Ranking the Top 12 Elements that Build Brand Value
Many organizations recognize the value of a coherent brand strategy framework. That’s because the brand strategy is foundational to recruiting and retention of employees, customer marketing, sales, customer experience, product design, research and development.
We set out to identify the most crucial elements that work together to build brand value.
Our final analysis comes from a review of these six highly-ranked sources on the topic:
As a caveat, these sources use similar but not identical language to describe different brand strategy framework elements. Additionally, for readability, we combined several into buckets with similar concepts, recognizing that some may quibble about the combinations. When we compared the sources with our prior analysis, we found that just one of the previous six top-ranking sources remained highly ranked (Brand Master Academy). We also found that some of the relative importance of the elements changed.
We’ll review them in order of frequency of mentions.
3 Highest-Tier Brand Strategy Framework Elements
1. Brand personality, logo, tone, voice, and visual identity: The most frequently mentioned brand strategy framework bucket of ingredients was brand personality, tone and voice, along with visual brand identity. Audio brand identity is also rightfully part of this area. Descriptions include:
- “Voice, tone and brand personality…Visual identity.”
- “Your brand personality, voice and tone helps with your brand storytelling”
- “Visuals like a logo, color and typography…emotional benefits and personality”
Many brands will translate this into a brand style guide. Further discussion of brand personality and examples can be found here.
2. Target audience: The second highest-tier area is the target audience. This can be expressed as a customer segment, or through a persona (profile of a desired “typical” user). Explanations of this area include:
- “Get crystal clear on who your audience is and what they want”
- “Who: Outlines who the brand best serves. The target audience, but at the highest level”
In Insight to Action’s experience, aligning on the target audience is a non-trivial exercise, as there is a tendency to want to include all possible customers. Another reality is that for brands in multiple product categories, they often need target audiences who are sufficiently category-specific and tailored to be actionable. In other words, they can’t always target the same customer across categories.
The target audience will need to work together with the personality, logo, tone, voice, and visual identity components as part of the overall brand strategy. A mismatch between the two will undermine the brand strategy.
3. Brand purpose, mission and vision: The third highest-tier element is the brand purpose, mission and vision. Similar to brand values, these elements can be important to attract and retain the organization’s talent. As such, they can serve as a source of inspiration for both customers and employees. These are clarified:
- “Purpose: why exist? Vision: desired future? Mission: what are we here to do?”
- “First you need a clear mission statement…Second, your vision statement.”
An example of a purpose-driven brand is Dove (purpose of boosting women’s self -esteem). Since purpose is more important to younger Gen Z and Millennial customers and employees, this is an essential area to develop.
2 Top-Tier Brand Strategy Framework Elements
The next set of brand strategy framework elements are also essential. These include:
- Brand positioning and differentiation
- Brand values
4. Brand positioning and differentiation: Insight to Action recommends the practice of assessing competition’s positioning before starting to develop your own. While our sources didn’t prioritize this step, we know from experience how valuable the data will be.
With competitive insight available, as well as knowledge of the target audience, the brand team typically will identify several brand positioning alternatives. Exposition includes:
- “Unique Selling Proposition / market positioning statement.”
- “Why: Articulates why the company is motivated to deliver its offering”
- “Right to Win”
- “Features and Attributes. Functional & Emotional Benefits. Brand Promise. Positioning Statement.”
- “How are we different?”
- “Knowing your true differentiation.”
We recommend that the brand positioning follow the classical brand positioning framework:
- To target [specific audience],
- For [defined] frame of reference,
- Brand X is the [functional/emotional] point of differentiation
- Because [attributes] reasons to believe
There are 11 brand positioning examples that are consistently identified across multiple sources to learn from. These are Apple, Nike, Coca-Cola, HubSpot, Tesla, Starbucks, Amazon, Chipotle, JetBlue, Disney, Pepsi.
5. Brand values. The next brand strategy framework component is brand values. This is highly related to brand purpose, mission and vision. In Los Angeles, we’ve observed that job seekers often check the brand values page on a firm’s website before applying (of course, the firm must enact those values to be credible, but articulating and publishing them is a first step). Clarification for brand values was relatively succinct from these sources, so we have included some of the prior information:
- “Relevant values and behaviors.”
- Brand heart – values – principles that guide our behavior.”
- “Brand core- values- your guiding principles.”
- “What are we committed to?”
An example of a brand’s core values at Starbucks:
“Creating a culture of warmth and belonging, where everyone is welcome.
Acting with courage, challenging the status quo.
Being present, connecting with transparency, dignity and respect.
Delivering our best in all we do, holding ourselves accountable for results.
We are performance driven, through the lens of humanity.”
5 Mid-Tier Brand Strategy Framework Elements
There are five mid-tier brand strategy framework drivers for consideration, which are:
- Tagline
- Brand Value Proposition or Pillars
- Messaging Pillars and Strategies
- Brand image
- Brand guidelines
6. Tagline. The tagline is one of the most visible parts of the brand strategy. These and former reviewers included the following explanation:
- “Then comes the brand promise. You can encapsulate it, by creating a tagline .”
- “Sentence or phrase or word that summarizes market position.”
- “Few concise memorable words that tell the brand’s story.”
Nike’s “Just Do It” tagline is a famous example, along with Apple’s “Think Different.”
7. Brand value proposition or pillars: This component typically includes the emotional and functional pillars or benefits that the brand provides to its customers. Together, these brand pillars create value. Elaboration on the brand value proposition or pillars by these and earlier sources:
- “Value props”
- “Succinct explanation of both the functional and emotional benefits, the product or service provided to customers.”
- “The functional, emotional and self-expressive benefits delivered by the brand that provide value for the customer.”
Brand pillars and commitments (expressed as benefits) can be on applied to product/service guidelines. To bring these to life, measurement compared with competition is needed.
8. Messaging pillars and strategy: Messaging pillars and strategy are closely related to the brand positioning and differentiation, along with the tagline. There may be distinctive streams of messaging underneath the overall positioning and tagline. The definitions provided include:
- “Storytelling…framework of narrative techniques used to engage with the audience in a highly engaging way.”
- “Key stories you want to tell about your brand.”
9. Brand image: Similar to competitive position, the brand strategy team will consider the current brand image (e.g., strengths, weaknesses, personality, benefits) as the starting point. If there isn’t an existing brand image, then the team may explore the image that is suggested by the brand name, the product or service, and its visual representation. Explanation for this area:
- “Visuals like a logo, color and typography.”
- “Current perceptions of the brand.”
- “Imagery.”
10. Brand guidelines: Brand style guidelines may be addressed in point number one above (brand personality, logo, tone, voice, and visual identity). However, if they have not been addressed, then it’s important for the team to formalize these and share with their marketing and communications partners. Reviewers’ descriptions include:
- “Messaging and visual guidelines.”
- “How. Defines how the brand should be brought to life”
- “Verbal and visual guidelines.”
- “Brand rules of the road/ guidelines. Identifies brand keeper of the flame and organizational processes to manage brand, stylebook.”
Our experience is that the organizational guidelines and processes are not always clearly defined. For example, who will decide if the brand can be used in a new product or service category, and what information is needed to make that decision? We’ve seen brands go astray without this clarity.
11. Brand architecture: This element wasn’t mentioned by our sources, so it’s not officially included in our tiers. But we have found it to be necessary for certain organizations. Brand architecture looks at the role of sub-brands, endorser brands, master brand and co-brands. In our experience, this is very important to resolve challenges around extending into new categories, and different price point levels. Descriptions include:
- “The strategic, relational structure of all brands in the portfolio.”
- “Use for branding and sub-branding applications. Includes guidance for service and product categories and brand delivery standards.”
Brand architecture can be very helpful in resolving brand strategy questions. For example, one organization included both the parent company brand name, along with the product brand name on the front of each package, both at equal size. This led to confusion for customers. The solution was to make the parent company name an endorser, and de-emphasize its size, while increasing the size of the product brand name.
When completing the brand strategy framework, keeping the intended use or application in mind is helpful. For instance, if there is no desire to extend the brand into new categories, then the category extension zones are not needed. Similarly, a new brand may not have to address issues of brand architecture. We recommend that the various elements be prioritized and considered, in light of the brand situation and intended applications.
For more examples of brand strategy, visit our resource page, or contact us to start a conversation with the Insight to Action experts.
