Brand Mantra - The Heart & Soul of Your Brand

Can you explain how your favourite brand feels to you?

Think about the intangible and emotional associations you have with this brand.

Can you put everything you feel in 3-5 words?

That 3-5 words phrase is the brand essence or mantra. Some call it brand essence, while others call it brand promise.

It captures the irrefutable essence or spirit of the brand positioning and brand value.

Let’s take a look at some famous brand mantras:

• Nike: Authentic Athletic Performance
• Disney: Fun Family Entertainment
• BMW: Ultimate Driving Machine
• Apple: Think Different
• McDonald's: Food, Folks, and Fun

Do you realise how McDonald's has positioned itself as a place where people have fun? It's not just a fast-food restaurant chain. Can you tell me why? (Let's talk in the comments)

A brand mantra is to brand positioning what reverse osmosis is to seawater. Both remove impurity and only give you what's essential and pure.

A brand mantra serves three major purposes:

• It communicates the idea behind the brand
• It simplifies the message of the brand
• It clarifies the positioning of the brand
• It inspires people & creates an emotional connection

If brand positioning were a chess game, the brand mantra would be the queen. It is the most powerful piece you have and, when properly placed, can win the game by itself. It is, however, one of the most difficult pieces to get into the action, especially early in the game.

How to create a brand mantra?

Marketing teams invest lots of time and effort in designing a brand mantra. It's a strenuous process of selecting the aptest 3-5 words.

Although, you can follow the 3 step rule to create your brand mantra. The key is to be honest, and do proper research. Don't just choose the words that feel good to you.

3 Step Rule to Create a Brand Mantra

• Brand function - It describes the nature of the product or service or the types of experience or benefits the brand provides.
• The descriptive modifier -This further describes whom the brand is basically for, i.e. athlete, family.
• The emotional modifier - It describes how consumers should feel about your brand, i.e. athletic, fun, raw.

See this chart to understand the concept better.