The irony of being a brander is that we like to brand things so much that we often come with new names and definitions for enduring concepts that essentially mean the same thing.   Brand terminology has gotten so out of hand that there are numerous brand dictionaries and glossaries being produced every day to help keep everything straight!   And they all need to have a catchy brand name.   I have not looked recently but I would not be surprised if there is a “Brandopedia” or “Brandossary” in the works somewhere.     

At Belmont, we describe the two major pillars of a Brand Platform as being the 1) Brand Essence and 2) Brand Positioning.  Often times you may see other firms use these terms interchangeably and define them slightly differently.  But we distinguish the two by describing the Brand Essence as “timeless” and very inward focused while the Brand Positioning is “timely” and takes into consideration external factors.    

I was recently reminded of the timeless/timely concept when re-visiting the classic words of wisdom of James Collins and Jerry Porras’s book Built to Last: Successful Habits of Visionary Companies.    I was reading HBR’s abridged version in an article called “Building Your Company’s Vision”[1].  The key insight that Collins and Porras discovered through their years of research is that:

“Truly great companies understand the difference between what should never change and what should be open for change, between what is genuinely sacred and what is not.”

Similar to our definition of Brand Essence, they use the term “Core Ideology” to describe the timeless aspects.  

“Core ideology defines a company’s timeless character.  It’s the glue that holds the enterprise together even when everything else is up for grabs.  Core ideology is something you discovery – by looking inside.  It’s not something you can invent, much less fake.”

 Expanding the concept even further:

“Core ideology needs to be meaningful and inspirational only to people inside the organization; it need not be exciting to outsiders.  Why not?  Because it is the people inside the organization who need to commit to the organization ideology over the long term.  Core ideology can also play a role in determining who is inside and who is not. A clear and well articulated ideology attracts to the company people whose personal values are compatible with the company’s core values, conversely it repels those whose personal values are incompatible”

So is our brand model of Essence and Positioning unique and proprietary?  No.   But it provides us with the framework to help our clients articulate what is timeless within their organization and should never change over time as well as what can change as the world around them evolves.  Whereas Collins and Porras call these companies “Visionary Companies” we like to call them “Brand Led Businesses”.   Similar concept…just with a slightly more branded twist. 

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[1] Collins, James C., and Jerry I. Porras. “Building Your Company’s Vision.” Harvard Business Review September – October (1996): pgs. 42-56.