brand core - 7 questions every business must answer

The Brand Core

Copyright: Sonali Brahma 2013

7 questions every business must answer

1. Where am I - What’s my business?

2. Who would want to buy me -My Real TA

3. Who am I up against - My Real Competition

4. What’s my promise - My Brand’s Core/Promise

5. What type am I - My Brand’s Personality

6. Which part of my customer’s mind do I own - My Brand’s Positioning

7. Where am I going - My Brand Goal

Once these answers are in place, the road is clear.

The Powerful 7

Where am I – What’s my business

Example – If I make TVs, is my business‘making TVs’? Or Is it entertainment?

If I am into insurance, is my business ‘sellinginsurance policies’ or am I selling security?

Where am I -What’s my business

Who will buy me – Who’s my TA

Your TA could be:a) New Customers/ Repeat Customersb) Internal/External

For both, you need to know:Their demographics, psychographics andbehavior patterns. Eg: Age/Sex/Living where,workaholics/value family time/lovegadgets/love to collect status symbols/simpleliving, etc.

Who’s my TA? Who will buy me?

If youth is your TA, then ‘youth’ could mean any of the following: • The tweens, teens or the young adults?• Working/non working?• College students?• Young girls only?• Young boys only?• Both young girls and boys?

Example: Saffola is targeted at the educatedwife in the middle age who is concerned abouther husband’s heart –health/cholesterol

Tata Nano – Initially targeted at the Indiancommon man (price conscious) who drives abike and aspires to own a car

Whom is your brand targeted at?

Who’s my real competition

Competition does not mean all makers or sellers of the same productas yours: They could be only from your country They could be makingsomething else other than your product category They may becompanies who are thinking of entering your product area/field

Saying ‘We have no competition’ may not be\true/may be wishfulthinking/incorrect market information

Who’s my real competition?

For Coca Cola: Is it any cold beverage/thirstquencher? Or is it Pepsi.

See ‘Thanda matlab Coca Cola’ …here, the realcompetition is ‘any cold beverage’

Who’s my real competition?

What’s my Brand Promise – Am I keeping it?

Brand promise is what you say to the customerand what is to be delivered. If you are not able to meet the expectations of the customer,your business will either flounder or die. If you are not able todeliver the brand promise you will not be able to meetthe expectations that have been created in thecustomers mind.

What’s my Brand Promise

FedEx declared that it was the only choice “when it absolutely,positively has to get there overnight”—an overt promise thatstill resonates today.

McDonalds delivers on its brand promise: aninexpensive, familiar and consistent meal deliveredquickly in a clean environment. Wherever youhappen to be, the fries are always crisp, the coffeecomes in a convenient take-out cup, and thebathrooms are clean. When people need to take the guess work out of dining

out, McDonalds is there to serve them.

What’s my Brand Promise - Examples

Promises Kept• FedEx - Your package will get there overnight. Guaranteed.• Apple - You can own the coolest, easiest-to-use cutting-edge computers

and electronics• McKinsey & Company - You can hire the best minds in management

consulting

Brand Promises Kept

3 Ways to Make (and Keep) Your PromiseWhat promises are you making to yourcustomers? To motivate customers, a brandpromise must achieve the following threegoals:• It must convey a compelling benefit• It must be authentic & credible• The promise must be kept, every time

How to keep promises?

What type am I – What’s my Brand Personality

Brand personality is the way a brand speaksand behaves.

It means assigning human personality traits/characteristics to abrand so as to achieve differentiation.

Two brands in the same category/field havedifferent personalities. Eg: IBM –older, Apple – younger/cool

Ask yourself if your brand was a car, what kind of car would it be? Why? Getspecific, and define the year, make, model and color. Is it a coupe or sedan? Importor domestic? Convertible? Are you always the safe choice, like Volvo? Or are youaging and conservative, like Chrysler?

What’s my type -Brand’s Personality

• The personality your brand has today could be completely wrong for the audience you serve, the market you’re targeting and/or your goal

• Finding clarity and confidence in your brand’s personality reveals powerful insights into your organization’s internal culture.

• It will help staff understand what the brand is about and how they should speak and behave and dress

• It can help HR determine what they should be looking for in job applicants • It can help project your brand in the way you have defined its personality

Reality Check Why do you need a Brand Personality.

5 Dimensions of Brand Personality

1. Sincerity (down-to-earth, honest, wholesome, cheerful)

2. Excitement (daring, spirited)

3. Competence (reliable, intelligent, successful)

4. Sophistication (upper class, charming)

5. Ruggedness (outdoorsy, tough)

*** Each dimension is in turn measured by a set of traits.

• Down-to-earth = down-to-earth, family-oriented, small-town, genuine, old-fashioned

• Honest = honest, sincere, real• Wholesome = wholesome, original• Cheerful = cheerful, sentimental, friendly

Sincerity

• Daring = daring, trendy, exciting• Spirited = spirited, cool, young• Imaginative = imaginative, unique• Up to date = up to date, independent, contemporary

Excitement

• Reliable = reliable, hard working, secure• Intelligent = intelligent, technical, corporate• Successful = successful, leader, confident

Competence

• Class= Upper class, good looking, glamorous• Charm= Charming, feminine, smooth

Sophistication

• Outdoorsy = outdoorsy, masculine, western• Tough = tough, rugged

Ruggedness

Where am I in my customer’s mind – Brand Positioning

Brand Positioning is an activity of creating a brand offer in sucha manner that it occupies a distinctive place and value in the target customer’smind. Brand positioning must make sure of the following:

• Is it unique/distinctive vs. competitors ? • Is it significant and encouraging to the niche market ? • Is it appropriate to all major geographic markets and businesses ? • Is the proposition validated with unique, appropriate and original products ? • Is it sustainable - can it be delivered constantly across all points of contact with the consumer

? • Is it helpful for organization to achieve its financial goals ? • Is it able to support and boost up the organization ?

What part of my customer’s mind do I own – Positioning

Examples of Positioning – Soaps• Lux SoapBeauty soap of the film stars/ User• Dettol SoapMedicinal soap for the family that fights germs/Use• Santoor Sandal soap for young looking skin /Benefit• DoveNot a soap. A moisturizing beauty bar..Benefit/Competitor• Johnson and JohnsonFor babies/User

Examples of Positioning

• Cadillac – The quality car

• Nano – The common man’s car

• Chevrolet – The American car

• Volvo – The safest engine

• McDonalds – The burger place

• Chivas Regal – Expensive scotch whisky

• Xerox – The copying company

• Polaroid – Instant photos

Where am I going – Brand Objectives

To determine your brand objectives ask yourself the followingquestions:

• What is it that you want your brand to do for your company?• What do you want others to know and say about your products or

services?

Sample objectives may include:• Being recognized by receiving a specific award/s• Picking up a certain number of choice projects• Gaining a specific number of new clients in the next year• Positioning your company as an industry leader in the next year/3 years

Where am I going – Brand Objectives

• The Coca Cola Company Mission‑Our mission is:

• To refresh the world - in mind, body and spirit• To inspire moments of optimism - through our brands and actions• To create value and make a difference everywhere we engage• The Coca Cola Company Vision‑

To achieve our mission, we have developed a set of goals, which we will work with our bottlers to deliver:

• Profit: Maximising return to shareholders, while being mindful of our overall responsibilities

• People: Being a great place to work, where people are inspired to be the best they can be• Portfolio: Bringing to the world a portfolio of beverage brands that anticipate and satisfy

people's desires and needs• Partners: Nurturing a winning network of partners and building mutual loyalty• Planet: Being a responsible global citizen that makes a difference• Productivity: Be a highly effective, lean and fast-moving organisation

Brand Objectives – Guided by Vision and Mission

Thank you!

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