ACCOUNT CORE TO AURA Tools for better PLANNING Blake Pickering 2013 Five ways to look at a brand
Aug 16, 2015
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
ACCOUNT Tools for better
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