Defining your Brand
What is a brand definition?
A brand definition is a succinct articulation of what your brand is about and what makes it different.
It articulates:
- what you are trying to achieve
- how you are going to get there
- what makes you different
Why is it important?
A strong brand definition lies at the heart of successful brands. It’s important because it sets the direction for how your brand looks, speaks and behaves. It is the driving force that ensures that your brand is always coherent and never chaotic. It enables your audiences, whether they are staff, volunteers, customers, supporters, investors, donors and so on, to understand what you are about, why you are different and why they should support you or buy from you.
Fundamentally a great brand definition is what will help you create a strong and sustainable identity that will command a loyal band of supporters more quickly and for the long term.
Creating your brand definition should be one of the first things you do when you start out, but it is never too late to create one.
How your brand is perceived is key to success. How good is yours?
What does it consist of?
Essentially a brand definition is a strategic statement about your brand that defines who you are. If you follow the step-by-step guide laid out in the Housebrands Toolkit, by the end of the programme you will have your own brand definition, applicable to your organisation and none other.
It will consist of the following:
Vision
Mission
Values
Proposition
Personality
Reasons-to-believe
