Your brand identity starts with three parts: the essence, the vision and the personality. The essence is the brand in two or three words. The vision is where the brand goes. The personality is how it behaves. This post gives you a one-page worksheet.
Learn these skills in the course Brand Management (MC-BM), outcome 1.
Who This Is For
Business owners and brand managers who start a brand or a rebrand.
The One-Page Worksheet
| Part | The Question | Example: an IT Services Firm |
|---|---|---|
| Brand essence | What is the one promise behind everything we do, in two or three words? | Systems that stay up |
| Brand vision | What will be true for our customers in five years because of us? | Every mid-size factory in Malaysia runs with no unplanned downtime |
| Brand personality | If the brand were a person, which three words describe how it behaves? | Calm, precise, on call |
How to Fill It In
- Ask five customers why they chose you. Write their words down.
- Circle the words that come back more than once.
- Write the essence from those words, not from your own slogan.
- Write the vision as a result for the customer, not as revenue for you.
- Choose three personality words. Test each against a recent email or post.
Example: The IT Services Firm
Take an IT services firm in Cyberjaya. Customers said “our systems stay up with you”. The team wrote the essence “Systems that stay up”. Its emails then became short, precise and calm.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Writing ten values. Three personality words are easier to use.
- A vision about your own size. Write the customer result.
- Words that every competitor also uses, such as “quality” or “excellence”.
Try It This Week
Call two customers. Ask: why did you choose us? Write their words on the worksheet as they say them.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where does the archetype fit?
The archetype comes next. It gives the personality a known character. See the Read Also list.
Who should fill in the worksheet?
The owner and the brand manager, with input from sales and customer service.
Next Step
Read the full outline of Brand Management (MC-BM). Public classes: 1 and 2 February 2027; 7 and 8 April 2027. All dates are on the Training Calendar. For a group from your company, get a quote for in-house training. More Work Tips are in the skill area Brand. Read also:
