The Power in Purpose When Building Your Brand
- Spring Creek Design
- Mar 13, 2024
- 5 min read
Updated: Feb 14
Ever wondered why some brands soar while others fizzle out? It all comes down to the power of purpose.
Understanding the role of a brand and how it adds value or impacts others is one of the most crucial factors to its success and goes far beyond the idea of generating revenue. Now of course, making money is all part of business and a necessary component to survive, but you'll want to make lasting and impactful impressions if you want your brand to withstand the test of time or be memorable in a sea of competitors. Creating brand recognition and loyalty requires much more than a memorable logo or catchy tagline. It's more about the why. Why does your brand exist and what will you aspire to do? How can you help others solve a problem or provide value to enrich their lives? Who do you want to connect with? What principles are most important in your daily operations? Delving deep into these questions brings much more meaning to what you offer.
Branding and marketing guru, Marty Neumeier, author of Brand Flip says, "We don't want to be sold things, but we love to buy. We don't just want to buy; We join tribes." The psychology behind this belief is that humans are wired to make connections.
So how do you resonate with your audience? Start by laying a solid foundation built on a deep understanding of your brand's purpose, vision, mission, and values. In this article, we'll explore these elemental building blocks of success and how they contribute to a robust brand identity.
Now before we dive in, let's examine a couple of brands you'll most likely know and how their solid core values create meaning for their audience and customers.
Starbucks
The founder of Starbucks, Howard Schultz, took a trip to Italy in 1983 and fell in love with Italian coffee and the rich craft of the perfect espresso. Inspired by the warm ritual of the Italian coffee culture, Schultz returned to the United States and founded what is now the largest coffee company in the world all as a mission to share the emotional connection and joy he experienced on his Italian vacation. The Starbucks brand values include showing up at our best and delivering performance through the lens of humanity, focusing on the elements of craft, courage, results, belonging, and joy.
LEGO
Did you ever play with Legos as a child? If so, what comes to mind? Do you think of imagination, learning, or fun? If so, then you are thinking of exactly what LEGO values as a brand. Founded in 1932 by Ole Kirk Kristiansen, LEGO built it's iconic legacy by understanding the importance of creative play and it's impact on strengthening the mind and imagination. LEGO believes that children are role models and that it is important to inspire and help them develop into critical thinkers and builders, since they will be shaping our world of tomorrow. The best part about LEGOS is that they have a positive impact on the developing mind, and they're also fun! The LEGO brand values are imagination, fun, caring, creativity, learning, and quality.
Laying Your Brand Foundation
Establishing your brand foundation is a critical component in developing your brand as it defines the reason for your brand’s existence, beyond financial gain. It’s basis for you to build your business upon. Just like builders lay a foundation when building a house, it's important to create a strong foundation to grow your brand.
This is where you define your core values and determine the commitments you’ll maintain. It’s about the role you play and the impact you bring to the life of your client or customer. Your brand foundation consists of your brand purpose, vision, mission, and values.
Brand Purpose
Your brand purpose is the entire reason your brand is in business. Again, it's more than "I'm in business to make money." That's a given and besides, are people really going to buy from you if they think that all you care about are profits? It may work initially, but will that keep them returning to your business? Most likely not. Customers need to trust you as an entity that believes in the products or services you offer and the value or expertise you bring.
Identify the role of your brand and the impact it makes.
Why does your brand exist?
What products, services, or information does your brand provide?
Brand Vision
If you could imagine your ideal brand image, what would that look like? How do you see your brand functioning in society? What your your ideals for growth? Remember that a brand that has carefully considered the direction it wants to go in is much more likely to get there.
What are the goals of your brand and how to you envision it operating in the future?
Brand Mission
This is where you bring your brand into action by aligning your daily functions to your purpose and vision. It's knowing how you will show up for your business and how you plan to deliver. When clearly defined and practiced regularly, your commitments will help you develop loyalty with your audience.
What commitments will your brand consistently keep during daily operations?
What value are you offering to your audience?
Brand Values
What brings meaning to your brand? Core values are the morals in which your brand stands on. They affect how your brand behaves and are influenced by what matters most. Core values are relevant to your business, not your clients. They can be outward facing or for internal use only.
Staying true to these values will drive affection towards your brand and can promote brand loyalty and advocacy.
List 3 - 6 important values to your brand.
Let your brand values inspire your attitude towards your brand and the way you conduct business.
Download your FREE Brand Foundation Worksheet!
Use as a template to help you plan your brand.
If you'd like examples of brand purpose, vision, mission, and values statements, check out my ABOUT PAGE!
Next Steps
After you've built your brand foundation, it's time to move on to your next phases in brand strategy and design:
Determine your brand positioning by identifying and studying your audience, analyzing your competitors, and differentiating what makes you the best or unique.
Identify your brand personality and learn how your brand character sets the tone for your messaging and visual identity.
Plan how you will verbally communicate with your audience through messaging, tone of voice, and storytelling.
Design your brand's visual identity with elements like your logo, typography, colors, icons, patterns, illustrations and photography.
Follow along on social media for more branding tips, design inspiration, and motivation
Instagram: @springcreekdesignstudio
Jessica Andrus is a brand strategist, graphic designer, Adobe Certified Professional, and educator who's on a mission to help businesses, entrepreneurs, and creatives build dynamic brands.
Комментарии