There has been a fair amount of Linked In discussion about the ‘brand model’ (platforms, onions, that kind of rhubarb….) and whether these are over-complicating the field of brand strategy – and doing our industry few favours with clients.
Perhaps there is truth in this, depending on the agency/consultant, the sector and the client. How we sell in the strategy process and value of a brand model is really important. By ‘brand model’ I mean the framework that summarises the intended market positioning and headline beliefs and messages for a company or brand. There are certainly versions that can complicate and in my experience it is those that offer too many layers of positioning, promise, purpose, proposition (and all other manner of P components). Too complicated and for most organisations totally unnecessary. And yet – I do believe that a brand model can be exactly the required deliverable from a strategy brief and what those of us who get in to this stuff should be working towards for our clients. This is just my view on why:
- Discussing what type of model will bring distinctiveness to a brand is a great start point for kicking off any project. Working with the client to nail who this strategy is for, how they engage with the products/services, how we go out and grab them…these are the things that indicate which components of a brand model will be most valuable and here is where we can start to advise.
- A model is just the start, from which great things need to be built. A template. Without something ‘on paper’, how can a business prioritise and communicate messages, engage people in a core idea, brief suppliers?
- It’s the one-page test. If a brand’s positioning cannot be summarised on a page, it’s not going to land, internally or externally. The model is there to do just that.
- A brand requires codified words as its guiding star – these words need to ladder up and down and make sense as a coherent story. The model is the platform which allows for that sense check. It should draw from audience insight and need and an identified ‘market gap’, then bring that together to clearly summarise the value-add for a business/brand.
- A client often needs to go from a strategy presentation to brief others internally, without the ability (or desire) to take them through the full whammy of the deck. The model is a tool to help with this.
- The brand model is the start of implementation. We should be indicating which of the model components will stay internal and which will be tools for the outside world. So the model is not just about the ‘strategy process’ but the start point and guideline for execution. Without which, strategy is pointless.
The brand model is predominantly an internal tool, other than briefing 3rd parties who will likely fall under the marketing/communications umbrella. Staff may see it all. Other audiences will likely never see it, other than one or possibly two elements which have been created for external comms. The rest is for Marketing/Brand or HR, depending on workstream.
Just a little recognition for the brand model therefore. Introduced and managed in the right way, they are there to clarify and simplify, not complicate.
