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Chapter 3

CREATE A BRAND VISION

Customers must recognize that you stand for something. —Howard Schultz, Starbucks

Yogi Berra, the fabled Yankee baseball player and manager, was said to have pointed out, “If you don’t know where you are going, you’ll end up somewhere else.” That is so true about brands; you need to know where they are to end up.

Your brand needs to have a brand vision: an articulated description of the aspirational image for the brand; what you want the brand to stand for in the eyes of customers and other relevant groups like employees and partners. Brand vision (sometimes labeled brand identity or brand values or brand pillars) ultimately drives the brand-building component of the marketing program and greatly influences the rest. It should be one of the centerpieces of the strategic planning process. In prior books, I labeled it brand identity, but brand vision captures the strategic, aspirational nature of the concept and avoids confusion that is introduced because, for some, identity refers to the graphic design surrounding the brand.

When the brand vision clicks—is spot on—it will reflect and support the business strategy, differentiate from competitors, resonate with customers, energize and inspire the employees and partners, and precipitate a gush of ideas for marketing programs. When absent or superficial, the brand will drift aimlessly and marketing programs are likely to be inconsistent and ineffective.

The brand vision model is one structural framework for the development of a brand vision with a point of view that distinguishes it from others in several ways.¹

First, a brand is more than a three-word phrase; it may be based on six to twelve vision elements. Most brands cannot be defined by a single thought or phrase, and the quest to find this magic brand concept can be fruitless or, worse, can leave the brand with an incomplete vision missing some relevant brand vision elements. The vision elements are prioritized into the two to five that are the most compelling and differentiating, termed the “core vision elements,” while the others are labeled “extended vision elements.” The core elements will reflect the value propositions going forward and drive the brand-building programs and initiatives.

Second, the extended vision elements provide a useful role. They add texture to the brand vision, allowing most strategists to make better judgments as to whether a program is “on brand.” The extended vision affords a home for important aspects of the brand, such as a brand personality, that may not merit being a core vision element, and for elements, such as high quality, that are crucial for success but may not be a basis for differentiation. Such elements can and should influence branding programs. Too often during the process of creating a brand vision, a person’s nominee for an aspiration brand association is dismissed because it could not be a centerpiece of the brand. When such an idea can be placed in the extended vision, the discussion can go forward. An extended vision element sometimes evolves into a core element, and without staying visible throughout the process that would not happen.

Third, the brand vision model is not a “one size fits all, fill in the box” model with pre-specified dimensions, where all brands in all contexts need to fill in each box even if the box does not apply to them. Nor are brands excluded from using a dimension that lacks a “box.” Rather, the dimensions are selected that are relevant for the context at hand. And contexts vary. Organizational values and programs are likely to be important for service and BtoB firms but not for consumer package goods. Innovation is likely to be important for high-tech brands but less so for some packaged goods brands. Personality is often more important for durables and less so for corporate brands. The dimensions that are employed will be a function of the marketplace, the strategy, the competition, the customers, the organization, and the brand.

Fourth, the brand vision is aspirational and can differ from the current image. It is the associations the brand needs to have going forward, given its current and future business strategy. Too often a brand executive feels constrained and uncomfortable going beyond what the brand currently has permission to do. Yet most brands need to improve on some dimensions to compete, and add new dimensions in order to create new growth platforms. A brand that has plans to extend to a new category, for example, will probably need to go beyond the current image.

Fifth, the brand essence represents a central theme of the brand vision and is optional. When the right brand essence is found, it can be magic in terms of internal communication, inspiration to employees and partners, and guiding programs. Consider “Transforming Futures,” the brand essence of the London School of Business, “Ideas for Life” for Panasonic, or “Family Magic” for Disneyland. In each case, the essence provides an umbrella over what the brand aspires to do. The essence should always be sought. However, there are times in which it actually gets in the way and is better omitted. One BtoB brand, Mobil (now ExxonMobil), had leadership, partnership, and trust as the core brand elements. Forcing an essence on this brand would likely be awkward. If the essence does not fit or is not compelling, it will soak up all the energy in the room. In these cases, the core vision elements are better brand drivers.

Sixth, the brand position is a short-term communication guide that often expresses what will be communicated to what target audience with what logic. The current positioning often emphasizes the brand vision elements that will appeal and are now credible and deliverable. As organizational capabilities and programs emerge or as markets change, the positioning message might evolve or change. The centerpiece of the position is often a tagline communicated externally, that need not and usually does not correspond to the brand essence, which is an internally communicated concept.

THE PROCESS

The brand vision development process starts with context and strategy. An in-depth analysis of customer segments, competitors, market trends, environmental forces, the current brand strengths and weaknesses, and the business strategy going forward is required background. The business strategy, which includes the product-market investment plan, the value propositions, the assets and skills that will support, and the functional plan, is necessary because the brand strategy is both driven by and an enabler of the business strategy. If the business strategy is vague or nonexistent, it often will have to be developed or articulated as part of the brand vision development.

The second step is to identify all aspirational associations. These items, which are often from fifty to a hundred in quantity, are then grouped, and each group is given a label. This grouping and labeling aspect is crucial and difficult. It can take weeks to get the right grouping and find just the right set of labels.

Associations can take many forms including attributes, functional benefits, applications, user imagery, brand personality, organizational programs and values, and self-expressive, emotional, or social benefits. They should each resonate with customers, really matter to them, and reflect and support the business strategy going forward.

Associations should also provide a point of differentiation that supports the value proposition or represent a point of parity. Although gaining differentiation, hopefully with some “must haves,” is important, achieving parity on a key dimension for which a competitor has a meaningful advantage can be decisive in gaining relevance and market success. The parity goal is to be perceived as “good enough” so that customers do not exclude your brand from consideration. In Chapter 15, gaining parity is shown to be one way to counter a relevance threat posed by being inadequate on a dimension.

A vision should be inspiring to the firm’s employees and partners. It should make them care. Chapter 5, on organizational values, shows how a higher purpose can help, and Chapter 14, on internal branding, discusses how stories can bring a higher purpose to life. Additionally, an exceptional brand vision will precipitate brand-building ideas; in fact, they should just spill out. A vision in which brand-building programs are not apparent needs more work.

Ajax, for example, is a global service company created from a set of a half-dozen acquisitions, each of which continued to operate somewhat autonomously. It was becoming clear, though, that customers preferred a single-solution firm with broad capabilities. The new Ajax strategy was to orient its service to broad customer solutions and to get its operating units to work together seamlessly. The strategy represented a significant change in culture and operations. With respect to the brand vision, the elements “Partner with Customers,” “Customized Solutions,” “Collaborative,” and “Close to Customers” were clustered and given the name Team Solutions, which became one of eight vision elements as shown in Figure 2. The brand goal was to provide a face to customers that matched this new strategy.

The third step is to prioritize the brand vision elements. The most important and potentially most impactful, the core vision elements, will be the primary drivers of the brand-building programs. For Ajax, the core vision included the “Spirit of Excellence,” “Technology That Fits,” as well as “Team Solutions.” The remaining five vision elements make up the extended vision.

THE BERKELEY-HAAS SCHOOL OF BUSINESS BRAND VISION

The Berkeley-Haas School of Business created a brand vision that stimulated extensive changes in the school, helping them to refine the student body, the faculty, the research programs, and the curriculum. The four core brand vision elements are:²

• Question the Status Quo. “We lead by championing bold ideas, taking intelligent risks, and accepting sensible failures. This means speaking our minds even while it challenges convention. We thrive at the world’s epicenter of innovation.” Captures the aspiration of big ideas and the vitality of the innovation process.

• Confidence without Attitude. “We made decisions based on evidence and analysis, giving us the confidence to act without arrogance. We lead through trust and collaboration.” Highly differentiating.

• Students Always. “We are a community designed for curiosity and the lifelong pursuit of personal and intellectual growth. This is not a place for those who feel they have learned all they need to learn.” Makes Berkeley-Haas relevant to alumni and executive programs.

• Beyond Yourself. “We shape our world by leading ethically and responsibly. As stewards of our enterprises, we take the longer view in our decisions and actions. This often means putting larger interests above our own.” Describes a higher purpose.

The essence, which nicely captures the four core elements, is “We develop leaders who redefine how we do business.” A different take on innovation and leadership, it aspires to redefine rather than simply refine the business.

The fourth step is to create a brand essence, a single thought that reflects the core of the brand vision. For Ajax, “Commitment to Excellence—Anytime, Anywhere, Whatever It Takes,” as shown in Figure 2, was a punchy essence that captured for them their core identity.

The final step is the brand position, The brand position for Ajax involved a difficult decision around aspirational associations. Should Ajax position around team solutions even though the firm could not yet deliver? Being ahead of what is being delivered could serve to motivate the employees by signaling that the future business strategy depends on being able to deliver behind the aspirational promise. However, the more conservative option is to delay putting an aspirational association out as part of the positioning effort until it is credible, and until the firm has developed the ability to deliver on the promise…much safer to instead emphasize the other two core vision elements.

The Ajax Brand Vision

Figure 2

ADAPTING THE VISION

Having the same brand vision in all contexts has enormous advantages in coordinating brand efforts across product categories and markets, scaling brand-building programs, and gaining internal clarity for the brand. However, the goal should be strong brands everywhere, not the same brand everywhere, and adaptation is often helpful and sometimes necessary.

Brands often span products and markets that may represent important differences such as in a brand’s market share position (VW is dominant in Germany but not in the UK), brand image (some brands are premium in one product or country and have a value image in another), customer motivations (P&G’s Olay found that in India people wanted skin that was lighter looking rather that younger looking), distribution channels (ice cream is not sold in bulk in some countries but only on a stick or other single serving form), local heritage (cultural differences between France and Germany matter for some products), and competitor positions (a desirable position, such as being the chocolate that contains a glass of milk, might be preempted). If the differences warrant, the brand identity and/or position should be adapted.

The challenge is to allow adaptation without the process leading to anarchy, inconsistency, and uncoordinated marketing programs. The brand vision model, because of its richness and flexibility, is well suited to several adaptation strategies. The core elements can be selectively highlighted, interpreted differently, or augmented.

Emphasizing Different Elements of the Brand Vision

A brand that has a core vision of two to five items can selectively draw from this list to maximize its impact on the silo market. A major financial services company was developing a loan program eventually to be used in many of the countries in which they operated. The brand vision included “easy to work with,” “bias to yes,” “flexibility,” and “speed.” Qualitative research followed up with a quantitative concept test in three representative countries showed that the markets reacted very differently. In the United States, “easy to work with” and “bias to yes” were the most effective appeals. In an Eastern European country, “easy to work with” and “speed” were the most impactful while in a developed Asian country “flexible,” “easy to work with,” and “speed” were the winners. So countries could dial up different aspects of the vision even though the vision was the same.

Spinning the Brand Story for the Local Market

The same brand vision can be applied across organizational silos, but elements of it could be interpreted differently in different markets. A hotel’s friendly, interactive style may look different in different countries. Or social responsibility could take on water conservation in one country and worker conditions in another. Or the innovation story by an appliance firm could focus on affordable, compact appliances in emerging markets and on computer-aided features for a more advanced market.

ChevronTexaco has a core brand vision that consists of four values—clean, safe, reliable, and high quality. The country and regional markets and the product groups hold workshops to adapt that brand vision to their context. One mechanism is to interpret the core elements in their marketplace. So what is quality in the context of a convenience store? Or in a lube business? As a result, the silo units get a degree of flexibility but within the confines of the overall brand strategy.

Augment with Additional Vision Elements

Another way to adapt is to add a vision element to the master brand vision in the silo context that will be relevant and even compelling but not inconsistent with the global brand.

ChevronTexaco, in addition to allowing the silos to interpret the brand vision elements, also allows the country or product silos to add one vision element to the four element already in the core vision. So the lube business could add “performance” and the Asian group could add “respectfully helpful.” The result is a greater ability to link with the silo customer. In part, because the addition is made in the context of the brand strategy workshop, there is little chance that any element would be added that would be inconsistent with the brand.

The added association such as an attribute, benefit, or personality should be valued by the silo organization but not by the “rest of the world.” One energy company had a well-defined brand that worked throughout the world. However, in a South American country, customers were used to being cheated at the pump and getting less than they paid for. An honest pump was a believable and relevant point of differentiation. What was added to the brand promise in that country was in no way inconsistent with the global brand promise but, rather, reinforced aspects of it such as trust.

With a country spanning silos, the brand could add a local or country flavor by infusing associations that connect with the culture and heritage of the country. A brand in the French market, for example, could use a local sponsorship of an arts program to link to the France culture. There can be a tension between being local and global but being both is very doable. Sony has long had the objective of being three things in each market—global, Japanese, and local— the best of all worlds.

STRATEGIC IMPERATIVES VS. PROOF POINTS

The brand vision implies a promise to customers and a commitment by the organization. It cannot be an exercise in wishful thinking but, rather, needs to have substance behind it. Every brand vision element should ultimately have proof points, capabilities, and programs in place that enable the organization to deliver the promise of each brand vision element and its associated value proposition. Proof points can be visible or behind the scenes. The visible proof points behind Nordstrom’s claim of outstanding service are its return policy and its empowered staff. The employee compensation system, together with hiring and training programs, are proof points the customer doesn’t see.

When proof points are weak or missing, a strategic imperative is needed. A strategic imperative is a strategic investment in an asset, skill, people, or program that is essential if the customer promise is to be delivered. Delivering on a strategic imperative might require significant investment or a change in culture.

Consider the following. For a regional bank brand that aspires to have a comprehensive customer relationship, a strategic imperative might be to equip each customer contact person with access to all of the customer’s accounts with the bank. For a premium audio equipment brand that aspires to be a technological leader, strategic imperatives might include an expanded R&D program and improved manufacturing quality. For a value subbrand for a household cleaning product that wants to have a price advantage, a strategic imperative might be to develop a cost culture.

The strategic imperative represents a reality check, because it makes the critical “must do” investments visible and thus stimulates an assessment as to the feasibility of the brand strategy. Are the investment resources available? Is the commitment from the organization really there? Is the organization capable of responding to the strategic imperative? If the answer to any of these questions is no, then the organization is unable or unwilling to deliver behind the brand promise. The promise will then become an empty advertising slogan that at best will be a waste of resources and at worst create a brand liability instead of a brand asset.

For example, if the regional bank is not willing to invest the tens of millions of dollars necessary to create the database needed to allow appropriate customer interaction, then the relationship bank concept will need to be rethought. If the audio components firm is not willing to create innovative products and improve manufacturing quality, a high-end brand may be doomed. If the household cleaning product manufacturer is not willing or able to create a subunit with a real cost culture, then the value market may be a recipe for failure.

THE BOTTOM LINE

There needs to be a brand vision to provide direction, inspiration, and justification to the brand-building effort. The brand-vision model is multidimensional, has core and extended elements, includes an optional essence, is tailored to the brand’s context, is aspirational, and can be adapted to different product markets. A key part of the process of developing a brand vision is to create labels for clusters of aspirational image elements. Identifying strategic imperatives can distinguish “wishful thinking” from realistic aspirations. The next six chapters discuss concepts that can be called on to populate a brand vision.