What if we could take an X-ray of a brand? Learn about the three dimensions that make up successful brands.  

I have always been very curious to understand how things work. I love to understand the mechanics and processes that give life to the elements we interact with, so visiting factories is a real fun for me. Understanding production lines, steps, processes, and the order of activities and materials enchants me beyond explanation. I feel that the engineer that lives in me manifests herself in these moments (laughs).  

Within this perspective, as an eternal apprentice and scholar in the area of communication and branding, I was once curious to understand how the internal configuration of a brand would be. Even though it is a completely subjective structure – and surrounded by subjectivities – I understood that it would be fascinating to be able to compose an arrangement of elements that, together and well orchestrated, could give life to the brands we know and admire. But of course, when it comes to brands, and with all their emotional influence on our minds and hearts, they cannot be a mere cold, mechanical production line. A brand needs to be alive, healthy and pulsating, like our own body.  

Now, if when we have some fragility in our structure it is possible to go to the doctor to take an “internal picture” through an X-ray, MRI or CT scan, why can’t we explore our creativity in order to conceive the possibility of observing this subjective organism in an imagetic way? In short: what if we could take an “inside picture” of a brand’s structure?  

And that is where I dove in. From this reflection was born the “Brand Anatomy“, which later became the “Essence Brand Anatomy” (also known as EBA), Essence Branding’s methodology to work with the brands we serve, helping them to leverage the results of their business and consequently, positively impacting their Brand Equity, that is, the value of these brands. Today, EBA has already been applied and validated by hundreds of brands nationally and internationally, and the results obtained never cease to amaze us.  

 Understanding the structure of a brand, we can see three distinct dimensions, which are interrelated and interact with the market and its stakeholders according to the development of that business, its products and services. Every brand has these three dimensions, but not all the elements that make them up necessarily need to be worked on in every type of brand. Going further, it is still possible that many other elements emerge or even dissolve, along the brand’s trajectory. After all, we cannot forget that the brand is a living element, and so are its components.  

Brand Essence – Foundation  

At the center of our “internal portrait” we can see the beating heart of the brand. Beliefs, Values, and a larger Purpose make up this tripod that provides the basis for the entire construction. Here lies the true foundation that underlies the brand’s presence in the world. What does your brand believe in? What does it value? And finally: what is its main reason for existing in the world? To help answer these and many other questions that permeate this universe, Essence works through a series of Workshops and Mentorships to build the brand concept from the revelation of its essence.  

This was the case with Amvox, a Brazilian company that sells over 1 million products per year in the home appliance and electronics sector and that, on completing 18 years, decided to dive into its essence, rebuilding its brand platform with us. With the collaboration of managers, directors, and leaders, in addition to the Marketing and Commercial teams, we developed Purpose Unveiling Workshops and Mentoring sessions focused on the beliefs, values, and goals of the brand, which culminated in the birth of a new Purpose. According to one of its partners, the work managed to “show the soul” of the company.  

We can say, then, that here the true Soul of the Brand is born.  

Brand Narrative – Positioning  

In a slightly broader scope, we find the brand narrative. Every living thing has its story, and brands are no different. Stories engage, connect, and attract human attention since the beginning of our existence. More than that: they influence behavior, beliefs, and culture. The narrative reflects how the brand chooses to show itself to the world, how it presents itself, and what stories it tells.  

To make all this tangible, we develop research and present market insights that give even more consistency and depth to the work, which extends from the creation of the brand’s name, through the Naming process, to the design of its visual identity, its sensory elements such as olfactory and sound identity, in addition to the user experience design and the brand’s manifesto.   

A case we love to tell is the creation of the Unilever Manifesto, a British multinational consumer goods company already consolidated in the market for over 90 years. Together with the Supply Chain team, we used ludic tools to build a material that guides employees about the company’s positioning on a daily basis. 

Brand Interactions – Relationship  

In the third and most exposed dimension, we have the brand interactions with the world. Here we focus on creating genuine connections from result-oriented strategies. How does the brand dialogue with its stakeholders and build relationships with them? From strategies to evolve its reputation as an employer brand to training to align the culture of its customer service and sales teams, Essence helps companies consolidate all the strategies developed across the dimensions, manifesting its essence in the most genuine and authentic way.   

This (and also the previous dimensions) illustrate some of the work done at Acqua Aroma. A company that went from being a client to a partner that invited us to build the entire concept of its brand, translating the most relevant aspects of its culture into training sessions directed to the team. Hearing from the Marketing sector that “before any action, it is always important to consult the Brandbook” only reveals the size of the impact and the relevance of this content for the day to day of the company. 

The Brand Anatomy, materialized through EBA, allows us to offer our clients a cohesive journey that generates surprising results from the interaction of leaders and their teams with the new brand. This model transforms complexity into simplicity, bringing practicality to management by observing the needs existing in each of the dimensions of a brand.   

Above all, EBA offers a visualization of all this beautiful and fascinating marketing complexity in a simpler and more objective way, offering a more complete and broader understanding, even for the most linear minds.  

I now invite you to dive into this tool and extract the maximum potential from it, leveraging your results and revealing the essence of your brand to the world.  

I now invite you to dive into this tool and extract the maximum potential from it, leveraging your results and revealing the essence of your brand to the world. (And if you need a little help in the process, Essence is always available to do it!)