ACCOUNT

CORE

TO

AURA

Tools for better

PLANNINGBlake Pickering 2013

Five ways to look at a brand

ACCOUNT Tools for better

PLANNING Blake Pickering 2013

What’s the point?Core to Aura is a simple way to deconstruct a brand into easily understood parts. It’s useful in helping clients come to a clearer understanding of what they represent, and in establishing a pithy brand truth or working towards insights.

Although marketing usually uses the ‘Core’ and the ‘Aura’ aspects (as the intangibles) and the Surface as the market interface, any the 5 parts can be analysed at depth to find ways to deliver a stronger overall brand.

ACCOUNT Tools for better

PLANNING Blake Pickering 2013

Core

System

Guts

Surface

Aura

A brand’s reason for being

Where the brand fits in

The inner workings

What the public sees

How the brand makes you feel

ACCOUNT Tools for better

PLANNING Blake Pickering 2013

Core

A brand’s reasonfor being

Make the worlda better place

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PLANNING Blake Pickering 2013

Where the brand fits in

System

brings the world

together

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PLANNING Blake Pickering 2013

The innerworkings

Guts

productionbottling

warehousesHQ

distributionwholesale

retail

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PLANNING Blake Pickering 2013

What the public sees

Surface

bottlebranding

digitalads

point-of-salesponsorship

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PLANNING Blake Pickering 2013

How the brand makes you feel

Aura

open happiness

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PLANNING Blake Pickering 2013

Get to the CoreThe greatest value that Core to Aura offers to the strategic planner or brand manager is bringing a brand’s essence to full expression.

The most important aspect of getting this right is in defining the Core correctly. Understanding what a brand is, and more importantly what it is not, is the first step towards unlocking its full potential. It is critical that the Core is expressed in clearly differentiated, aspirational terms that reflect the brands origins, the underpinning loyalty that drives the consumer relationship, and where the brand aims to be.

ACCOUNT Tools for better

PLANNING Blake Pickering 2013

Core

A brand’s reasonfor being

Where the brand fits in

System

The innerworkings

Guts

What the public sees

Surface

How the brand makes you feel

Aura

Develop a concise definition of the brand truth by asking:

• What is the brand, and what is it not?

• What does the brand stand for, and what does it oppose, from the consumer perspective?

• What sets the brand apart from its competitors? What does this brand do that makes it the best in its category?

Taking the Core into account, what is the system that the brand currently fits into:

• Geographically

• In the supply chain

• In consumers’ lives

Should this be expanded or contracted to achieve the brand truth most effectively?

Look at the everyday projects and operations of the brand.

• How does it work?

• How do staff and stakeholders interact?

• How is the brand communicated and expressed at each touchpoint and each step of the processes?

• How can this be enhanced to align with the Core?

The surface is the public interface, and the most accessible facet for improvement. Surface should be carefully studied from the user perspective:

• What is the overall brand impression?

• Are surfaces consistent in visual language and tone of voice?

• What surfaces are not being used to full potential?

• How can the surface be focused and simplified to drive the Core?

Aura is the collective and the ideal. It should be defined in brand terms, but should be viewed as a culmination of the others.

Issues with the perception of a brand are ultimately adjusted through an effort in the prior steps.

fin