How do you determine what your brand is all about? What is the foundation, and what does your product or service offer to the target audience? By asking the right questions and answering them from the perspective of your business, you work towards a core message: the brand essence. These are a few impactful words that summarize the essence of your brand, derived from its positioning and brand values. It acts as a common thread throughout your brand, encapsulating what everyone in your company says, promises, and does.
What is the Brand Key model?
The Brand Key is a classic in the world of marketing. It's still a highly useful framework, presented in the form of a canvas or traditionally depicted as a keyhole. This framework is used by major players in the market, but it's also a tool that can be utilized by independent entrepreneurs and small and medium-sized business owners.
The purpose of the Brand Key is to reach the essence of your brand through 9 steps. It helps uncover the common thread that summarizes what your brand says, promises, and does. These are terms that are so recognizable to your target audience and employees that they unmistakably describe your brand.
When filling out the Brand Key, the usual approach is from an outside-in perspective. It starts with a strategy that works backward from what the target audience wants. Once the desires of the target audience are identified, you create solutions, products, or services from your brand that satisfy these desires. In this approach, you listen to the market. Of course, there are other models with an inside-out perspective, and they are also perfectly valid!
The 9 Brand Key steps
These steps lead to the essence of your brand. It's important to follow the sequence of these steps and not take any shortcuts. We will outline each step for you below.
