Your Brand tells customers what they can expect from your products and services, and it communicates what sets you apart from the competition. Your brand is the essence and personality of your business.

The brand position or brand positioning is how your brand is perceived in the context of competitive alternatives. As brand consultants, when we develop brand positioning statements for clients, we include a target customer definition, brand essence, brand promise, brand archetype and brand personality at The Growth Story.

The unique value proposition and brand promise are almost similar. They both focus on the one or two key points of difference between your brand and your competitors. E.g. the unique value proposition for Volvo is “safety.” As a brand promise, it could be expressed as “Only Volvo assures a safe ride to parents who care about their children’s safety.”

Similarly a brand personality is the composite of different brand personality elements. We focus on 7 to 12 brand personality elements for each brand. A brand personality element is usually expressed as an adjective. The purpose of brand personality attributes is to help personify the brand and to give it a distinctive “brand voice”. Brand personality elements include the following: trustworthy, innovative, reliable, friendly, rugged, wholesome, etc. We explore 57+ common personality attributes with our clients in order to top their business in any given market.

The brand archetype is the ultimate underlying archetype that implies the driving force or motivation behind any brand story. With the brand personality, the brand archetype gives the brand a more of a human feel. Brand archetypes include the pioneer, the wizard, the scientist, the sage and the artist. We explore 22+ common archetypes with our clients to get the best influencer support that their brand needs to portray.

Brand trigger is a familiar term used worldwide but most commonly in Europe. It refers to anything that is associated or in connection with the brand that causes people to think about the brand. It elicits brand recall. Some people refer to a brand trigger as a brand mnemonic device. So, most brand identity elements such as name, tagline, logo, jingle, etc. are or can be brand triggers. For E.g. the GEICO gecko is a trigger for the GEICO brand.

Finally when it again comes to the brand positioning process it’s important to understand that your target market is ever-changing. You must continue to evaluate the market and your target customers those that are most important to the future of your brand. With this understanding, continue to re-visit your positioning and tighten the focus frequently.

Also remember that the power of the brand lies in focus, and this will help your brand build a better story to tell to future marketers.