Strategy

A strong brand must be built, at its core, on a solid strategy. A good strategy provides answers to what your purpose is, who you serve, where you compete, how you will win and how you will grow.

Identity

Identity is what is what people see and hear when you - as a brand - communicate with them. It's how you look, how you behave, what your personality is like.

Culture

Winning once is not enough. You'll have to do it over and over again to keep growing and stay relevant. That can only be done, long term and consistently, with a strong culture that breeds innovation.

Products

Products or services are the tangible value you provide your customers. Without making them great, you will surely fail. Having them is necessary but not in itself sufficient.

Brand

Finally, we reach the outermost layer, where all components come together, to form what is seen as your brand. If you pay attention to all areas, you should end up with something that is aligned with your business goals and ready to propel them.

Perception

Let us take a look at how consumers (and other stakeholders) will interact with your brand. The first level is perception: all that can be seen, heard, smelled, tasted and touched.

Reason

One level deeper you will find reason. This is the process through which we interpret the surrounding world, including companies, products and services.

Emotion

Many of our actions and decisions are motivated by emotion - although often disguised, consciously or unconsciously, by reason.

Resonance

At the second to last level, you'll find resonance, which provides the intuition that a company, product or service is right for us.

Ideology

The deepest level, a sort of tribal connection, which connects consumers to brands. A deep, visceral feeling of belonging.

When a brand aims to connect with its consumers on multiple levels, not only can it create a deeper bond, but can also reach a wider audience, as different people respond to different experiences.