Finally,

brand strategy

made simple.

Simple and Actionable

Brand Strategy

done juuuuust right

FRIEND Mapping™ is our proprietary system for creating Living Brand Playbooks tailored to your business.

Branding and marketing can feel overwhelming and arbitrary—you know every choice matters, but how do you decide which ones will make the biggest impact?

FRIEND Mapping™ hones in on those critical decisions, helping you focus your efforts where they count most.

Rather than a one-size-fits-all product, FRIEND Mapping™ is a tailored process. Together, we’ll create a custom brand playbook that transforms complexity into clarity.

Flow

Reflection

Insight

Empathy

Novelty

Delight

Flow Reflection Insight Empathy Novelty Delight

Your Playbook is not a pre-made tool; we work as your strategic partners to craft a guide that works specifically for your brand and your goals.

Here’s how it works: First, we’ll dive deep into understanding your brand and goals. Then, we use the FRIEND Mapping™ process to create a playbook that simplifies your strategy, giving you clear, actionable steps for success.

The Living Brand Playbook is built from insights we uncover together through the FRIEND Mapping™ process.

The FRIEND Map

Six Pillars of Powerful Brand Strategy

Flow — Make your brand Frictionless

Reflection — Build Authentic Connections

Insight — Reveal Expertise Naturally

Empathy — Be There When It Counts

Novelty — Prove You’re One-of-a-kind

Delight — Turn customers into lifelong fans

Designed by Science

Goldilocks Studios has combined hands-on experience with cutting-edge research in marketing, behavioral economics, game theory, and neuroscience to develop our Brand is Character model.

While it’s an incredible tool, its complexity makes it challenging to apply effectively without extensive expertise.

Built for Action

We created FRIEND Mapping™ to distill the rigor of the Brand is Character model into a framework that’s simple, actionable, and ready to use.

FRIEND Mapping™ transforms theory into practice, adapting seamlessly to your unique brand and goals.

Imagine how FRIEND Mapping™ could clarify your strategy and amplify your brand

Are you ready to transform your strategy?

What is a

Living Brand

Playbook

Includes High Levels of Clarity, Direction, and Practical Tools.

?

A Living Brand Playbook is more than a static document—it’s a dynamic, actionable guide designed to adapt and grow alongside your unique brand.

At its core, it captures the essence of your business and translates it into a clear, easy-to-follow strategy for every aspect of communication, from marketing campaigns to customer interactions.

Flexible and Dynamic: Your playbook evolves with your goals, audience, and market, ensuring your brand remains relevant and impactful over time.

Actionable Clarity: It eliminates guesswork by outlining exactly what to do, where to focus, and how to communicate your brand authentically and effectively.

Unified Vision: It aligns your entire team around a shared understanding of your brand’s voice, values, and purpose.

The result? A playbook that simplifies decision-making, inspires confidence, and keeps your brand moving forward—no matter the challenge.

Ready to see how a Living Brand Playbook could transform your brand?

Is This For

Me?

“I’m starting something new.”

Starting something new is exciting—but it can also feel overwhelming. How do you explain your vision in a way that inspires others? Where do you focus to gain traction without spinning your wheels? We’ll help you clarify your story and create a roadmap that builds momentum while keeping you energized for the journey ahead.

“I’m ready to grow.”

You’ve built something that works, but now it’s time to take it to the next level. Growth means doing more at once—refining your story, scaling your marketing, and staying consistent—all while reaching a larger audience. Our Brand Playbook simplifies the process, helping you stay focused, sharpen your message, and scale your impact with confidence.

“I’m a solopreneur.”

When you’re running everything yourself, it’s easy to feel stretched thin. Should you be marketing, networking, or focusing on operations? You can’t do it all—but with our Brand Playbook, you don’t have to. It shows you how to present your business consistently in any situation and focus your time where it matters most, so you can get back to doing the work you love.

“I’m fundraising.”

Fundraising is about earning trust, telling a powerful story, and proving your impact. But none of that lands without answering the ultimate question: “So what?” We’ll help you craft a clear, compelling answer and weave it into a cohesive strategy with the Brand Playbook, giving you the tools to inspire small donors and win over big funders alike.

The FRIEND Map Pillars

In Greater Detail

FRIEND Mapping™ is built on six pillars that together form the foundation of your brand’s strategy. These pillars ensure your brand connects meaningfully with your audience while standing out in a crowded market. Here’s how each one works:

  • Flow is all about ease—how naturally and intuitively people can engage with your brand across every dimension. It’s not just about navigating a website or using a product; Flow includes the effort it takes to understand your messaging, move through your sales process, and transition between stages of the customer journey.

    By designing seamless paths—whether someone is discovering your brand on social media, making a purchase, or becoming a lifelong customer—Flow ensures every interaction feels effortless, clear, and rewarding.

  • Reflection ensures your audience can see themselves in your brand, where it makes sense. It’s about making sure your values, story, and messaging connect in meaningful ways.

    When your brand’s values align with your customers’ values, Reflection ensures that alignment is visible and resonant. When your brand’s origin story reflects shared experiences with your audience, Reflection ensures those connections shine through.

    At its heart, Reflection is about identifying what’s meaningful about your brand to your audience and clearly communicating it, so they feel seen and understood.

  • Insight is about infusing everything your brand does with the depth of knowledge and unique perspectives you bring. It’s not necessarily about teaching outright, but about offering value in every interaction.

    Whether it’s a social post, a product description, or a customer conversation, Insight ensures that people walk away having learned something new or seeing the world in a slightly different way. It might be a clever observation, an unexpected truth, or a fresh perspective—but it leaves a mark.

    With Insight, your brand doesn’t just exist in the world—it enriches it.

  • Empathy isn’t about your brand—it’s about your customers. While Reflection is about shared connections, Empathy is about showing you truly understand their world.

    This means acknowledging their challenges, validating their experiences, and addressing their needs in a way that feels effortless and genuine. Empathy isn’t about your identity or story; it’s about demonstrating you “get it,” even when “it” is from outside your own identity or experience, creating trust and comfort in every interaction.

    When Empathy is woven into your brand, every touchpoint—from marketing to customer service—feels supportive, personal, and trustworthy. It’s how your audience knows you truly care.

  • Novelty is what makes your brand stand out and stay memorable. It’s not just about being different for the sake of it—it’s about being truly remarkable in ways that resonate with your audience.

    Whether it’s a unique product feature, an unexpected twist in your messaging, or the way you approach your industry, Novelty ensures your brand catches attention and keeps it. It’s the spark that makes people think, “I’ve never seen this before,” and “I need to know more.”

    With Novelty, your brand doesn’t blend in—it shines.

  • Delight is the feeling your brand leaves behind. It’s about creating moments of joy, satisfaction, or even surprise that your audience loves to experience—and loves to talk about.

    Whether it’s a small, thoughtful detail in your packaging or an email that feels like it was written just for them, Delight turns everyday interactions into memorable ones. It’s how you turn a satisfied customer into a loyal advocate who’s excited to engage with your brand again and again.

    Delight ensures that your audience doesn’t just appreciate your brand—they fall in love with it.