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Identity
Personality
Perception
Brand Equity
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ARTICLE #36
Brand Concepts: How they help in building better brands?
Identity
Personality
Perception
Brand Equity
Positioning
Identity
Personality
Perception
Brand Equity
Positioning
Written by:
12 min read
Updated on: June 12, 2024
Toni Hukkanen
Head of Design
Creative Direction, Brand Direction
Toni Hukkanen
Head of Design
Creative Direction, Brand Direction
Ever notice how some brands stand out like runway winners while others fade into the crowd? Often, it’s not just about a sleek logo or catchy slogan—it’s the brand concept powering everything behind the scenes.
Consider the branding process as a Project Runway contest: the most memorable designers have that unique spark guiding every stitch. In the same way, a brand concept is your guiding star, shaping your message and identity so your brand doesn’t drift into background noise. It’s the secret force behind strategy, identity, and all those creative communications that catch people’s attention.
Ever notice how some brands stand out like runway winners while others fade into the crowd? Often, it’s not just about a sleek logo or catchy slogan—it’s the brand concept powering everything behind the scenes.
Consider the branding process as a Project Runway contest: the most memorable designers have that unique spark guiding every stitch. In the same way, a brand concept is your guiding star, shaping your message and identity so your brand doesn’t drift into background noise. It’s the secret force behind strategy, identity, and all those creative communications that catch people’s attention.
What is a brand concept?
What is a brand concept?
A brand concept is the big idea or emotional core that defines why your company exists and how it connects with people. In a way, it’s the soul of your brand: the traits, purpose, and style that set you apart from competitors and spark curiosity among customers.
Think of it like a sturdy plot of land before you build a house. If the ground is shaky, any structure you build—your visual identity, your marketing campaigns—will wobble. A concept gives you stable footing. For instance:
Disney: An eternal sense of magic and timeless stories.
Apple: A blend of simplicity, innovation, and human-centric tech.
FedEx: Reliability, speed, and global reach.
In each case, the brand’s identity comes back to that central concept. It drives everything from product design to marketing.
A brand concept is the big idea or emotional core that defines why your company exists and how it connects with people. In a way, it’s the soul of your brand: the traits, purpose, and style that set you apart from competitors and spark curiosity among customers.
Think of it like a sturdy plot of land before you build a house. If the ground is shaky, any structure you build—your visual identity, your marketing campaigns—will wobble. A concept gives you stable footing. For instance:
Disney: An eternal sense of magic and timeless stories.
Apple: A blend of simplicity, innovation, and human-centric tech.
FedEx: Reliability, speed, and global reach.
In each case, the brand’s identity comes back to that central concept. It drives everything from product design to marketing.
Why are brand concepts important?
Brand concepts focus on visual designs while giving direction to ensure creative work is rooted in a clear concept. With this clarity, creativity can be channelled in an effective manner to explore all the possibilities within that framework. A detailed and comprehensive visual branding is developed while focusing on this approach.
1. Help you get recognition
If you want to avoid blending into the ocean of nearly identical products and advertisements, a well-defined concept is your lifeboat. It shapes visual design, messaging, and overall brand attitude, making recognition easier for your audience.
2. Increase credibility
When your purpose and personality are crystal clear, people trust your brand more. Familiarity fosters loyalty—customers feel they know what to expect, and that consistency keeps them coming back.
3. Provide a competitive edge
In a market saturated with lookalike services, a unique concept can give you serious traction. The result? Stronger brand loyalty and higher sales. Like finding your own corner of the market where you shine.
Essentially, a brand concept is the foundation that leads to consistency, memorability, and differentiation. Those three pillars build trust, keep customers engaged, and help your business keep growing.
Brand concepts focus on visual designs while giving direction to ensure creative work is rooted in a clear concept. With this clarity, creativity can be channelled in an effective manner to explore all the possibilities within that framework. A detailed and comprehensive visual branding is developed while focusing on this approach.
1. Help you get recognition
If you want to avoid blending into the ocean of nearly identical products and advertisements, a well-defined concept is your lifeboat. It shapes visual design, messaging, and overall brand attitude, making recognition easier for your audience.
2. Increase credibility
When your purpose and personality are crystal clear, people trust your brand more. Familiarity fosters loyalty—customers feel they know what to expect, and that consistency keeps them coming back.
3. Provide a competitive edge
In a market saturated with lookalike services, a unique concept can give you serious traction. The result? Stronger brand loyalty and higher sales. Like finding your own corner of the market where you shine.
Essentially, a brand concept is the foundation that leads to consistency, memorability, and differentiation. Those three pillars build trust, keep customers engaged, and help your business keep growing.
How to build a brand concept?
Brand concepts usually emerge from your broader strategy. They often reflect recurring themes from initial brainstorming, client discussions, or your team’s creative huddles. Your goal is to shape these ideas into a concept that’s clear, powerful, and long-lasting—something people can believe in.
1. Assess your brand's position
Start by mapping where your brand stands in the marketplace. This can mean creating a positioning chart, investigating competitors, or simply reflecting on your brand’s goals. Questions to ask:
Who’s your target audience?
Which products/services do you offer, and why?
How can these help your audience succeed or solve their problems?
Observing competitor brands can sometimes shed light on market gaps you can fill.
2. Review audience persona
Understanding your customers is essential. What are their hopes, worries, values, and lifestyles? Write these down. Keep in mind, that people’s preferences evolve over time, so update your persona regularly to remain relevant.
3. Brainstorm values and missions
Gather your team for an open dialogue about what makes your brand meaningful. Are you sustainability-focused? Quirky and playful? Cutting-edge and futuristic? Tools like mind mapping software help you visualise these themes.
4. Articulate brand concept with a brand story
A brand story breathes life into your concept, showing the world what you stand for. Apple, for example, often uses narratives around creativity and human-centred design. If you’re building a concept around “comfort and local flair,” your brand story might highlight personal experiences or local success tales that resonate with people’s sense of belonging.
Keep it simple, avoid cliché slogans, and speak directly to your audience. A line or two capturing your essence is often enough.
5. Review, refine, and test the concept
Once you think you have a powerful concept, test it out. Share it with colleagues, conduct brief focus groups, or gather feedback from friends who represent your target audience. Listen for confusion or excitement—both can guide improvements.
Check the language, the tone, and the emotional punch. Is it consistent with your brand’s visual identity and planned marketing strategies?
6. Implement it
A concept is only as good as its execution. Embed it into every facet of your business—product design, marketing materials, customer service, and beyond. The entire team should know this concept inside out. That consistency helps the brand remain recognisable and engaging.
Brand concepts usually emerge from your broader strategy. They often reflect recurring themes from initial brainstorming, client discussions, or your team’s creative huddles. Your goal is to shape these ideas into a concept that’s clear, powerful, and long-lasting—something people can believe in.
1. Assess your brand's position
Start by mapping where your brand stands in the marketplace. This can mean creating a positioning chart, investigating competitors, or simply reflecting on your brand’s goals. Questions to ask:
Who’s your target audience?
Which products/services do you offer, and why?
How can these help your audience succeed or solve their problems?
Observing competitor brands can sometimes shed light on market gaps you can fill.
2. Review audience persona
Understanding your customers is essential. What are their hopes, worries, values, and lifestyles? Write these down. Keep in mind, that people’s preferences evolve over time, so update your persona regularly to remain relevant.
3. Brainstorm values and missions
Gather your team for an open dialogue about what makes your brand meaningful. Are you sustainability-focused? Quirky and playful? Cutting-edge and futuristic? Tools like mind mapping software help you visualise these themes.
4. Articulate brand concept with a brand story
A brand story breathes life into your concept, showing the world what you stand for. Apple, for example, often uses narratives around creativity and human-centred design. If you’re building a concept around “comfort and local flair,” your brand story might highlight personal experiences or local success tales that resonate with people’s sense of belonging.
Keep it simple, avoid cliché slogans, and speak directly to your audience. A line or two capturing your essence is often enough.
5. Review, refine, and test the concept
Once you think you have a powerful concept, test it out. Share it with colleagues, conduct brief focus groups, or gather feedback from friends who represent your target audience. Listen for confusion or excitement—both can guide improvements.
Check the language, the tone, and the emotional punch. Is it consistent with your brand’s visual identity and planned marketing strategies?
6. Implement it
A concept is only as good as its execution. Embed it into every facet of your business—product design, marketing materials, customer service, and beyond. The entire team should know this concept inside out. That consistency helps the brand remain recognisable and engaging.
Brand Concepts Examples
As brand concept is the foundation of your brand strategy, it provides a clear direction for all brand-related decisions. Let's take a look at some examples of how to use the concept to create strategy and visual identity.
Apple
Concept: Innovation, simplicity, and user-centric experiences.
How they show it: Minimalistic product design, frequent tech advancements, and seamless ecosystems.
Airbnb
Concept: A sense of belonging and genuine human connection.
How they show it: Stories of real travellers, personal hosting experiences, and a focus on community trust.
McDonald’s
Concept: Simple, consistent, and fun for everyone.
How they show it: The golden arches, a cheerful colour scheme, and the same familiar French fries worldwide.
Slack
Concept: Seamless, flexible communication in modern workplaces.
How they show it: Slick interface, a collaborative-friendly logo, and features that allow teams to stay connected effortlessly.
IKEA
Concept: Affordable functionality, accessible to a broad audience.
How they show it: Clean Scandinavian design, bright stores, and cost-saving touches like flat-pack furniture.
In each case, the brand concept drives everything from aesthetics to messaging, turning abstract ideas into tangible, market-leading brands.
As brand concept is the foundation of your brand strategy, it provides a clear direction for all brand-related decisions. Let's take a look at some examples of how to use the concept to create strategy and visual identity.
Apple
Concept: Innovation, simplicity, and user-centric experiences.
How they show it: Minimalistic product design, frequent tech advancements, and seamless ecosystems.
Airbnb
Concept: A sense of belonging and genuine human connection.
How they show it: Stories of real travellers, personal hosting experiences, and a focus on community trust.
McDonald’s
Concept: Simple, consistent, and fun for everyone.
How they show it: The golden arches, a cheerful colour scheme, and the same familiar French fries worldwide.
Slack
Concept: Seamless, flexible communication in modern workplaces.
How they show it: Slick interface, a collaborative-friendly logo, and features that allow teams to stay connected effortlessly.
IKEA
Concept: Affordable functionality, accessible to a broad audience.
How they show it: Clean Scandinavian design, bright stores, and cost-saving touches like flat-pack furniture.
In each case, the brand concept drives everything from aesthetics to messaging, turning abstract ideas into tangible, market-leading brands.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the two important brand concepts?
Name and logo are often considered the ‘front door’ of a brand concept. A distinctive name encapsulates purpose and personality; the logo visually symbolises it all.
What is a brand concept map?
Imagine a web or network showing how customers perceive your brand. The central node is your brand, and the surrounding nodes highlight attributes like emotions, benefits, or product features that influence consumer opinion. It helps pinpoint strengths and areas for improvement.
Can a brand concept evolve or change over time?
Absolutely. Markets shift, culture changes, and so do customers. While core values often hold, you might update how you express them to stay aligned with new trends and consumer expectations.
Final Thoughts
At the heart of every unforgettable brand lies a compelling concept—something that makes it more than just another face in the crowd. It might be edgy and daring, grounded and honest, or something delightfully out of the ordinary. But whatever form it takes, a solid concept provides clarity, helping people instantly ‘get’ what you’re about.
If you integrate this concept thoroughly—infusing it into your product design, storytelling, and customer interactions—your brand becomes more than a mere logo. It gains gravity and authenticity, inspiring trust and loyalty in an often-cluttered marketplace. And that’s the difference between a brand people pass by and a brand they actively love.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the two important brand concepts?
Name and logo are often considered the ‘front door’ of a brand concept. A distinctive name encapsulates purpose and personality; the logo visually symbolises it all.
What is a brand concept map?
Imagine a web or network showing how customers perceive your brand. The central node is your brand, and the surrounding nodes highlight attributes like emotions, benefits, or product features that influence consumer opinion. It helps pinpoint strengths and areas for improvement.
Can a brand concept evolve or change over time?
Absolutely. Markets shift, culture changes, and so do customers. While core values often hold, you might update how you express them to stay aligned with new trends and consumer expectations.
Final Thoughts
At the heart of every unforgettable brand lies a compelling concept—something that makes it more than just another face in the crowd. It might be edgy and daring, grounded and honest, or something delightfully out of the ordinary. But whatever form it takes, a solid concept provides clarity, helping people instantly ‘get’ what you’re about.
If you integrate this concept thoroughly—infusing it into your product design, storytelling, and customer interactions—your brand becomes more than a mere logo. It gains gravity and authenticity, inspiring trust and loyalty in an often-cluttered marketplace. And that’s the difference between a brand people pass by and a brand they actively love.
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Click to copy
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