BUILD BRAND LOVE - ALIGN
BRAND LOVE KEY
10 SECOND SUMMARY
The Brand Love Key is built to hardwire brand love into our positioning, by defining each brand as “a product
to buy” and “an idea to buy into”. At its core is a clear sense of purpose at the service of a specific group of
people, and providing a clear contribution to sustainable living.
OVERVIEW
A good Brand Love Key positions our brand
competitively. It helps define what the brand will do
and how it will do it, as well as what it will not do. It
inspires all who work on the brand to execute brand
actions in a consistent way that reinforces our
desired associations and so builds recognition and
reputation.
The Brand Love Key clearly roots each brand into
the tensions and aspirations of a well-defined group
of people. This is about building brands for “people”,
not just for “consumers”, in a fluid, online world
where the frontiers between our existence as
citizens, consumers, parents or individuals become
blurred.
We want to create brands that people love: defining
each of our brands as serving a “purpose” towards
real “people” is the best way to hardwire brand love
into our strategies. It is also the best springboard to
define products that create real value for people.
The Brand Love Key helps us position every brand as
a contributor to sustainable living.
WHAT
What are the key elements of the new Brand Love Key ?
Starting from the bottom, the foundation of a brand, the Roots are those specific assets from the past that we
want to leverage for the future. They are the strength of the brand, the things that made it great. It’s not a list
of everything the brand has ever had going for it, just those very few things that will always be core to the
development of the brand.
Examples: ADES: The pioneer and master in extracting the power of soy and blending it into delicious drinks.
SUNSILK: A history of empathy with the girls, pioneering variants for specific needs and democratizing
expert products .
Killer Question: Is it defined as something the brand had, has and will have forever and truly defines what the
brand is all about?
True to our Crafting Brands for Life Strategy we want to PUT PEOPLE FIRST, namely describing
The People We Serve. This is not primarily demographics, but mainly about defining the affinity group these
people would want to belong to. It describes the people who love the brand (and, implicitly, those who hate
the brand). What are their common defining characteristics?
Examples: MAGNUM: Spontaneous pleasure seekers
SURF: The every day optimists. Seeing the world’s glass half full is the only choice to deal with everyday life.
Killer Question: Does it define the people that will love the brand but also implicitly those that will hate it?
BUILD BRAND LOVE - ALIGN
BRAND LOVE KEY
WHAT
At the heart of our Brand Love Key we want to tell an inspiring story.
It is manifested in a strong Brand Love Triangle which constitutes
the essence of our brand.
The Human Truth is the core aspiration of the people whom
the brand serves, reflecting a deep rooted tension or
desire. The human truth should be something you can
tangibly feel in society today: it should both have broad,
social relevance, and also offer a space in which the brand
can credibly have a point of view. What tension or aspiration
do the people we serve struggle with?
Examples: SURF: Great things happen all the time around
us and most people simply don’t see them.
HELLMANN’S: Increasingly we feel like we are just
surviving as opposed to living.
Killer Question: Is the tension something you can feel, touch in
society? Is it culturally relevant for the time we are living in?
But at the same time is it something that’s not an ephemeral
fashion that will last only a summer?
The Brand Purpose (Brand Point of View) is the reason why the brand exists. It reflects the point of view
that the brand offers to cut through the human tension. It defines the higher-level contribution the brand
brings to the life of the people it serves.
Examples: FLORA: When making food for her family, we help Flora mums feel like great mums.
ADES: Stop talking, start doing.
Killer Question: Does it work as a T-Shirt message? Could someone disagree with it? How clear is it in
matching a great product to buy and a powerful idea to buy into?
The Product Truth is the essential characteristic of what we sell, the core of the product or service
people buy. It should be aspirational bring the brand point of view to life. But it should also be sharp &
specific enough to serve as the basis for an overarching R&D brief. Does it lead to clear choices and
product differentiation from the competition - even in a wider sense?
Examples: HELLMANN’S: The unmistakable elevator of food pleasure.
FLORA: The everyday family favourite and undoubtedly the healthiest choice.
Killer Question: Is it clear enough to guide your future offering? Does it help to define a strong, compelling
benefit for the brand?
Once we have shaped this Brand Love Triangle, we add some key elements on the top to make the
Brand Love Key unlock the magic :
The Functional Benefit (s) are defined as the differentiating functional and sensory benefits that motivate
purchase. Think about what the brand can offer as an improvement in some aspect of the people’s life.
The functional benefit should be the answer to our product truth.
Examples: SUNSILK: Hair that does what you want it to do.
Killer Questions: Does your benefit really make people’s life easier/better? Does it answer to our product
truth?
Emotional Benefit(s) are there for establishing an emotional connection between the brand and its
people. This emotional connection builds the trust that leads to loyalty. Make sure your brand has
credibility in offering a benefit that differs clearly from your competition.
Examples: SUNSILK: Fired up to write my story.
HELLMANN‘s: We elevate the taste of everything we touch, inspiring people to create moments that are
captivating and memorable, because they are tastier and more joyful.
Killer Questions: Would this expression come as an immediate association with your brand?
BUILD BRAND LOVE - ALIGN
BRAND LOVE KEY
WHAT
The Brand Discriminator is the simplest, most compelling reason why people choose the brand; that sets
the brand apart from the competition. They could be functional reasons, emotional reasons or both. It
would be great if the sentence can always start with “only…”
Examples: FLORA: Flora is always the healthiest choice. It always has been and always will be. That's one
thing Mum can be sure of.
SUNSILK: Only Sunsilk understands girls enough to provide hair products that fire them up to write their
own story.
Killer Question: What makes your brand unique vs your
competitors? What is the one and only thing only your brand
offers?
The Brand Personality is a description of how the brand
behaves. If the brand were a person how would it come
across to other people? It helps to define the style of
communication with the people we want to engage. Use the
least generic words you can, and find the few that really
define the brand.
Examples: SUNSILK: A genuine friend, optimistic & joyful,
that can deal with serious stuff in a lighthearted manner.
FLORA: We’re caring, loving, generous, down-to-earth and
non-judgemental.
Killer Question: Which kind of archetype would your brand be?
Ambition for Unilever Sustainable Living Plan: This is how the brand contributes to the Unilever Sustainable
Living Plan. It can leverage any of the Brand Love Triangle of Human Truth/Product Truth/Brand Purpose.
The challenge here is to clearly articulate how the brand will contribute, even in a small way, to making the
world a better place. As Paul Polman has said, “we are as strong as our weakest link”, so every brand
should, at some level, contribute to the social, health or environmental better being of the people on the
planet. It should clearly reflect one of the 7 pillars of the Unilever Sustainable Living Plan.
Examples: HELLMANN’S: To make Hellmann’s use of sustainably sourced ingredients the Blue Ribbon
standard for the industry.
SURF: Lighten the load for our consumers and our planet (so they can turn on their senses)
Killer Questions: Does your ambition drive growth, cut cost or reduce risk? Does it fit with one of the 7
pillars of the Unilever Sustainable Living Plan? Is there a measureable impact on a recognised social or
environmental need?
WHO
Changing a Brand Love Key should be a rare
event, led by a senior BD leader with their
agency partner, through an intense process we
call the Brand Deep Dive.
The Brand Deep Dives are initiated by the
GBVPs or Brand Directors, who will engage the
Creative Excellence team and our accredited
supplier Innate Motion.
HOW TO
There is a recommended approach to arrive at a
Brand Love Key, the so called Brand Deep Dives,
including consumer immersions, workshops,
storytelling, ideation. It is a collaborative process
that engages BD, BB, CMI, Media, R&D and
agencies, into defining brands that make a
difference.
CONTACTS AND LINKS
1. CONTACT THE CREATIVE EXCELLENCE TEAM FOR MORE INFORMATION: walter.susini@unilever.com
2. LOG INTO THE HUB FOR MORE DETAILS, CASE STUDIES AND EXAMPLES!
BUILD BRAND LOVE - ALIGN
BRAND LOVE KEY
BRAND LOVE KEY EXAMPLES
BUILD BRAND LOVE - ALIGN
BRAND LOVE KEY
BRAND LOVE KEY EXAMPLES