Simply put, brand essence is the internal expression of its purpose, the soul of your brand. Said another way, it is the business’s reason for being, which goes beyond simply ‘making lots of money’.

This positioning statement sits at the heart of the business and should be used to inform sales and marketing strategy, product development, HR decisions, team culture and, as a result, the experience your client ultimately has with you.

When it comes to branding, we often think the process involves these items: a logo, a business card, and a website. And in part, that is correct, yes. But I think much of the mystique (or intimidation) around ‘branding’ stems from the fact that there are no clear, universally accepted and/or sequential steps for brand development.

Functionally, a brand essence can be used as a building block for brand development. In other words, it serves as the foundation upon which all other brand elements (e.g. logo, tagline, brand personality, brand voice, etc.) are built.

Your essence gives depth to your USP (unique selling proposition) by going beyond price and product features, it educates your audience, and also helps you to develop your reputation. Over time, you’ll find that defining the essence of your brand effectively even helps you to attract the right audiences and ultimately – clients.

Let’s share a few examples to give you some context of companies that have a clearly defined brand essence.

Volvo – Safety
Disney – Making people happy
Apple – Think different