Everyone identifies with certain brands in a personal way. They remind them of special moments of their lives and wish those brands were always around. The reason that happens is because these brands have a personality of their own. It is not only about high quality products or flawless service. In order to have this kind of emotional connection with its audience, it’s about something bigger: a brand’s essence.
According to the Houaiss dictionary, the definition of essence is “the most significant element, quality, or aspect of a thing or person”. Every brand has an essence — even if it is still unknown — and it is through branding that the essence is rescued in order to be properly incorporated to the company’s culture. According to Ricardo Guimarães — CEO of Thymus — “a good brand essence is an inspiring thought that is capable of attracting and mobilizing people no matter what kind of relationship they have with a company”.
While positioning emphasizes the comparative and tangible differences among competitor products (that may and should be altered accordingly to the market), the essence is not tangible, it is unchangeable and reinforces the central brand’s central values. For instance, it is hard — almost impossible, actually — to find a Harley Davidson or Apple enthusiast buying a competitor product. That happens due to the strong emotional connection that these people have with the brands, their aspirations and the lifestyle they are associated with.
The essence is an extension of the philosophy and the values of the founders of the brand. This essence must be diffused throughout the entire company and absorbed by all audiences, regardless of the relation with the brand, so that the brand’s authenticity may be consistently perceived in all touch points.
Essence creates emotional connections and these connections will guide people’s choices. To rescue the essence, it is necessary to think of the values that guided the company founders together with the concepts and ideas that motivate the consumers to buy a specific brand.
It may be something as simple as “fun family entertainment”, for Disney or more poetic like “rewarding everyday moments”, for Starbucks or even more descriptive like “authentic athletic performance” as we have seen for Nike, as long as it travels through the brand’s history: past, present and future. Guimarães finishes saying that “the essence is not a market strategy, it is a way of looking at the business and acting in the market”.
Many authors list some considerations that must be observed and be a part of this important branding tool:
1 Focus: the essence must be based on one brand aspect only and a very pertinent one so it does not lose its focus;
2 Unique: it must communicate the brand’s differentials in cultural and emotional aspects; how it stands out from the competitors;
3 Experience: it must portray the emotion that consumers feel when in contact with the brand;
4 Relevance: must be relevant to the consumer. It should be what really matters to them, not what one may consider or say matters;
5 Consistency: it must be lived and experienced consistently by the audience — consumers, stockholders and partners;
6 Authenticity: it must always speak truthfully, never something made up to what the consumer probably wants. The audience likes honesty and expects that from brands.
7 Durability: the essence is eternal, it doesn’t change. Ever.
The essence must be aligned to the nature of the business, to the needs of the market and the audience. The brand’s attitude will be a major differential in front of competitors. When a company cares about its essence it shows that its purpose goes beyond mere commercial relations and that it truly wishes to be a part of those that live with the brand.
