The brand stack
How to sync all your brand applications to deliver on your brand vision, mission and promise
Never underestimate the power of templates. Just like defaults in human behavior, in business they give us a set of guidelines as a shortcut to figuring out messy challenges. Here, I provide a template to help you define (or re-define) your brand and a set of applications to execute this definition on.
Definition of a brand includes its vision, mission, promise and its multi-faceted delivery. The template above directs all decisions that, directly or indirectly, affect customers, internal organization, and external partners, including media. This template provides focus and clarity internally and build a brand externally.
Having a brand-driven company is a daily commitment and a necessity. Having a brand-building template guides us in building brands that are known, differentiated and desirable.
Brand vision outlines the future of the company: where do you see your company in 10 years? What is your North Star? What do you need to do today to get where you want to be in a decade? A brand vision needs to be simple and clear (e.g. Patagonia’s brand vision is for our planet to have future). It summarizes a company’s aspirations and the impact that it creates, unites employees, and directs internal decision-making. A brand vision needs to be aspirational, ambitious, and realistic. A clear vision statement is a filter for company’s strategic plans (it answers the question of whether a specific strategic direction or a decision drives you towards or away from your vision). It is also a benchmark and a reference point used to review company performance, set KPIs, and define company’s behavior. (For example, and given its vision, Patagonia became a certified B-corp and its founder gave 98% of the company’s proceeds to a charity combating climate crisis).
Brand mission defines what your company does and what business it is in. For example, Banana Republic is in the business of affordable luxury, so its product quality, pricing, store and website experience and brand communication all convey the positioning of luxury at a great value. Brand mission informs brand positioning and competitive strategy, its business model and growth plan, product assortment strategy, sales targets, and marketing budgets. Since Patagonia’s vision is for our planet to have the future, the business it is in is creating durable clothes that can be repaired. Brand mission is a springboard for annual business goals and strategy of accomplishing them.
Brand promise is literally what a brand promises to deliver to its customers and fans: it can be intangible benefits, like fun, belonging, status signaling, differentiation; or tangible benefits like the fastest delivery, lowest price, best quality. It can also be a combination of the two. Brand promise is best when succinctly stated, as it is a filter for all practical business and brand decisions, and provides a common goal for all functions in the organization. Brand promise unites product, customer experience, marketing and sales.
Read the rest of this analysis on The Sociology of Business.
