In this article, we explain a brand wheel, provide 6 easy steps to create this powerful tool, and explain why creating a brand is important.
We also give some brand essence examples including Coca Cola, Nike and Apple.
What is a Strategic Brand Wheel?
The key to a brand’s success does not only rely on providing quality goods and services but also on how it defines and presents itself to its consumers.
Brands have different personalities that set them apart from others and this psychological tactic allows a certain brand to connect with consumers through emotions.
During the brand development process, it is important that a brand should clearly define itself.
The brand wheel is a template used during the development process to understand and create a strong brand identity.
It consists of three rings namely:
- Facts and symbols (outer ring)
- Brand personality (middle ring)
- Brand promise or core (inner ring)
The outer ring consists of the external characteristics that define the company which include its attributes and benefits.
Attributes are surface-level facts and information that are all verifiable and objective.
On the other hand, benefits refer to the advantages that your company provides to the consumers’ needs and wishes.
The middle ring focuses more on the symbols that are associated with the company and more in-depth facts about it such as values and brand personality.
Values refer to the logos, colors, and other visual imageries that a company is using to promote a brand.
The brand personality is connected to the consumers’ perception of the brand and the reasons why they’re attracted to the brand.
The inner ring consists of the most important aspect which is the brand essence or brand promise, usually the company’s tagline or slogan that tells what they are offering to consumers.
Why Creating A Brand Is Important?
Branding is not just about creating an eye-catching logo that’s appealing to consumers.
It encompasses everything that makes up a brand including consumer experience and perception.
This is the reason why creating a strong brand identity is essential for a business.
Here are some other reasons why branding is important:
- It promotes and improves recognition.
Consumers are most likely to do business with a brand that they recognize and are familiar with.
A logo is probably the quickest way to identify a brand so it is also important that the brand’s logo is simple and professional-looking yet has a strong impression on consumers.
- It sets a brand apart from the competition.
Having a strong brand will make you stand out from others especially if a brand is in a saturated niche.
Branding allows a company to get ahead of the competition by using a unique selling proposition.
- It inspires and motivates employees.
Good branding provides clear direction for employees to follow in order to achieve their business goals.
It gives employees a sense of purpose and motivates them to become better.
- It builds trust.
If a brand becomes recognized, consumers start to subconsciously trust it.
However, this only happens if a brand is consistent with its strategy and establishes credibility over time.
- It communicates the brand’s character. Branding is the representation of a business and it shows what kind of business it is all about.
It also connects the business to consumers emotionally and gives consumers an idea of what they should expect when they choose the brand.
What Is Brand Essence?
Brand essence is the core strategy of a business.
It also refers to the characteristic that defines a brand.
Usually, this is based on emotions and feelings that the brand’s target audience feels when they experience it.
Brand essence also refers to the combination of a business’s mission, vision, and values that signifies what the company stands for and what its goals are.
This steers the company in the right direction
6 Easy Steps To Create a Brand Essence Wheel
Knowing what your brand essence is vital in understanding your company’s purpose and how you can use it in achieving your business goals and also in understanding your consumers so that adjustments can be made if needed.
A brand essence wheel is a useful tool in determining the core characteristics and values of a brand and creating its identity.
Here are 6 easy steps in creating your own brand essence wheel:
- Identify your brand’s unique characteristics that set it apart from the others
- Determine your target audience
- Identify your brand’s features and benefits that make it different from the competition
- Reflect on how your consumers would feel with these features and benefits
- Based on the data gathered, you are now able to put in your brand’s attributes, benefits, values, and personality in your own brand essence wheel
- Create your brand essence statement that defines your brand’s core values and characteristics.
Brand Essence Examples
Different brands have different brand essences that show their uniqueness and intent to consumers.
Here are some examples of brand essence of popular brands
Nike’s Brand Essence
Nike’s brand essence is “Authentic Athletic Performance” which is a statement that makes its audience feel empowered.
Every time people use Nike products, they give a feeling of achieving their full potential like a well-trained athlete.
Coca Cola’s Brand Essence
Coca-Cola’s brand essence is “Happiness”.
The brand has been in the market for a long time already and yet, people are still drinking and sharing it with family and friends, making it a happy experience.
Apple’s Brand Essence
Apple’s brand essence is “Simplicity and Innovative”.
Apple wants its audience to experience the best and latest technology but still making things simpler for them.
Walt Disney’s Brand Essence
Walt Disney’s brand essence is “Magical”.
Disney lets their audience experience something out of the ordinary and something that is out of this world.
For Disney employees, they are the magicians and their consumers are the audience that experience something magical.
Who Created The Brand Essence Wheel?
The brand essence wheel was developed by the advertising agency Bates Worldwide Agency in 1995.
It was first introduced as Unique Selling Proposition (USP) which advertisers use to identify a single and unique reason for consumers to use their products and services.
It has evolved into more complex forms one of which is the brand essence wheel.
What Is A Brand Assessment?
A brand assessment is a great way to evaluate a brand’s current position in the market and how it is performing in terms of consumer behavior and recognition.
This shows if the brand is still in line with its goals and mission and make necessary changes or reposition the brand if issues arise.
Brand assessment can be internally or externally.
Internal brand assessment involves evaluating current marketing strategies and learning how company employees see the brand, while external brand assessment involves competitive analysis and even prospective consumer analysis.
What Are Attributes Of A Brand?
Brand attributes are the characteristics of a brand.
These are the features and functions that show a brand’s personality and help formulate its overall identity.
The most important attributes a brand should have are the following:
- Relevance
- Consistency
- Proper positioning
- Sustainability
- Credibility
- Uniqueness
How Do You Analyze A Brand?
It is important to evaluate a brand in order to determine if its product offerings are still valuable to consumers and if the brand is still on track with its goals and vision.
If there are problems, there is a possibility that a brand might rebrand in order to adjust to market changes or consumers’ perceptions.
When analyzing a brand, it is important to observe and learn the target audience’s perception of the brand.
What are the needs of consumers and what is their current behavior trend?
Analyzing the competition is also a great way to discover the brand’s position in the market in order to distinguish its strengths and weaknesses.
When all data and information are gathered, the most important thing to do is to obtain insights from them.
This allows the company to determine the brand’s positioning and plan the best course of action that will help in boosting the brand’s identity and recognition in the market.
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