Brand essence is the soul of your brand.
In one or two words, your brand’s essence tells you what the brand represents. It brings ideas like values, mission and vision together to express the DNA of what your brand means. Like a fingerprint, your brand essence should be unique to your company.
If you know exactly what your brand essence is, you’ll have an easier time conveying your meaning to your customers too. The brand’s essence becomes a filter to evaluate every touchpoint with customers from how you speak to them on the telephone or through email – to the way you package your products.
When I work with clients, discovering their brand essence is the starting line.
Examples
- Volvo – Safety
- Apple – Think Different
- Nike – Innovation and Inspiration
- Hallmark – Caring Shared
- Walt Disney World – Magical
- Airbnb – Belonging
- eBay – Boundless opportunity
A simple formula is that Brand Essence = Goals (what you aspire to do) + What you do (your USP) + Your values (how you do what you do).
Brand essence is a distillation of all that your brand represents in a word.
What’s your brand’s essence?
“A brand essence is the single intangible attribute that differentiates the brand from competitive brands as perceived by the audience.” Kirk Phillips
Photo by Immo Wegmann on Unsplash
