The heart of your brand is like the heart of the human body: it is the basis of your existence. If something is wrong with your heart, the rest of your organs will function worse, resulting in a shorter future. This works the same way for the heart of your brand. It is the foundation and basis of the survival of your brand and company.
Like the human heart, your brand's heart consists of four parts. However, it consists not of atria and chambers but of the following four parts:
- Purpose
- Mission
- Vision
- Values
Purpose
The heart of your brand all starts with the question, What are the reasons you exist as a company? Also known as Purpose. As a brand and company, it is important to keep in mind why you do what you do. For example, the reason we exist at Fitbrand is to help entrepreneurs create a strong and contemporary brand identity. Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, is fighting with Tesla to accelerate the world's transition to renewable energy. And Tony's Chocolonely's unevenly distributed chocolate bars stem from the purpose of making chocolate production 100% slave-free.
Other examples of clear purpose include:
Casper: We believe sleep is the superpower behind everything people do.
Patagonia: Build the best product, don't cause unnecessary damage, do business to inspire and implement solutions to the environmental crisis.
IKEA: To make many people's daily lives more enjoyable.
Charles Schwab: To help investors help themselves.
TED: To spread ideas.
Southwest Airlines: We connect people to what's important in their lives.
Mission and vision
Mission and vision are often mixed up because most people are not familiar with the differences between the two terms. The biggest difference is that mission is an ongoing principle. It is a statement of why you exist as a brand and company. It's similar to your purpose but more forward-looking. It is the reason you, as an entrepreneur, get out of bed every morning.
The mission includes everything from now to the distant future. Mission includes: Target, Objective and Vision. The further you go on the timeline, the less it looks like the current state. Your current state is where you are now and the future state is where you want to go. A Target is closest to your current state but is already future-oriented; it is a short-term goal that supports larger goals (Objectives). Targets are often measurable and precisely articulated. A little further from the current state is the Objective. It is a medium-term objective focused on the future. It aligns with your mission. Most distant from your current position, is your Vision. It is the desired future state of your brand and company. A vision can be articulated in a vague way, that is, many details are left out just like political promises, for example.
Mission
So, as explained above, the mission is an overarching, ongoing principle. Everything in your brand should tie back to your mission. For example, Fitbrand's mission statement "We give everything for a strong brand." can always be seen throughout the process and in the final end products. Another example of mission overtly reflected in everything the brand shows and does is that of Coolblue: "Everything for a smile." It goes beyond good customer service alone. Coolblue's office is set up so that its staff works with a smile every day, and smiles are also evident in all its expressions, from social media posts to the logo on the front of the delivery van.
Other examples include:
Casper: We set the standard for the new sleep.
Crooked Cucumber: Saving all the "crazy" and "leftover" fruits and vegetables that would otherwise be wasted.
Nike Inspiring and innovating for every athlete* in the world. *If you have a body, you are an athlete.
Yeti Build the cooler you'd want to use every day.
Spotify Our mission is to unlock the potential of human creativity by giving one million creative artists the opportunity to make a living from their art and billions of fans the chance to enjoy and be inspired by it.
Netflix We guarantee our customers excellent service, our suppliers a valuable partner, our investors prospects for nice healthy growth and our employees an engaging impact.
Dropbox We are here to unlock the world's creative energy by enabling a more sophisticated way of working.
Nike mission
Vision
So the most distant goal you can have as a brand or company is your vision. It need not be described in detail and need not be directly measurable. You can compare it to political promises: a political party strives for a position but does not always explain how they will achieve it (partly because external factors also play a role).
It describes the future of your brand or company. Your vision can be performance-based as in the case of Netflix, for example: Netflix's goal is to become the best global entertainment distribution service. Or closer to your purpose or mission like Oxfam: "A world without poverty" or Alzheimer's Association: "A world without Alzheimer's."
Other examples include:
Casper We are here to awaken the potential of a well-equipped world.
Microsoft Empowering every individual and organization on the planet to achieve more.
Uber Smarter transportation with fewer cars and greater accessibility. Transportation that is safer, cheaper and more reliable; transportation that creates more jobs and higher income for drivers.
Salesforce We believe that behind entrepreneurship is the idea of wanting to improve the world, and we work to ensure that Salesforce is a platform for change by serving the needs of all our stakeholders - employees, customers, partners, communities and the environment.
Mirosoft vision of a wall in their premises
Values
Finally, the heart of your brand consists of your core values. Core values are your company's DNA; they are the tools you have to communicate your purpose, mission and vision. Three to five values, in the form of keywords or a story, can already be a good start. In some cases the values of a brand or company are expressed separately but in other cases they are more defined as the norms and values of a company.
Thus, Jumbo expresses its values through the seven certainties of Jumbo. Jumbo strives for these seven values and expresses these values physically and online so that customers can hold Jumbo to them if they don't.
Other examples include:
3SIXTY5
Everything we do is from the passion to help people. The client should notice this every session.
We exist because we deliver results. We have the knowledge, skills, tools and drive to change people.
You are always open to feedback and personal development. Mental and physical growth are essential for long-term success.
We are distinguished by the constant pursuit of perfection in everything we do. Not only during sessions, but also outside of them. We either do something very well or we don't.
At 3SIXTY5, we are always faster, earlier and sharper than our clients. Being proactive in client friendliness, approach, communication and service sets us apart and raises our standards.
We enter into a long-term relationship with the client. And a very intense relationship. We are hired by our clients because we can do something that they cannot do themselves.
Walt Disney
- No cynicism
- Nurturing and propagating 'healthy' American values
- Creativity, dreams and imagination
- Fanatical attention to consistency and detail
- Preserving and controlling the image of Disney
Make your heart beat faster
You now know that our hearts beat faster with helping entrepreneurs create a strong and contemporary brand identity. And also, you now know that a strong brand starts with a strong heart of your brand. So would you like help establishing or strengthening the heart of your brand? Then we'd love to get out of bed early in the morning to give it our all for your brand! You take good care of your brand as you take good care of your heart: for a healthy future. Let us help you do that.
Please contact us
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