Why brand values have little value

Tom Morton

This paper argues that trying to express a brand’s value (its `essence’) in a few words leads to a bland, practically unhelpful description which tells one nothing about what a brand really is.

Why brand values have little value

Tom Morton

A few years ago, an HSBC executive was asked about the bank's brand values. We know what they are, he replied, because we ask our customers what they are. A brand consultant recently wrote in another article that 'Virgin stands for a fun, exploratory lifestyle'.

Closer to home, a (clever, collaborative) client told me that they were fleshing out what their (interesting, distinct) brand stood for by asking consumers how they would describe it.

The inconvenient truth is that most of the words we use to colour a brand's activities – usually...

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