What is… Brand Essence?
Brand essence is the core characteristic which defines a brand. It is an intangible attribute that separates your brand from your competition’s brand by your audience.
It is emotional and based on feelings.
A brand essence is intangible for your audience, unique to your brand and, most importantly, reliable.
It is not a commodity, nor is it product related. It is the essential feeling evoked in your audience when they hear your brand name. It combines the attributes and benefits of your brand succinctly. Therefore, your brand essence should be boiled down to one or maybe two words.
Let’s look at some well known brand essence examples:
- Visa = Everywhere
- FedEx = Safe
- Disney = Magical
- REI = Adventurous
A brand essence is meant to be authentic. Likewise, it must be scalable to your overall brand’s growth.
For example, a brand may want to choose the word “personal” because your customer service is direct and individualized. However, examine the essence in relationship to the growth of your brand.
- Will you be able to keep that feeling consistent if you were to increase your client load tenfold?
- Do you want your audience to feel like they are dealing with someone on personal level for all their needs indefinitely?
- Does “personal” relate to your products, both current and future?
- Is this a reliable and sustainable claim?
- Will your brand personality match “personal” as your brand essence?
Make sure your brand management team helps you pick an essence that doesn’t just feel right in the moment but also asks long-term strategic questions to help you define your brand essence for the goals of your company, small business, or nonprofit.
Continue exploring our Branding Dictionary here: https://www.momentacreative.com/news/branding-dictionary
For further investigation of Brand Essence, we recommend:
Brand Essence (article)
https://strategicthinker.wordpress.com/brand-awareness-differentiation-framework/
Discovering your Brand Essence (article)
https://www.brandingstrategyinsider.com/2012/04/discovering-your-brand-essence
LinkedIn: Brand Essence (gallery of articles)
https://www.linkedin.com/topic/brand-essence
Jamie Rose is partner & COO of Momenta Creative. We nicknamed Jamie the “Fun Machine” at the office because of her infectious laugh and unending energy. Don’t let the sparkling personality fool you. Her sharp, plugged-in approach to communications is what landed her previous positions with companies like The New York Times and The Global Fund, and what makes her indispensable to our clients today.