has orchestrated Oscar, Emmy, Tony, and Grammy award-winning campaigns. Their case study on Justine Bateman's book launch shows the strategy-first approach in action: a media list built around one central question, pitches seeded around that question rather than a generic release, and a virtual event built to hold the conversation — resulting in Amazon selling out of the book twice in its first week, plus unsolicited coverage from Time Magazine and 60 Minutes Australia.
Client Connell Barrett, Founder of DatingTransformation.com, said: "From Day 1, Elizabeth and her team took massive action and my name started appearing in national platforms like Bustle, Elite Daily and AskMen. Instantly I had more authority and credibility, and I started enrolling more clients."
Client coverage logged on their media spotlight page spans TODAY, Forbes, People, The New York Times, Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, Good Morning America, Billboard, The Wall Street Journal, E! News, The View, and Access Hollywood.
Comparing Brand Strategy Components
| Component | Who It's For | What It Includes | Key Benefit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brand Strategy & Consultancy | Anyone needing positioning and messaging built from scratch | Core strategy and messaging work that anchors every later placement | Keeps the brand top of mind long after a single campaign ends |
| Media Relations + Strategic Partnerships | Clients ready to pair positioning with active outreach | Pitching across broadcast, digital and print, plus partnership development | Turns a clear message into actual coverage and brand deals |
| Influencer Engagement + Experiential Marketing | Fashion, lifestyle, and consumer brand clients | Influencer relationships paired with event and experiential moments | Gets product and story in front of audiences at live, visible moments |
| Internal & Crisis Communications | Brands or individuals with reputational exposure | Fast, clear-headed response planning folded into the broader strategy | Protects the brand story when the unexpected happens |
Key Takeaways
- Brand strategy is the positioning and messaging work that makes every later media placement land harder.
- East 2 West Collective builds a tailored blueprint per client rather than a reused template.
- The first conversation should cover where your brand stands today and where it needs to go.
- Having existing materials, past coverage, and a rough budget range ready speeds up that first call.
- No fixed-rate package exists — estimates are scoped to your specific blueprint.
- The agency has placed clients in outlets including TODAY, Forbes, People, and The New York Times, and has orchestrated Oscar, Emmy, Tony, and Grammy award-winning campaigns.
- Strategy work is treated as ongoing, not a one-time deliverable, especially for book, author, and entertainment launches.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need an existing brand or public profile to start?
No. East 2 West Collective works across the full spectrum, "from names already known to careers still being built," so an early-stage profile is a valid starting point, not a disqualifier.
What do I need to prepare before my first call?
Bring any existing bio, press materials, past coverage, a sense of your budget range, and a rough idea of your launch date or timeline driver, if one exists. You don't need a finished strategy — that's what the first conversation is for.
How much does brand strategy cost?
There's no published rate card, because every blueprint is scoped to the client's specific goals and disciplines involved. The clearest way to get a real number is to call or email with your project details and have them scope it directly.
How is brand strategy different from media relations or PR?
Brand strategy is the messaging and positioning foundation; media relations and PR are the outreach that puts that message in front of journalists, networks, and outlets. East 2 West Collective typically builds both together rather than selling them as fully separate services.
Does this work for authors and book launches specifically?
Yes. Beyond entertainment publicity, the agency builds brand campaigns around authors themselves, positioning their expertise and personal story so a book launch becomes an ongoing platform rather than a single press cycle — as shown in their Justine Bateman case study.
What happens after the initial strategy is built?
Blueprints are continuously refined as media exposure comes in, rather than delivered once and left static. Expect the strategy to evolve alongside your actual coverage and career developments.
Start the Conversation
The next step is a direct conversation about where your brand stands and where it needs to go. Reach East 2 West Collective at 310-963-8050 or emuch@e2wcollective.com, or visit their Los Angeles office at 1800 Century Park East #60, Los Angeles, CA 90067. You can also review their full services overview before you call.