Your Brand DNA impacts everything your brand does, from how you present yourself, to how you treat your customers and employees. In this simple guide, we’ll show you how to articulate your Brand DNA (aka purpose, vision, mission, and values) so you can build a brand that’s aligned to your core beliefs.
But first, lets get into why your Brand DNA matters.
Generally, when people think of “brand,” they’re thinking of the physical mark (or visual elements) that identify the business that produced it. But a brand is more than a physical mark. It’s an emotional mark—more importantly, an emotional experience, strengthened or weakened through every touchpoint with that business.
We believe brand is what others think, feel and say about your business. (This is the opposite of marketing. Marketing is what you say about your business.)
To build a solid brand, you have to deliver a positive emotional experience, and you need to do it consistently. The more you do this, the more people start to rely on you and, more importantly, trust you. Trust is why we all return to our favourite brands again and again. We love that familiar feeling, whether it’s the confidence that comes from a set of Maxxis Tyres on your mountain-bike, or the comfort of wearing a Patagonia hoodie.
In today’s landscape, nurturing this emotional connection is the key to your brand’s success. It’s what drives people to choose you over your competitors. So, how do you nurture this connection?
Here’s the thing… you can’t force people to trust you. Their feelings are based on their perception of your brand’s most fundamental attributes:
Even though you can’t control how people feel about you, you can represent yourself authentically and consistently in all of these areas. The better you do this, the more likely they are to connect with you, and the easier it will be for them to trust you.
In our experience, this is exactly why so many businesses struggle. They know what they’re doing (e.g., selling bikes, coffee, or clothing), but they don’t really know who they are or why they even exist. Therefore, they can’t communicate authentically or act consistently throughout the customer journey. It’s no surprise then, that their brand experience sucks.
A brand strategy is a guide to help a business present itself authentically, originally, and consistently. It’s made up of three parts:
With a solid brand strategy, you can make sure your brand is aligned to your core beliefs, nurture an emotional connection with the people you’re trying to reach, and increase the chances that those people will think, feel, and talk about you the way you want them to.
By identifying and articulating these elements intentionally, you can ensure everyone who is a part of your brand has a strong understanding of who you are and what you’re trying to achieve. This helps you communicate honestly and authentically at every touchpoint, allowing you to nurture the trust required for your business to succeed.
That said, many brands don’t have a proper brand strategy, if at all. They might have bits and pieces documented, or a rough “idea” about it, but they haven’t put in the time to get a comprehensive strategy on paper. If this is you, don’t beat yourself up. We’re here to help, whether it’s your first time crafting a brand strategy or your first time doing it the “right” way.
In this guide, we’ll run you through the first and most important part of a brand strategy: creating your Brand DNA. This process allows you to identify and articulate who you are, what you do, and most importantly, why it even matters, giving you the foundation you need to build a solid brand.
This work isn’t easy, bit it’s 100% necessary. A solid brand can’t be built overnight. It takes a plan, patience, and focus.
If you’re ready, let’s get into it.
Every brand has a fundamental set of beliefs that influence everything they do. We call these beliefs your Brand DNA. Knowing what these core beliefs are and why they matter is crucial, as they can powerfully support or sabotage your business.
Your Brand DNA is made up of four elements:
The elements of a Brand DNA are intentionally ordered in a logical hierarchy to guide you from your high-level “why?” to the actionable “how?” This makes articulating each element easier.
Purpose & Vision
(The Why?)
↓
Mission
(The What?)
↓
Values
(The How?)
Together, these elements give you the foundation you need to…
Ultimately, your Brand DNA is a powerful tool to align every aspect of your business, from your offerings to the content you create. Remember: The more solid your Brand DNA is, the better your ability to build a trustworthy brand.
Whether you’re building a new venture or running an existing business, it’s important to have a few key elements of your business strategy in place before defining your Brand DNA. This means answering a few foundational questions:
Once you’ve answered these questions, you’ll be ready to start defining your Brand DNA.
Having helped brands of all shapes and sizes identify their Brand DNA, we’ve come up with a simple step-by-step process to run you through. By the end, you’ll have a fully articulated Brand DNA, that everyone can get around.
Note: You may already have some of these elements documented, if that’s the case, this exercise is about re-creating and re-articulating your core beliefs.
A few more things to consider throughout this process:
Most importantly, remember: This is deep work, so only take it on when everyone can devote the time.
Start with our free notion template, which includes examples for each element.
This is the crew that will discuss, identify, and document each element of your Brand DNA.
By taking this approach you allow everyone to get their unique perspectives on paper. Once completed, each stakeholder will share their version with the wider group. (Each individual can use their own template. We’ve included Brand DNA examples from exisiting companies to give you an idea of what these elements look like in real life.)
Get everyone together to review the individual versions as a group. These peer-review sessions make space for healthy discussion and allow you to see what common threads or themes people have uncovered. More often than not, the best versions organically reveal themselves.
Your goal here is to create a final articulation that is both inspiring and meaningful. All stakeholders should agree on both the message and the tone. Throughout the process, keep digging and asking questions… Why? Why? Why?
Once completed, you should present your Brand DNA to everyone. This way you can provide context and background, answer questions, and ensure that everyone in your business understands your Brand DNA and feels inspired by it.
Now that you have a fully articulate Brand DNA, you can use it to align your business and brand at every touchpoint. Here’s a few ways to get started:
Remember that you can’t control peoples thoughts and feelings about your brand, but if you follow your Brand DNA, you know you’re being authentic—and giving your brand its best chance for success.
And if you get stuck or need help at any stage, hit us up. We’d love to help articulate your Brand DNA with you.