Brand Lexicon: Making Sense of Vision, Promise, Purpose, & Values

Many ‘experts’ have written that a brand is more than a logo. Of course, that’s true — even if creating a distinct, protectable logo is a necessary brand asset to enable brand recall.

Looking beyond the logo, the science of brand-building can quickly become convoluted. If it’s your first exploration, you’ll be met with terms including Brand Vision, Brand Purpose, Brand Promise & Brand Values. And more terms besides this.

If that starts to feel a little overwhelming, you’re not alone. So, let’s decode the mystique of the brand lexicon, and create a level playing field for any start-up or small business interested in this topic.

A Brand Vision — or a brand’s vision – is an interpretation of what a Brand wants to achieve, ideally by a defined point in the future. When a Brand Vision is on point, it acts like a compass for everyone associated with the brand to follow. It should connect with customers, empower, and even motivate staff, associates, and other stakeholders. A Brand Vision tells everyone where you’re going.

Brand Purpose usually follows Brand Vision. The purpose is why a brand exists at all: which problems are the brand owners solving, and who or what is The Brand helping in doing so. Essentially, it’s the existential reasoning for the brand itself. What it indicates as the ‘purpose’ of its foundation and conception. Hence, it has a big role within the brand’s master narrative.

A Brand Promise is usually a short, well-worded statement of intent. In essence, it’s a promise of performance by the brand to its intended customers. It should capture and convey something about the experience of the brand in question. Most people would refer to a Brand Promise as a tagline or slogan; but to the team at Brandeeq, this is a limited description that doesn’t do justice to the potential of a Brand Promise.

Then we move to Brand Values. They are like guiding principles of a Brand’s behavior, to create a consistent experience for every customer. Brand Values also help to internalize a Brand Promise and set expectations for behaviors that will be highly prized. In time, properly utilized Brand Values should cultivate coherence throughout the service or product delivery process and enables employees and stakeholders to deliver on the external Brand Promise.

Some Pakistani Brands have worked with these brand fundamentals to shape a successful path. To elaborate on detailed stories of how brands used these elements to their advantage would become an exhaustive endeavor, worthy enough for a separate piece of writing for each. However, the point here is that too few Pakistani brands appear to have mastered this process as yet, and we’d like to see many more become successful at doing this. That includes start-ups and small businesses, not just the large, established brands with comparatively big resources and budgets.

It is only fair, however, to issue necessary disclosure: this isn’t an easy nor quick practice, even if you are beginning to appreciate the distinction in the concepts.

Should such a realization command significant concern? No, not if f it’s handled professionally. We encourage you to undertake further in-depth research to understand these concepts before attempting to apply them; or, alternatively, you may also reach out to the Brandeeq team for further information.