Author: Peter van Kets
When the Chief Marketing Officer mentions brand values in the boardroom they can be treated with disdain and Why your brand needs values. Eyes roll. Disparaging glances are passed. Brand marketing mumbo jumbo. Nothing could be further from the truth. Brand values are important. They are powerful brand assets. This post explains why. Values influence […]
When the Chief Marketing Officer mentions brand values in the boardroom they can be treated with disdain and Why your brand needs values.
This post explains why.
Values influence behaviour
Values influence our beliefs and our beliefs influence our behaviour.
Whether you like it or not, the endgame of brand experiences is to influence behaviour.Buy, pay, recommend, travel, eat, drink or give are examples of things they encourage us to do more (or, sometimes, less) of.
To influence behaviour you have to connect with stakeholders at a values level because this is what compels behavioural change.
Under Armour’s campaign, ‘I Will What I Want’, embodies values of being active, confident and competitive.
The campaign encourages customers to use willpower to do things that help them accomplish their goals. It’s the customer connecting with the brand values that, ultimately, triggers a particular behavioural response.
Values make your brand magnetic
Values that resonate with customers and other stakeholders can draw them in. Toyota Prius consumers are drawn to the brand because they buy into its values of being progressive, tech-savvy, prudent and environmentally aware[1]. Similarly, prospective employees will be drawn to working at your brand if they can identify with your values.
Just like a magnet, values have the potential to push someone away. If someone doesn’t identify with your values this could deter them from engaging with the experiences you build. Versace customers will be drawn to extrovert, gregarious and bold brand values – as expressed by the brand’s clothes and retail experiences. Armani customers won’t. They’re drawn to more refined, timeless and understated values. This isn’t a bad thing because in this sense your brand values can be used as a tool to make it clear who your brand is, and isn’t for.
Brand values help stakeholders express their values
‘I drive a Toyota Prius to show I’m progressive, tech-savvy, prudent and environmentally aware.’
The brand, or more specifically, the values that underpin the brand, become a means of self-expression that help Prius drivers make a statement to the world about their values.
This is powerful because when this happens the brand (underpinned by its values) acts as a cue which signals actual or aspirational community membership.
Vans, Burton and Billabong have utilised this knowledge to great effect with their skate, snowboard and surf communities.
Values guide how you bring your brand to life
Brand values provide guiding principles that inform how you build brand experiences.
If a brand is shaped around values of being refreshing, bold and funky, it needs to express these through relevant employee behaviour, communications and design.
A brand guided by such values would locate an experiential event in the heart of pop-up shops with a cool DJ spinning funky vinyl on Technics 1200 turntables.
The backdrop would use bold and vibrant colours, and the employees would be ‘hipsters’ or ‘fashionistas’.
Understanding brand values in this way is powerful because they will help you deliver more consistent and cohesive experiences, at scale. This language will be music to your CEO’s ears.
Values give a brand an opinion
According to research conducted by Edelman:
Brands who voice a credible, authentic and authoritative opinion are powerful. When people agree with, or are intrigued by their point of view, they are drawn in.
During Ramadan 2016, Coca-Cola tackled the prickly topic of stereotyping and labelling people based on appearance in the Middle East.
They invited six strangers to an Iftar (Ramadan meal where people break their fast at dusk) in a pitch-black room, and encouraged them to speak about their lives and interests.
When the lights were turned on each participant received a box with two cans, absent of Coca-Cola branding, with the words ‘Labels are for cans, not people’.
This became Coca-Cola’s second-most viewed video, delivering over US$30 million in earned media with a $50,000 spend.
Kenco uses its ‘Coffee vs Gangs’ to express an opinion on how a career in coffee provides an alternative to gang life. Salesforce made its opinion clear on LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) legislation via #WelcomesAll.
In India, Brooke Bond Red Label tea positioned itself as an ally of the transgender cause by partnering with the transgender community to launch Six Pack, India’s first transgender band.
Their videos generated over 7.5 million YouTube views and contributed to a 1% increase in the brand’s market share in urban India.
These brands voice an opinion on issues they feel are important to them and this is shaped by their values. Customers and other stakeholders then make a decision on whether the brand, or more specifically its values, are relevant to them.
Summing up
Brand values are intangible, elusive and slippery beasts. These kinds of characteristics don’t sit comfortably with the C-suite.
They prefer to get a handle on things courtesy of concrete facts and figures.
To help your C-suite get to grips with brand values it’s best to position them as a business asset, in tangible and practical terms that will deliver commercial value. This article should go some way to helping you do this.
Contact Us at WeSpeak Global and follow us on Twitter
Video
The articles, video and images embedded on these pages are from various speakers and talent.
These remain the property of its owner and are not affiliated with or endorsed by WeSpeak Global.
In life, we get so much input. It is hard to keep up. One piece of advice that I got was to Focus on your skills and on my strengths. We are not meant to be great at everything, but we all have talent. At times we try to improve skills we don’t have a […]
In his new book, “Can’t Hurt Me,” David Goggins, who many call the “toughest man alive,” recalls how he overcame a difficult childhood to become a Navy SEAL. He sits down with Craig Melvin to discuss the lessons he learned about the body’s capabilities. READ FULL ARTICLE Contact Us at WeSpeak Global and […]
If you don’t prioritise your sleep, you are putting your health at risk. Good quality Sleep Weight Health is the diet pill we’ve all been looking for, the ultimate wrinkle cream and the secret to longevity. And guess what? — it’s free! When we think of our beds and our pillows, we often forget […]
Are you hiring employees of the past or employees of the future and Do You Need People Analytics? How we think about employees and what they value has changed drastically over the years. Decades ago, employees were there to punch their time cards and climb the corporate ladder. Even just a few years ago, employees […]
I’ve recorded a short video about the value of taking time ‘in’ to help with solve problems, creating, sorting & strategising. I like to call it ‘time-in’ because these insights don’t come from our busy external world, nor from our noisy internal chatter. They come from a place within us that very few of us […]
As businesses around the world adjust to the realities of Your Guide to Remote Selling in an Online World, sales and marketing, however, still need to bring in the leads, nurture the client’s relationships and close the deals. The workplace will never look the same again, and as businesses establish Remote Selling working practices, we […]
Few months ago, I was supposed to go somewhere with someone and realized What Drives You. We’d agreed to meet at a particular spot but I was trying to renegotiate our meeting place so I can avoid having to take multiple local taxies. And so this person exclaim in total shock…and said, “Nicky, you mean […]
While The Future of Optimization has permeated our culture at large, it is Gen Z that has grown up in era when technology has enabled them to optimize everything from their sleep and their workouts to their study habits and even their intellect. Last year, I interviewed executives who work in the vitamin division of […]
Our Mission
© All rights reserved 2025. Created using VOXEL THEME
