Almost every company is making efforts to build a strong brand identity. This is because a solid brand helps the company stand out in the industry. Here, the question is, HOW are they doing it?
It is very important to grab customer attention, boost brand loyalty, and most importantly, create brand awareness to ensure a successful business plan. But, what is behind this plan? A Brand Brief -a myth for some; a foreign language for many.
Why is there a gap between the brand brief and communication? Let us get clarity on all these queries through a Brand Identity Prism. This model not only helps in identifying a brand’s core characteristics but also describes how they relate to one another.
What is Brand Identity Prism?
The creator, Jean-Noel Kapferer, introduced this hexagonal prism model that utilizes six distinct characteristics of the brand to achieve brand success. As per Kapferer, the strongest brands comprises six elements to create a cohesive brand identity and message.
The Hexagon Defined
The hexagon of brand identity prism has 6 sections that act as a lens and allows one to look at the different facets of the brand. The top two facets talk about the brand itself, whereas the bottom two facets discuss the customers or users. Considering a vertical dissection of the hexagon, the right-hand side discusses the internal values of the brand, while the left side talks about the external values.
The first top left facet of the hexagon is Physique.
1) Physique
To put it in simple terms, it is how a brand showcases itself to others. The physical or visual appearance is usually exhibited through design including logo, colors, fonts, etc. It is the visual representation of your brand.
The next facet is Personality, the facet on the top right of the prism.
2) Personality
The communication of the brand is what we call a company’s voice. This includes a part of the value of the organization and what they wish to put across to others. The way the design is put forward or the style of content used dominates this facet.
For example, Puma as a brand expresses a free-spiritedness playful persona. It comes out through their choice of bold fonts and brand messaging.
Here, one thing that all brands, irrespective of new or old, should maintain is the uniformity of the tone throughout all communication touchpoints such as websites, emails, ads, apps, etc.
Next is the middle right facet, which is Culture.
3) Culture
Every brand has certain ethics that they have been following for years. It includes the principles and the value system that have become the base of the brand behaviour. It might also be a reflection of the history or lineage on which the brand is formed.
Relationship is the next facet on the left side of the middle portion of the prism.
4) Relationship
The relationship of a brand with its customer is a sensitive matter. Here, we aren’t discussing the service or product experience. The relationship is built beyond the products. It can be an after-sales service, warranty coverage, or free servicing. It is all about holding the trust in the brand that enhances brand loyalty.
The next is the bottom left facet of the prism, Reflection.
5) Reflection
The stereotypical user of the brand has several buyer personas that enable them to target the market. It is how the brand sees its ideal customer is the reflection of the brand. Most brands have a certain audience that they wish to target. They market their products accordingly. There might be a large market, but within that market, there are certain characteristics that they try to get associated with.
The final facet is at the bottom right, Self-image.
6) Self-image
It is all about the ideal identity of the customer. How they see themselves. Find out what your customer wants to look like or is feeling like. As a brand, if you wish to boost the customer base start aligning your brand’s aspirations to reflect theirs.
How does Brand Identity Prism help in brand success?
This basic age-old concept of Brand Identity Prism is not enough used to churn success stories. The tool is still a perfect fit in modern times branding guidelines as many brands who are in the race to build big names is yet to answer all the facets. It forces a brand to dig deep and list out the characteristics that define their brand identity. In fact, all the facets of the prism provide useful insights into the brand and give a clear picture to both the brand owner and the marketer.
Building a strong user base with the help of the model
The model is like a strong foundation of a building on which the brand will stand or reach new heights. Brand Identity Prism will help the brand remain consistent in the market as well as in the minds of the consumers. This is the first small step toward fortifying brand loyalty, ensuring that the buyer’s aspiration and brand goals are in sync.
It doesn’t matter if you are 10 years in the market or 10 days. There is always room for building a strong base for a fruitful future.
The prism shows you an illustrative view of the “Now” of the brand and “how you want to see it”. The more clear the image, the better is the possibility of the brand finding ways towards fine-tuning the communication, putting across themselves as market leaders.
Hope we answered all your Brand Identity Prism related queries.
Feel free to contact us for more insights. Our Brand Identity Expert will be happy to help you.
