10 steps to build a brand from scratch

This article can only share with you "how to do it" and "what to do" to build a brand from scratch. The specific "how to do it" needs to be adapted to local conditions according to different companies and brands, and it is impossible to copy and use it in an article. In fact, what is more important is the accumulation and creation techniques of brand operators.

A solid brand-building framework

#1 Brand Purpose

#2 Brand Vision

#3 Brand Mission

#4Brand Values

#5 Brand Positioning

#6 Brand Personality

#7 Brand language and tone of voice

#8 Brand Message

#9 Brand Identity

#10Brand Expression

In this series, I’ll share 10 essential branding building blocks you need to know when building your brand. By using these modules in the process of building your brand, you can establish a strong brand framework to support your business growth. This issue will share the first three modules, which are also words that market novices often see and easily confuse with concepts.

Summary of this issue:

Brand Purpose: Why do you exist?

Brand Vision: What kind of future do you want to create?

Brand Mission: How do you create the future you want?

#1 | Brand Purpose

From some mature and successful descriptions we can also see that brand purpose refers to the meaning and purpose of the brand's existence. For example, Tesla’s brand mission is: “Accelerating the world’s transition to sustainable energy.” Brand purpose goes beyond traditional business purposes (such as profit, etc.) and takes more human factors into consideration, and is built on a higher level of meaning. In order to achieve brand purpose, you first need to look at who the brand serves or provides products for. Understand your audience, as you’ll see in step five, brand positioning – don’t get stuck on the demographics of your target audience, try to gain insight into their psychographics and behavioral patterns. When you know what they think, their likes and dislikes, their shared concerns, you can determine how they see the world and themselves, and what they want to do to make that better.

People generally want to create a better and more meaningful life and work hard to achieve this goal. In this process, a sense of purpose has a huge impact on our motivation and creativity, and brands are a projection of this behavior. When your audience can resonate with what your brand stands for, they are more likely to see themselves in it, and as they develop a relationship with you, they can project greater values ​​of themselves through your brand. The steady growth of a brand requires a solid foundation, and sharing a common goal with the audience is a perfect starting point. When the brand purpose is to create a better world (such as Tesla’s brand purpose), this higher-level resonance will become a solid emotional bond between consumers and brands.

TOM’s is an online shoe company, and what sets them apart from other shoe companies is their brand purpose. They exist to improve lives (both those of consumers and those in need). For every pair of shoes a customer buys, TOM's helps someone in need. Not only does this make consumers feel good about their money, but everyone who works for TOM's feels like the work they do changes the world.

#1 | A guide to brand purpose in action — the dos and don’ts

What needs to be noted when setting a brand purpose is that it should not be a far-fetched ideology or an unrealistic wish.

- want-

1. Consider whether the products and services provided by the company can solve the unmet needs of the brand’s target audience (as the saying goes, don’t take on a job that’s too complicated if you don’t have the right tools);

2. Identify the problem your brand solves and thereby evokes an emotional connection from your audience’s perspective;

3. Identify how the brand can contribute, even in a small way, to reducing a problem in the world;

4. Can the problems that the brand solves have an impact on the lives of the audience, and how?

5. What positive impact will you have on the world in delivering your solution to as many users as possible?

6. Express this positive impact (through text, products, services, marketing methods, etc., and maintain consistency).

-don't want-

1. Set a purpose that your product or service cannot solve;

2. Seek to copy other brands’ positions;

3. Strongly link purpose and financial goals.

Let me introduce you to a tool for defining brand purpose: the butterfly diagram.

It was created by Robert Jones. For specific usage instructions, you can enter the keyword "brand purpose" in the background dialog box of the official account to request a video tutorial.

#2 | Brand Vision

Brand vision is what kind of future you want to create. It projects the brand into the future and paints a picture of that future. So, where do you want your business to be in 10 years, and what will your brand look like? How many employees and customers will there be? How do your customers perceive your brand and how does it impact their lives?

The benefit of having a brand vision is that it creates a stronger sense of direction and influences the brand's actions. The brand vision should challenge the possibilities of the business while inspiring employees and leaders to work towards future brand development. The vision should be big enough to stimulate inspiration and enthusiasm, but not so big that it is out of reach for employees. There is no point in building a vision that no one thinks is achievable.

Microsoft's vision is to put a computer on every desktop in every home. The vision was big enough to inspire a transformation, but not so big that the team thought it was unattainable.

#2 | A guide to brand vision in action — the dos and don’ts

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1. The brand vision should be based on the brand purpose and visualize the future of the business (5, 10, 20 years);

2. What does the vision look like? (How many employees? How many customers? How do customers view the brand? Record as many details as possible);

3. Articulate this vision into a text statement.

- don't want -

1. Don’t create a vision that is so far-fetched that it is unbelievable.

2. Don’t stifle your possibilities, set a challenging vision;

3. Don’t copy other brands’ vision.

#3 | Brand Mission

A brand mission is a statement of your brand’s purpose and vision. It’s a promise to impact the lives of the people you serve and deliver on your promises as you move forward. If brand purpose is the “why” of your business and vision is the “where” you’re going, then brand mission is the “how”. How do we realize the future of brands? This forces us to ask the question “What do we need to commit to?” If the purpose of your brand is to make a group of people feel a certain way, what do you need to promise in order for them to feel that way? In other words, what are you committed to doing? A brand mission statement is about action. It is this courage to commit that inspires the brand to get closer to its vision every day.

Starbucks’ mission statement provides a commitment to action through its brand purpose, which guides the way Starbucks does business every day: “To inspire and nurture the human spirit, every person, every cup, every community.”

#3 | An Action Guide to Defining Your Brand’s Mission — Dos and Don’ts

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1. List short-term and long-term commitments. For example, humanized services, product quality, transition to green energy, etc.;

2. Make an irreversible commitment that satisfies the customer. For example, "always complete on time", "always guarantee price advantage", etc.

3. It is best to include a better and more advanced meaning in your commitment, such as "creating advanced thinking tools for mankind and contributing to the world";

4. Clearly express your intentions and outline your commitment to your customers.

- don't want -

1. Don’t create a long list of irresponsible ideal outcomes;

2. Don’t list anything that might lead to breaking your promise;

3. Don’t make your mission statement so vague that it cannot be understood or acted upon.

#4 | Brand Values

Brand values ​​are the brand's rules of conduct and the ethical standards for doing business. If a brand’s mission establishes the overall commitment to achieving its future vision, then values ​​are the behavioral commitments in daily activities.

Values ​​are common principles of behavior both inside and outside an enterprise and should be consistent with its purpose, vision and mission. Core values ​​need to be communicated frequently within the company to ensure that everyone is on the same page and penetrate into everyone's subconscious mind. For example, what standards should I use to develop products, formulate marketing plans, establish cross-border collaborations, and use what media to convey what information? etc.

The value of "values" lies not in words, but in actions.

If we want our friends to know what our values ​​are, it is definitely not because we tell them, but because we let them know through our actions and behaviors over time. So, too, does the branding work.

When setting your brand values, it’s important to:

True brand values ​​should be related to the commanding heights of the product category and wisely use a part of human nature to help us do business.

At the same time, brand values ​​are usually not presented directly to consumers, but interpreted through products, brand communication, activities, etc., so that consumers can feel the inner proposition. For example, we can only see “JUST DO IT.” in Nike’s advertisements. What we can’t see is the brand values ​​behind it: “No matter what, fairness and justice will prevail in the end.” This is the truly beautiful spirit of sports.

#4 | An Action Guide to Defining Your Brand’s Values ​​— Dos and Don’ts

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1. List your brand purpose and ensure it is consistent with your values;

2. Have broad tolerance. When refining and planning brand value, we must fully consider foresight and tolerance, and lay a pipeline for brand extension in advance. Otherwise, if you find that your values ​​lack the necessary tolerance when you want to expand, you will have to make drastic changes, which means that a large part of the huge brand building costs you paid in the past will be wasted.

3. Match values ​​with corporate resource capabilities. Values ​​must not only be reflected through communication, but also be delivered to consumers continuously and consistently through products and services so that consumers can truly identify with the value proposition. Otherwise, values ​​become empty concepts, and the company's products need the support of corresponding resources and capabilities to ensure that products and services meet the requirements of the value proposition. Therefore, in the process of refinement, whether the enterprise's resource capabilities can support values ​​must be taken as an important criterion.

4. Prioritize the three values ​​you want to represent your brand.

5. Form these statements into short, unique, actionable sentences.

- don't want-

1. Create a value that is difficult to commit to;

2. Using vague and general terms that lack clear actions, such as “integrity” or “honesty”;

3. Refer to other brands.

#5 | Brand Positioning

Your brand’s position in the market depends on who your audience is, who your competitors are, and what your differentiators are. When you understand more about who your audience is, their likes and dislikes, their behaviors, and more importantly, the problems they need solved, you can start to implement the best actions to attract them.

Brand positioning is a choice. Choosing the differentiated characteristics of a brand and using marketing strategies to encourage consumers to remember the brand is the core of the brand.

Brand positioning is a complex and systematic subject. It is impossible to teach you how to do brand positioning in just a few words in this article, so it is also recommended to read relevant classic books to supplement your knowledge. Here I would like to introduce to you a simple and easy-to-understand way of brand positioning: establish brand positioning through three levels: product positioning, market positioning, and communication positioning. These three levels actually correspond to the ABC elements of psychology, namely emotion, behavior, and cognition.

1. Product positioning: Find out the differentiated features of the product that are different from similar products on the market. By using product categories and differentiated features, we can help consumers build a foundation of brand awareness and quickly classify products. Corresponds to cognition in psychology;

2. Market positioning: the purpose of the brand product and the reasons why consumers are willing to consume it. When we make a purchase, there are cognitive factors behind it, which may be high CP value, good quality, etc. Cognition will affect behavior, and behavior will also affect cognition. Corresponding to Behavior in psychology;

3. Communication positioning: the psychological significance of brand products and the psychological factors behind the use of products. If consumers continue to buy products of a specific brand and demonstrate their loyalty to the brand, it means that there is an emotional connection between consumers and the brand behind their purchasing behavior, such as identification with the brand's values ​​and being moved by the brand's story. Corresponding to the emotion Affection in psychology.

Regarding brand positioning tools, you can enter the keyword "brand positioning" in the background dialog box of the official account to request tool usage instructions and cases.

#5 | An action guide to defining your brand positioning — the dos and don’ts

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1. Define a clear buyer persona for your “perfect customer”

2. Find common characteristics, behaviors and problems among customers;

3. Study the strengths and weaknesses of competitors and identify opportunity markets;

4. If there is no obvious opportunity, see if there is anything you can do better to attract the customer's attention.

- don't want -

1. Try to copy your competitors.

2. Using differentiators that don’t benefit your audience.

3. Give the market more of the same without any improvements.

#6 | Brand Personality

Your brand personality should reflect who your audience is, what appeals to them, and where you want your brand to sit in the market.

First of all, your brand must be attractive so that your audience is interested in understanding the substance of your purpose, vision, mission and values.

A product that cannot be identified as a brand is never a brand

Principles for setting and shaping brand personality:

1. The best basis for designing brand personality is to formulate it based on the spirit of brand proposition;

2. Plan and formulate based on consumer relationships that are beneficial to the business;

3. To shape a brand personality, you need patience and perseverance to ensure that the brand personality is truly embedded in consumers’ consciousness.

Nike formulated a "stubborn and upright personality" based on its brand proposition, conveying a firm tone in Chinese characters and a bright and distinctive style visually.

PX Supermarket has shaped its brand personality of "honest people" and its consumers as "smart people", establishing a brand-consumer relationship that is conducive to business development.

Regarding tools for brand personality, you can enter the keyword "brand personality" in the background dialog box of the official account to request the tools and how to use them.

#7 | Brand Language and Tone

Your brand language and tone of voice are an extension of your brand personality and therefore depend on who your audience is. Language and tone have always been important, but in today’s content-driven age, its importance is amplified. As a human being, we may use different tones and language to different people, for example, to your parents and to your best friend. If you invert your communication style and speak to your best friend like you would to your parents, you will most likely not resonate with them.

If as a brand you want to appeal to male skateboarders aged 18-24, then the language you use will be different if your audience is female foodies aged 35-50.

At its core, branding is all about creating connections and being remembered. One of the best ways to achieve both is to resonate with who your audience is, not on a demographic level, but on an individual behavioral level. How do they talk? Where do they come from? Do they have a particular accent? Do they use a specific set of languages? etc. When it comes to resonance, we must always trace back to who we want to resonate with, and what attracts them? There are no strict rules, you need to be flexible, but always remember that it must be consistent with your brand values ​​and not violate them.

#7 | A guide to defining your brand’s language and tone — the dos and don’ts

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1. Start with the brand personality and ask, “What would this person say?” “What language and tone would they use?”

2. Use the audience personas projected in the "brand personality" and gain insight into the appropriate language;

3. Look at the fan conversations of your competitors on social media and look for common traits.

- don't want -

1. Use language or tone that may be offensive to the wider public;

2. Try to copy any of your competitors;

3. Over-expression and deliberate imitation.

#8 | Brand Message

When you understand your brand’s audience, positioning, and personality, you have what you need to create an effective core message, which is ultimately the differentiator. The core message must ensure that it remains "one thing" in the minds of your audience. It must not be felt as three or five things. This one thing is your differentiating factor, and your core message needs to be built around it.

Whether it is on the Internet, in materials, or in interactions, although the way of dialogue may be different, it may be one-way, two-way, written, oral, visual, thematic, etc., the core message you convey must remain unchanged. This is why there are often people who are good at operating new media such as Douyin and Xiaohongshu, but are unable to build a strong brand. This is because these media are just communication channels that are constantly changing, but the core information of the brand remains unchanged. When there is no strong brand strategy capability, the information conveyed by the brand will go with the changes in media channels, and naturally it will be impossible to establish a clear brand.

The core message doesn’t have to be to repeat the text message in all forms of communication (that would be annoying). It can adapt to the environment and become the potential information of the environment.

For example, if your core message is “commitment to open and transparent communication,” then you don’t need to tell your target audience, you just need to show it openly and transparently so that people can feel it. At the same time, having a concise and memorable slogan is helpful to evoke people's memory of the brand, which can be made from the core information to create a concise and memorable slogan.

The core message should be short enough for internal staff to remember, but long enough to make an impact. It can be expressed in many different forms, but it must make your audience understand what you want them to remember.

Mengniu’s Truensu should be a case worth learning in the expression and use of core information in recent years. “Better” has always been the brand concept advocated by Truensu. With the development of the times and the upgrading of consumption, the core of "better" is also constantly upgrading. Mengniu is also constantly interpreting, performing and conveying this core information from the product and communication ends. The product's dream cap has been upgraded to bring consumers a freer and more diversified drinking experience; the brand uses spokespersons from different groups, each of whom has different life conditions and needs, but no matter which stage they are in, they can find a "better" quality life through Telunsu; on the communication side, whether it is the sponsorship of "Super Vocal" or "Longing for Life", Telunsu uses the power of celebrities and programs to convey the common concept of pursuing a better self and a higher quality of life, accurately reaching the target audience.

#8 | A guide to defining your brand’s core message — the dos and don’ts

- want-

1. Focus on your audience’s problems and your brand’s differentiators.

2. Define what your brand does, who it is for, why it is different and what the benefits are to your audience;

3. Distill it into concise information that is easy to communicate and remember;

4. Communicate this core information frequently within the company;

- don't want-

1. Create a message that is too complex and difficult to remember.

2. Forgetting to communicate these benefits to your target audience.

3. Forgetting to apply this basic information in your branding materials.

#9 | Brand Identity

There are still many business owners today who think that designing a perfect logo means having a brand, but as we have seen in these articles, branding is a complex system project, and even the logo is only part of the brand identification system. The task of a brand identity system is to trigger the target audience's memory of the brand experience.

The value created by a brand’s look and feel, which includes logos, brand colors, fonts, image style and graphic elements, is important. When these are projected into a broad visual network, each element can lead to the audience’s recall of the brand.

A logo on its own has little impact because it is a single visual representation and even if it is truly distinctive, the chances of it being remembered are much smaller. A strong brand identity system brings the individual elements of a brand together, relative to working together as a cohesive team. As consumers, we can easily connect visual dots and when we see familiar elements we can quickly make connections that resonate and appeal to a specific audience.

In addition to the visual identity system, sound identity is also an indispensable element of the brand. Adding sound or music to the brand can bring another dimension to the brand experience because it creates an additional emotional response that static images cannot reproduce.

#9 | A guide to defining your brand identity — the dos and don’ts

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1. Understand the power of color in branding and ensure it matches the brand’s audience and strategic goals;

2. Hire professionals, such as designers or advertising agencies (professional people do professional things) and provide them with brand guidelines as a brief;

3. Rely on the expertise of professionals and ask them lots of questions to gain as much insight as possible. This information is invaluable to the long-term development of your brand.

- don't want -

1. Create a visual identity system on your own without any experience;

2. Hiring low-cost or inexperienced practitioners (you get what you pay for);

3. The visual identification system only has a logo.

#10 | Brand Expression

Amazon founder and world’s richest man, Jeff Bezos said;

“Your brand is what people say about you when you’re not in the room.”

Jeff Bezos

At its core, a brand is the reputation of your business, so any interaction with your audience (brand expression) is the cornerstone of your brand. Whether it’s visual, auditory or experiential, brands need to be consistent in their expression.

A so-called mid-to-high-end brand is shouting about a sale in the live broadcast room. Many brands even sponsor inexplicable variety shows or TV dramas for exposure. These behaviors, whether they are inconsistent with values, decisions that are inconsistent with the vision, or visual expressions that do not follow brand guidelines, are all expressions that are out of touch with the brand and are damaging your brand.

Any business that is more mature and professional will spend some time compiling a brand manual (guidelines), so make sure they are followed and enforced.

The best example of consistent brand expression is the king of modern brands – Apple. Since Steve Jobs returned in 1997, Apple has changed its trajectory.

Everything is simplified. Purpose, vision, mission, values, personality, language, tone, core message, brand identity and expression are all simply unified. We all know who they are, we all know what they stand for, and whether you’re part of the cult following or not, you’re in awe of their brand.

If you are interested, you can go back to the video at the beginning to see how Steve Jobs understands brand expression and gain some insights from it.

#10 | A guide to brand expression – the dos and don’ts

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1. Have a clear and complete brand manual and give it to your designer or advertising agency and ask them to make it into a professional format;

2. Use these brand manuals (guidelines) as a guide to consistent brand expression;

3. Make sure brand personnel follow the brand manual in terms of materials, communications, promotional activities, and content writing (consistency is the key to brand survival);

4. Appoint a brand leader within the company to monitor brand consistency.

- don't want -

1. Expressing your brand without structure or consistency.

2. Use multiple suppliers to express your brand (keep it simple if possible).

3. Allowing too many people to make brand decisions without consulting brand managers.

At this point, the 10 steps to building a brand have been introduced. Building a brand with meaning, value, personality and visual appeal from the inside out and growing and developing around them is vital. Branding is about the reputation of your business and making your audience feel safe when doing business with you. Businesses without a brand strategy lack a foundation for building trust and loyalty.

Whether you’re a brand that’s just starting out or growing, it’s time to get your business back to basics. Make sure that when people see your brand, you represent more than just money in their wallet, but that they remember you, resonate with your proposition, and plant a seed in the minds and hearts of their audiences. That’s it – brand.