9 the

©2009 Conrad, Phillips & Vutech, Inc.

criteria for
brand essence TM
WHAT EVERY PROFESSIONAL SHOULD KNOW ABOUT BRANDING
 PAGE

3 Definitions

Index 7 Intangibles
14 Perception
17 vs. Commodities
24 Touchpoints
27 Responsibility
31 Essence
35 The 9 Criteria
59 Loyalty
68 Advantages

©2009 Conrad, Phillips & Vutech, Inc.

For starters, brands live in your head.

©2009 Conrad, Phillips & Vutech, Inc.

 How you think + feel about
a brand is the brand.

© Kellogg Company
©2009 Conrad, Phillips & Vutech, Inc.
©®TM A brand is not
a name, trademark, logo
package, or product.

©2009 Conrad, Phillips & Vutech, Inc.

 A brand is a
collection of your thoughts + feelings
about your experiences with it.

©2009 Conrad, Phillips & Vutech, Inc.

 Thoughts and feelings
are intangibles.

©2009 Conrad, Phillips & Vutech, Inc.

 As compared to tangibles...
WHICH YOU CAN

seetaste
hearortouch
smell
©2009 Conrad, Phillips & Vutech, Inc.
 Intangibles you just ...

feel

©2009 Conrad, Phillips & Vutech, Inc.

 “What you make people feel is just
as important as what you make.”
~BMW

©2009 Conrad, Phillips & Vutech, Inc.

 Riding a Harley-Davidson
motorcycle
feels liberating.
Sending an important package
via FedEx
feels safe.
Experiencing Disney World
with your children
feels magical.

©2009 Conrad, Phillips & Vutech, Inc.

 every day people make hundreds of decisions based
more on how they feel than on logic.

Think about it -- clothes, cars, restaurants,

entertainment -- business purchases too.

©2009 Conrad, Phillips & Vutech, Inc.

 Examples of tangibles + intangibles
Tangible: Asics Gel-Bandito are lightweight.
Intangible: Asics Gel-Bandito help me run faster.

©2009 Conrad, Phillips & Vutech, Inc.

 a formal definition
A brand is a product, service,
cause or organization with
perceived intangible attributes.

©2009 Conrad, Phillips & Vutech, Inc.

 Intangible attributes must be perceived
Sounds obvious, but if you don’t perceive the intangibles, it’s not a brand.

©2009 Conrad, Phillips & Vutech, Inc.

 Perception of intangibles is in the
eye of the beholder. Depending on
the brand, some see ‘em; some don’t.

©2009 Conrad, Phillips & Vutech, Inc.

 When you don’t perceive an intangible,
it’s a commodity to you.

©2009 Conrad, Phillips & Vutech, Inc.

 FOR EXAMPLE

You say, “tomato.”

I say, “Fox’s Fine Gourmet Ketchup.”

To you, ketchup is a commodity.

To me, there’s a difference

in ketchup brands.

And vice versa, depending

upon the category.
©2009 Conrad, Phillips & Vutech, Inc.
 brand categories
Brand categories people care about most
(among 440 brands surveyed):

Luxury cosmetics
Kids’ breakfast cereals
Wireless handsets
Luxury moisturizing skin care products
Discount retail stores
~Brand Keys, 2009 Loyalty Engagement Index

©2009 Conrad, Phillips & Vutech, Inc.

 commodity categories
Brand categories people care about least
(among 440 brands surveyed):

Banks
Insurance
Soft drinks (regular)
Casual dining restaurants
Bottled water
~Brand Keys, 2009 Loyalty Engagement Index

©2009 Conrad, Phillips & Vutech, Inc.

commodity a product, service, cause or organization
with no perceived intangible attributes.

©2009 Conrad, Phillips & Vutech, Inc.

 On Wall Street, commodities of the same
type are interchangeable with each other.

Soybeans are soybeans.

(Unless you perceive a difference.)

©2009 Conrad, Phillips & Vutech, Inc.

 brand vs commodity
Brands compete on their
intangible attributes.

Commodities compete on
price or convenience.

©2009 Conrad, Phillips & Vutech, Inc.

 How do brands get inside your head?

Exposure Experiences
Through exposure to Through actual experiences
messages about the brand with the brand

©2009 Conrad, Phillips & Vutech, Inc.

 Experiences = Touchpoints
Touchpoint is marketing jargon for a
moment (time and place) when the brand
comes in contact with the audience.

there are lots of them

©2009 Conrad, Phillips & Vutech, Inc.

 Even more than you see here.

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©2009 Conrad, Phillips & Vutech, Inc.

 Who affects these moments
of brand experience?
Every single person in the organization
contributes to shaping the audience’s
experiences with the brand — even if they
don’t come in contact with the audience.

©2009 Conrad, Phillips & Vutech, Inc.

 Likewise, every dollar spent
and every decision made ...
impacts the audience’s experiences
with the brand.

©2009 Conrad, Phillips & Vutech, Inc.

 For this reason, branding
is not solely a marketing function.
It is an organizational function.

©2009 Conrad, Phillips & Vutech, Inc.

 A brand will not be strong unless the
entire organization understands and
embraces branding, starting at the top.

©2009 Conrad, Phillips & Vutech, Inc.

 Every strong brand stands for
something — one differentiating attribute.
Some call it the brand essence.

©2009 Conrad, Phillips & Vutech, Inc.

 soul
heart
mantra
promise
signature strength
Others call it core strength
core attribute
the brand... description
personality
differentiator
experience
connection
persona
life force
uniqueness
individuality
meaning
central nature
proposition
and so on ...
©2009 Conrad, Phillips & Vutech, Inc.
 Don’t worry about the semantics.
It’s the concept that matters.

©2009 Conrad, Phillips & Vutech, Inc.

 The brand essence is the single
intangible attribute that differentiates
the brand from competitive brands as
perceived by the audience.

©2009 Conrad, Phillips & Vutech, Inc.

 9 the

©2009 Conrad, Phillips & Vutech, Inc.

criteria for
brand essence
TM
the criteria for
brand essence TM

1. Unique
The essence of a brand is how it is different
from competitors in the same category.

FOR EXAMPLE

If Apple (and its products) are

friendly and approachable, then
it is claiming that its competitors
(PCs, etc.) are not.

©2009 Conrad, Phillips & Vutech, Inc.

the criteria for
brand essence TM

1. Unique

People make decisions based upon

how things are unique,
not how they
are the same.

©2009 Conrad, Phillips & Vutech, Inc.

the criteria for
brand essence TM

1. Unique
T H I N G S Y O U W I L L N E V E R H E A R S O M E O N E S A Y:

“I picked it because it was exactly like

every other car I test-drove.”
“We bought it because it was exactly like
every other house on the street.”
“I married him because he was exactly like
every other guy I dated.”

©2009 Conrad, Phillips & Vutech, Inc.

the criteria for
brand essence TM

1. Unique

the essence...
gives the audience the primary reason to
choose a brand over competitors’ brands.

©2009 Conrad, Phillips & Vutech, Inc.

the criteria for
brand essence TM

1. Unique

be unique Own a single idea.

©2009 Conrad, Phillips & Vutech, Inc.

the criteria for
brand essence TM

1. Unique
EXAMPLES OF BRAND ESSENCE:

Harley-Davidson = Liberating

3M = Innovative

Visa = Everywhere

Jeep = Adventurous

©2009 Conrad, Phillips & Vutech, Inc.

the criteria for
brand essence TM

1. Unique

Brand positioning is...

the relative differences
between brands as perceived
by the audience.

©2009 Conrad, Phillips & Vutech, Inc.

the criteria for
brand essence TM

1. Unique
E X A M P L E S O F AU TO M OT I V E B R A N D P O S I T I O N S

Toyota Prius = Fuel-efficient

Hyundai = Affordable
Porsche = Sporty
Lexus = Luxury
Lamborghini = Exotic

©2009 Conrad, Phillips & Vutech, Inc.

the criteria for
brand essence TM

2. Intangible
One is no more independent on a
Harley-Davidson motorcycle than
another brand, but somehow one
feels like it.
Tap into what the audience feels.

©2009 Conrad, Phillips & Vutech, Inc.

the criteria for
brand essence TM

3. Single-minded

One word to describe the essence is ideal.

Maybe two. More than two words indicates
that the brand has no focus.
Because a brand (by design) delivers a
unique experience, having no focus makes
for a weak brand.

©2009 Conrad, Phillips & Vutech, Inc.

the criteria for
brand essence TM

3. Single-minded

“A brand becomes stronger ...

when you narrow its focus.”
~Ries & Ries, The 22 Immutable Laws Of Branding

©2009 Conrad, Phillips & Vutech, Inc.

the criteria for
brand essence TM

4. Experiential

The essence captures what the audience

feels during an experience with the brand.
EXAMPLE

“Driving a Volvo
makes me feel that
my family is safe.”

© Volvo Trademark Holding AB

©2009 Conrad, Phillips & Vutech, Inc. and/or Volvo Cars
the criteria for
brand essence TM

5. Meaningful
There is no point in identifying an essence
that is irrelevant to the audience. Essences
that don’t connect are the reason behind
many failed brands. Research it.

©2009 Conrad, Phillips & Vutech, Inc.

the criteria for
brand essence TM

6. Consistently delivered

If the proposed essence is not

consistently experienced
then it isn’t the essence.
EXAMPLE

If magical is Disney’s essence,

then every trip to Disney World
must deliver on that promise.

© Walt Disney Company

©2009 Conrad, Phillips & Vutech, Inc.
the criteria for
brand essence TM

6. Consistently delivered

Consistency = “No Surprises”

~ People seek comfort, stability, and predictability.
~ The success of all chains is based upon
consistency of experience.
(Think McDonald’s.)
~ Consistency of experience is
the basis for brand loyalty.

© McDonald’s Corporation
©2009 Conrad, Phillips & Vutech, Inc.
the criteria for
brand essence TM

6. Consistently delivered

Former Holiday Inn tagline:

“The best surprise is no surprise”

© IHG
©2009 Conrad, Phillips & Vutech, Inc.
the criteria for
brand essence TM

6. Consistently delivered

Maintaining consistency ...

is a major challenge for most
organizations.

Can your organization deliver?

©2009 Conrad, Phillips & Vutech, Inc.

the criteria for
brand essence TM

6. Consistently delivered

“One of the few things

worse than no promise ...
is a broken one.”
~Scott Davis, Brandweek

©2009 Conrad, Phillips & Vutech, Inc.

the criteria for
brand essence TM

7. Authentic

The essence must be credible or the brand

will be rejected. To find out what the audience
believes about your brand, ask them.

(It’s okay for the brand essence to be aspirational, but only

if your audience believes you can deliver on the promise.)

©2009 Conrad, Phillips & Vutech, Inc.

the criteria for
brand essence TM

8. Sustainable

A brand’s essence is baked in.

It doesn’t change.

Ever.

©2009 Conrad, Phillips & Vutech, Inc.

the criteria for
brand essence TM

9. Scalable

Will the essence work for brand

extensions?

Will it work as the brand’s

opportunity grows?

©2009 Conrad, Phillips & Vutech, Inc.

 9 the

©2009 Conrad, Phillips & Vutech, Inc.

criteria for
brand essence
1. Unique
2. Intangible
3. Single-minded
4. Experiential
5. Meaningful
TM

6. Consistently
delivered
7. Authentic
8. Sustainable
9. Scalable