A brand platform is the strategic statement or statements that communicate what your brand stands for. It may include what your company does, how your brand is different from competitors, and what your brand delivers to consumers.
Your company’s mission statement clearly and concisely states your business and brand’s purpose. That means you need to know what your purpose is before you can define your mission. Your mission statement doesn’t need to be overly specific. It just needs to explain your purpose for existing. Your mission statement should also make reference to your long-term goals and needs to take into consideration your brand’s features and benefits as well as competitors and target audiences.
Put together a list of words that describe your brand. This list should include the words that you want your customers to think of when they hear your brand name. Be sure to include words that differentiate your brand from other brands on the market. Next, review your list and find the one word that best defines the position your brand should hold in consumers’ minds and in relation to competitors. That is your brand position, and your goal should be to own that word in the minds of consumers.
Your value proposition defines your brand’s competitive advantage. It states why your brand is better than others for a specific reason. In other words, your brand’s value proposition states a meaningful reason why consumers should consider your brand and choose it over any other brand on the market.
What is it about your brand that gives it some form of added-value to consumers over other options? When you know what the unique added value is that your brand delivers, you’ll know your brand’s value proposition. In one or two sentences, put that added value into words and you’ll have your value proposition.
As you are building awareness and recall of your brand, it helps to add an extra reminder of your brand promise. That’s where a tagline (also called a slogan) comes in handy. Even well-established brands use taglines to remind consumers of the brand’s promise. You should include your tagline as part of your logo design, on your marketing materials, in your email signature, on signage, on your website, and everywhere else that you can think of. A great slogan can communicate a lot in just a few words.
People love stories, and your brand history can give consumers and media great insight into your brand promise. Stories make your business seem more human. Your brand story can demonstrate how your brand promise and value proposition evolved, and it can include real examples of how you’ve lived up to that brand promise over time.
Most importantly, you need to understand that consumers create brands, not companies through their brand experiences and emotions. Develop your startup brand platform using the five elements described above. Make sure your startup brand platform effectively connects with consumers and ties to their emotions, so they feel secure with your brand and grow to depend on it.
