Can you tell me who you are? In three words? The role of the Brand Mantra.

Just as the intruder above could be called 'John', this is not what we really look for in other people and things - we want to know what they mean to us. The tool we commonly use in branding to help formalise this meaning is the Brand Mantra.

The Brand Mantra goes by as many guises as there are agencies, each claiming a unique approach to arrive at a statement that describes how people should think and feel about the brand. Whether it's called a Mantra, Essence, Print, Core Promise or anything else with a little TM after it, the process is a valuable one, offering numerous outputs that have an important part to play (see Reasons for a Brand Mantra below)

There are many procedures, but the primary tool required is : time. Time for all those who work on the brand to review the data, talk to consumers and retailers as well as interrogate the brand attributes (tangible and intangible) amongst themselves.

Of all the templates and processes available, Kevin Keller's 3-part process is an interesting one, limiting a Brand Mantra to three words:

The Brand Function describes the service, type or benefit. The Descriptive Modifier is the answer to 'not just any kind' of function, and the Emotional Modifier describes the qualitative nature of how the brand provides the benefit.

Nike has described their mantra of Authentic Athletic Performance as the 'intellectual guard rails' to keep the brand on track. When Nike experienced problems in their European roll-out, they discovered that the mantra had a different meaning for European audiences - it had to involve soccer in a major way.

Disney declined to co-brand a mutual fund in Europe designed for families, despite the consistent 'family' association. The reason was simple: it lacked the emotional modifier of Disney's essence - fun, of which mutual funds have very little.

Reasons for a Brand Mantra
1. To make sure that everyone's on the same page. It's amazing how much management think they know the brand, until they need to start putting it on paper.
2. It forces us to articulate what the brand is all about - if we can't do it, then how can we expect our customers to?
3. It allows us a foundation from which to have structured dialogue with our customers in ongoing research - it guides the conversation, such as the Discussion Guide for focus groups - what is it that we should be talking about?
4. It facilitates NPD (new product development) by defining the boundaries for the brand. Although a brand extension might conflict with the Mantra, you will at least know what effect it is having on perceptions.
5. It ensures continuity for new staff.
6. It guides the communication - if something 'jars', it is often because there is something in conflict with the essence.
7. It adds depth to the brand, showing potential stakeholders that there is more to the brand than what they see.

Reference: Keller K L. Strategic Brand Management, Int Ed, Second Ed. Prentice Hall, Pearson Education International, 2003 p 153 - 155.