CONSIDER THIS: IS YOUR BRAND DESIGN BUILT TO LAST? A successful brand invokes meaningful associations and enduring emotions. In other words, it has a strong brand essence. Do your best to get this right, because the rest of your branding, like design, builds on it. Use this tool to think about the brand you manage. After defining your brand essence, this tool will help you understand if and how your brand stands apart, why your brand matters, and if your brand will stay in business.
DEFINING BRAND ESSENCE
BRAND SUCCESS
1. List the emotions or feelings that your brand invokes.
DIFFERENTIATION Is your brand essence different from your competitors? How?
2. Which is the strongest feeling associated with your brand?
RELEVANCE Does your brand essence matter to people today?
3. What is a phrase associated with this feeling?
Why?
SUSTAINABILITY 4. What is a story associated with this feeling?
With your current brand essence, do you predict you can stay in business? Do you own it?
5. What image is associated with this feeling? How?