How You Can Develop A Meaningful Brand Essence + Examples

Last Updated on Mon-Apr-2024 by Robert Bogere

My brand’s foundation is shown through my best brand essence example: This guides my actions, decisions, and messages.

This brief yet comprehensive statement describes the essential idea behind my entire brand.

It serves as the basis for all my activities like content, messaging, and many other stuff. 

My brand essence example expresses emotional and intangible associations that try to inspire a connection between the target customers and my brand. 

Discover: How you can develop your brand strategy for your brand

Before we know how to develop a meaningful brand essence;

What is brand essence?

Brand essence is a short phrase that shows the core of what your brand represents or the image it seeks to project – Tech Target

Katrina Kirsh of Hubspot defined brand essence as the soul of a brand and acts as a foundation so the brand appears consistent and authentic. She continued to say it has to be expressed in 2 or 3 words.

In simple terms, it defines what a brand stands for, shapes the overall identity, and aims to invoke thoughts, feelings, or emotions in consumers.

Let’s analyze my brand essence

Robert Bogere is about the pursuit of creative brand insights and value where start-ups and SMEs can come and learn to build and develop their brands efficiently.

Through the resources, companies can build efficient brands and access quality industry knowledge. With my expertise, start-ups, and SMEs can learn the skills necessary to succeed in today’s competitive market.

Simply put:

Creative. Insightful. Efficient.

The essence of a brand is captured in a concise and memorable phrase. This phrase serves as an anchor for the positioning statement, helping to conjure up the core elements of the story being told.

My precise phrase shouldn’t be taken as a headline, tagline, or slogan; instead, it’s meant to be used as a self-expression that should be used as a recall device — a mental prompt as an anchor to my story.

The above is a gut check for the decisions I make and the spirit of whatever I do and everything I create.

Creating a recognizable brand essence requires more than just creative speculation. It’s important to have a well-defined understanding of your brand, its audience, and what it stands for.

A strong grasp of each element will ensure that your brand essence resonates with customers and effectively communicates your values.

The phrases above — Creative, Insightful, and efficient are part of my preparation process, but they aren’t necessarily the exact words used in my communication.

However, they should be reflected in the way I interact with the community — through my words, actions, and writing.

My brand essence is integral to my brand strategy. It’s something I highly value and consider essential.

Why is brand essence so important?

Without having a powerful brand essence, you’re more likely to fail in your company’s branding efforts.

It’s better to think about acquiring it so to differentiate your brand from similar brands in the marketplace or your industry. In that regard, it helps you to create a strong competitive advantage.

Review how Safaricom tried to be different by keeping around its brand essence of “For you”. It came up with a campaign of giving back to the community but keeping in mind its brand essence.

It helps making meaningful brand decisions. To make quick brand decisions, your brand should have an ultimate essence. It works like a benchmark for your brand or marketing team.

It helps maintaining consistency in whatever your brand offers and what consumers feel about your stuff.

Observe how Canya drinks made itself so special to its customers by focusing more on their brand essence.

Review what Baby Whale said about Nigerian brands and start-ups. 

Brands can have a well-articulated brand essence, but having one isn’t enough if you fail to develop or do your activities in line with your brand essence.

Whatever you do whether in creating content, messages, and campaigns should be in line with your brand essence so you’re seen differently from other brands.

You can’t fool your customers with a fake brand essence because they’ll see that. The reason as to why every brand should have a powerful essence is to guide its team in developing branding work that resonates with what the brand does.

Anselmo Ramos, a brand expert argued brands to “Embrace brand essence” as below;

How you identify your brand essence?

What you need to know about brand essence is emotional and not tangible. It’s a feeling evoked in the customers when they hear about your brand.

If you’re to craft the best brand essence, it’s better to follow a laddering process or procedure. With such a process, you examine your brand and pick attributes that imply your features as a company.

Consider attributes to be on the lower ladder. Then, functional benefits at the second ladder, and on the third ladder examine the emotional benefits which results in what you need in your two or three words. 

Now you’ve known how to develop a brand essence, what are you waiting for to develop a powerful brand essence for your brand? Does the one you’ve resonate with what your brand does? Do your customers feel your brand presence?

Developing a brand essence is something you can do on your own though you can also hire specialists like me to craft one which resonates with your customers’ feelings and what your brand does. Fix time and we discuss this. 

Remember, time is money. A single minute gone, it’s money lost. Let’s focus on developing your brand essence for your brand as you focus on serving your customers better. Talk your free 1 hour strategy call below

Discover: Effective tips of how you can audit your brand

How does a brand essence look in reality?

A representation of the reality of what your customers will feel;

• A single focused phrase
• Differentiation of your brand from competitors
• Consistent delivery

1. Make it concise and memorable

People remember punchy and short messaging. Refer to the brand essence of Nike – “Just do it”. It’s an inspirational phrase.

2. Make it believable

It must be authentic for customers to believe it. Let it be part of you in everything you do and say with your community.

3. Make it distinct

Differentiate it from your competitors. For example, Airbnb customers do not have the same elite status as Hilton Honor programs. It’s a result of their brand essence.

People should believe this is you whenever they come across your brand.

Discover: The indicators your brand needs a refresh

The best brand essence examples

1. Techno

Techno brand essence is “Stop At Nothing”. It shows how Techno is committed and devoted to unlocking the best and newest technologies for forward-looking individuals.

2. UNICEF

With its essence of “For Every Child”

UNICEF is known for working for every child in every context worldwide. Whatever they do, they’re trying to save, protect, and help children to their fullest potential. Review what Henrietta. H Fore, UNICEF Executive Director said; 

UNICEF is trying to see that every child is happy wherever h/she’s in the world. Their brand essence resonates with what they do.

3. Clever Reach

One of the leading cloud-based software providers for e-mail marketing. Their brand essence is “Reaching People”
We all know that e-mails are crafted to reach people.

Companies even hire experts who craft daily sales e-mails to reach their customers or prospects. “Reaching people” resonates well with e-mail marketing service.

4. Coca-Cola brand essence

Coca-Cola positioned itself for “sharing and happiness” experiences. Their campaigns are focused on happiness and sharing. Have a look at one of their recent campaigns of the Real Magic.

You can see some of its competitors are positioning their brands around refreshment and satisfaction.

Brand essence recap

Crafting a brand essence shouldn’t be for formality. Brand essence helps in developing a strong brand identity, meaningful marketing campaigns, and connecting with your customers.

Having a brand essence helps to create an ultimate brand and sets every level of your identity development. 

Whatever the case, anything in your brand essence has to reflect your company and its products or services. Even though there many formats, your phrase’s tone is vital to your brand.