A Brand Manifesto is a powerful and expressive statement that encapsulates the core values, beliefs, and purpose of a brand. It serves as a declaration of a brand’s identity, guiding principles, and its commitment to its audience. Often framed as a passionate, inspirational narrative, a manifesto goes beyond traditional marketing messages to articulate a brand’s mission, vision, and the impact it seeks to create. A well-crafted brand manifesto can help forge a deep emotional connection with consumers and differentiate the brand in a crowded marketplace.
Key Elements
Brand manifestos typically include the following key elements: 1. Core Values: Clear articulation of the brand’s fundamental values and principles. 2. Brand Purpose: A statement of the brand’s overarching mission and the positive change it aspires to bring about. 3. Vision: A forward-looking perspective that outlines the brand’s aspirations and long-term goals. 4. Commitment: A pledge to consistently adhere to the stated values and principles. 5. Call to Action: Encouragement for consumers to align with the brand’s mission or take specific actions that support it. 6. Emotional Resonance: Use of emotive language and storytelling to create an emotional connection with the audience.
Purpose and Function
Brand manifestos serve several key purposes: 1. Identity Clarification: They clarify a brand’s identity, helping both internal stakeholders and external audiences understand what the brand stands for. 2. Differentiation: Manifestos help differentiate the brand by conveying its unique values and mission. 3. Emotional Connection: They create a powerful emotional connection with consumers, fostering loyalty and advocacy. 4. Guiding Principles: Manifestos serve as guiding principles for brand actions, decisions, and messaging. 5. Inspirational: They inspire both consumers and employees to align with the brand’s vision and values.
Examples
Prominent brands, such as Nike with its “Just Do It” mantra or Apple with its “Think Different” campaign, have used brand manifestos effectively to resonate with their target audiences. These manifestos not only encapsulate the essence of the brands but also inspire individuals to embrace the brand’s values and join a larger movement.
Implementation
Successful implementation of a brand manifesto involves integrating it into various aspects of a brand’s strategy and communication: 1. Brand Messaging: Ensure that all brand messaging aligns with the manifesto’s values and purpose. 2. Marketing Campaigns: Develop campaigns that reflect the manifesto’s narrative and encourage consumer engagement. 3. Employee Alignment: Engage and align employees with the manifesto, making it a part of the organizational culture. 4. Customer Engagement: Encourage customers to participate in the brand’s mission and purpose.
Challenges
Challenges in using a brand manifesto include the need for authenticity and consistency in brand actions, ensuring that the manifesto resonates with the intended audience, and avoiding perceptions of empty rhetoric.
A brand manifesto clarifies what a brand stands for, why it is necessary, and what will drive it forward. It usually consists of a story or collection of phrases that foster an emotional bond between a brand and its customers.
Brand manifestos are seen as a natural evolution of company mission statements, which tend to be characterized by vague and extremely general aspirations that fail to capture why the company exists in the first place.
Indeed, brand manifestos are concise, brave, and purposeful statements that outline the personality of a brand and the impact it wants to have on the world. This allows the company to connect with a very specific customer who shares its values and ultimate objectives and is keen to support them.
Authenticity: A brand manifesto should authentically reflect the brand’s core values and purpose.
Clarity: It should communicate the brand’s message clearly and succinctly.
Inspiration: A brand manifesto should inspire and resonate with both internal teams and external audiences.
Consistency: The values and commitments outlined in the manifesto should align with the brand’s actions and behaviors.
Evolution: Over time, a brand manifesto may evolve as the brand grows and adapts to changing circumstances.
Advantages of a Brand Manifesto
Clarity of Purpose: A brand manifesto provides a clear sense of purpose and direction for the brand.
Brand Loyalty: It fosters emotional connections and loyalty among consumers who align with the brand’s values.
Employee Engagement: Internally, it engages employees by giving them a shared vision and values to rally behind.
Competitive Differentiation: A well-articulated brand manifesto can set the brand apart from competitors and attract like-minded customers.
Resilience: In times of crisis or challenges, a strong brand manifesto can help the brand stay true to its values and navigate difficulties.
Challenges of a Brand Manifesto
Authenticity Dilemma: If the manifesto doesn’t align with the brand’s actions, it can lead to accusations of insincerity.
Complexity: Crafting a concise yet impactful manifesto can be challenging.
Consistency Maintenance: Ensuring that the brand’s actions consistently reflect the manifesto’s values can be demanding.
Evolution: Manifestos may need to evolve as the brand grows and adapts, which can be a delicate process.
When to Use a Brand Manifesto
Brand Launch: Developing a brand manifesto is often part of the launch process to establish the brand’s identity.
Rebranding: When a brand undergoes rebranding, a new manifesto can signal the brand’s transformation.
Defining Values: When a brand wants to define and communicate its core values and beliefs.
Engaging Employees: To engage and align employees with the brand’s mission and values.
Expected Long-Term Impact of a Brand Manifesto
Brand Loyalty: A brand manifesto can foster long-term loyalty among consumers who resonate with the brand’s values.
Consistency: Over time, it can help ensure that the brand’s actions and behaviors align with its stated values.
Brand Resilience: Brands with a strong manifesto may navigate challenges and crises more effectively by staying true to their values.
Sustained Relevance: A well-crafted manifesto can help the brand remain relevant in a rapidly changing marketplace.
Related Branding Strategies
Brand Storytelling: Brand storytelling is often intertwined with a brand manifesto, as both aim to communicate the brand’s purpose and values.
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR): The values outlined in a brand manifesto may align with CSR initiatives, reinforcing the brand’s commitment to positive social and environmental impact.
Brand Positioning: Brand positioning strategies often draw from the values and purpose articulated in the manifesto.
Employee Advocacy: Employees who believe in the brand manifesto can become powerful advocates both internally and externally.
Fiat
Fiat encapsulates the Italian zest for life as a small car manufacturer with large passions.
The company equates happiness with driving, car ownership, and appreciating the little moments in life:
“There are people who simply live their lives. And then there are people who take charge of their lives and live it so passionately that they are in love with it. Love that shines through in every moment and every thing they do – big or small. It is not just cursory appreciation but unadulterated passion. It is this ability to celebrate the smallest of things with infectious excitement that arises from a certain Italian way of life. It is this attitude that is at the core of the FIAT brand, its employees, the vehicles they create and the people who rejoice in their ownership – as individuals as well as a proud collective. People who love FIAT cars not just for their simple, beautiful, iconic design. But for their attitude to live big just as they do.”
Falwasser
Falwasser is an Australian range of crispbread produced by the Byron Bay Cookie Company. The company, which began as a small, home-based business, now ships crispbread with no preservatives or artificial colors all over the world.
Falwasser’s brand manifesto takes the time to personify its brand and outline aspirations for the future:
“I was born and bred in Australia from an all natural family. I like parties, gatherings, and late night rendezvous. I’m one of a kind. I may be thin, but I’m strong. I’m down to Earth but I have extremely prestigious taste. I love cheese, dips, and pates, but I also taste great naked. I’m looking for someone who has an exceptional palate and desires the best out of life. Loving me is a guarantee.”
Nike
Some of the best athletes in the world use Nike’s equipment and the company has a list of achievements that most competitors could only dream about. However, its brand manifesto does not make mention of these facts and instead focuses on creating an emotional response between the brand and everyday consumers.
“Somehow we’ve come to believe that greatness is only for the chosen few, for the superstars. The truth is, greatness is for us all. This is not about lowering expectations; it’s about raising them for every last one of us. Greatness is not in one special place, and it’s not in one special person. Greatness is wherever somebody is trying to find it.”
The North Face
While its competitors focus on how their products can help consumers explore the outdoors, The North Face has more of a philosophical focus on the why in its brand manifesto.
Ultimately, the company sees exploration as a form of self-expression and its brand asks consumers probing questions. Like Fiat, The North Face also relates its products to an appreciation of life:
“Why do we explore? Do we simply want to go places we’ve never been before? No, it goes far deeper than that. We explore so we may know the earth better and, along the way, ourselves. How willful are we? How strong? How brave? We embrace the struggle and accomplish things others thought impossible. The equipment we rely on is more than our tools. It is how we transport ourselves from who we are to who we will be. These are life’s great moments. We do not explore to cheat death. We explore to celebrate life. We will never stop exploring.”
Case Studies
Company
Brand Manifesto Strategy
Case Study
Analysis
Patagonia
Sustainability and Environmental Responsibility
Patagonia’s “Don’t Buy This Jacket” campaign
Patagonia’s Brand Manifesto, emphasizing sustainability and anti-consumerism, aligns with its values and has resonated with environmentally conscious consumers.
Airbnb
Community and Global Connection
Airbnb’s “Belong Anywhere” brand narrative
Airbnb’s Brand Manifesto fosters a sense of belonging and connection, appealing to travelers seeking unique, local experiences.
Dove
Real Beauty and Self-Esteem
Dove’s “Real Beauty” campaigns and messaging
Dove’s Brand Manifesto promotes real beauty and self-esteem, which has garnered significant positive attention and brand loyalty.
REI
Outdoor Adventure and Exploration
REI’s “Opt Outside” campaign and ethos
REI’s Brand Manifesto encourages outdoor exploration and sustainability, aligning with its outdoor-focused customer base.
TOMS
Social Impact and One-for-One Giving
TOMS’ “One for One” model and brand mission
TOMS’ Brand Manifesto of giving back through product sales has created a strong brand identity based on social impact.
Airbnb
Community Engagement and Inclusivity
Airbnb’s “Community Compact” and anti-discrimination policy
Airbnb’s commitment to inclusivity and community engagement reinforces its brand ethos.
Airbnb
Trust and Safety
Airbnb’s “Trust Principles” and safety measures
Airbnb’s emphasis on trust and safety aligns with its commitment to ensuring a secure and reliable platform for hosts and guests.
Dove
Diversity and Inclusion
Dove’s “Dove Self-Esteem Project”
Dove’s Brand Manifesto extends to initiatives that promote diversity and inclusion, strengthening its brand values.
REI
Environmental Stewardship and Conservation
REI’s “Force of Nature” campaign
REI’s Brand Manifesto emphasizes environmental stewardship and conservation, appealing to nature enthusiasts.
Patagonia
Ethical Supply Chain and Corporate Responsibility
Patagonia’s commitment to responsible sourcing
Patagonia’s ethical supply chain practices align with its Brand Manifesto’s focus on corporate responsibility.
Key takeaways:
A brand manifesto clarifies what a brand stands for, why it is necessary, and what will drive it forward. Each manifesto consists of a story or collection of phrases that foster an emotional fond between the brand and its customers.
Fiat encapsulates the Italian zest for life as a small car manufacturer with much larger passions in its brand manifesto, while The Byron Bay Cookie Company’s manifesto personifies its brand with a humanistic description and future aspirations.
Nike’s brand manifesto makes it clear that anyone is capable of greatness with an emotional plea for its customers to realize their potential. The North Face, on the other hand, takes a philosophical approach and links its ability to embrace struggle and achieve difficult goals with the lives of outdoor adventurers.
Account-based marketing (ABM) is a strategy where the marketing and sales departments come together to create personalized buying experiences for high-value accounts. Account-based marketing is a business-to-business (B2B) approach in which marketing and sales teams work together to target high-value accounts and turn them into customers.
Ad Ops – also known as Digital Ad Operations – refers to systems and processes that support digital advertisements’ delivery and management. The concept describes any process that helps a marketing team manage, run, or optimize ad campaigns, making them an integrating part of the business operations.
Venture capitalist, Dave McClure, coined the acronym AARRR which is a simplified model that enables to understand what metrics and channels to look at, at each stage for the users’ path toward becoming customers and referrers of a brand.
Affinity marketing involves a partnership between two or more businesses to sell more products. Note that this is a mutually beneficial arrangement where one brand can extend its reach and enhance its credibility in association with the other.
As the name suggests, ambush marketing raises awareness for brands at events in a covert and unexpected fashion. Ambush marketing takes many forms, one common element, the brand advertising their products or services has not paid for the right to do so. Thus, the business doing the ambushing attempts to capitalize on the efforts made by the business sponsoring the event.
Affiliate marketing describes the process whereby an affiliate earns a commission for selling the products of another person or company. Here, the affiliate is simply an individual who is motivated to promote a particular product through incentivization. The business whose product is being promoted will gain in terms of sales and marketing from affiliates.
The bullseye framework is a simple method that enables you to prioritize the marketing channels that will make your company gain traction. The main logic of the bullseye framework is to find the marketing channels that work and prioritize them.
Brand building is the set of activities that help companies to build an identity that can be recognized by its audience. Thus, it works as a mechanism of identification through core values that signal trust and that help build long-term relationships between the brand and its key stakeholders.
According to inbound marketing platform HubSpot, brand dilution occurs “when a company’s brand equity diminishes due to an unsuccessful brand extension, which is a new product the company develops in an industry that they don’t have any market share in.” Brand dilution, therefore, occurs when a brand decreases in value after the company releases a product that does not align with its vision, mission, or skillset.
The brand equity is the premium that a customer is willing to pay for a product that has all the objective characteristics of existing alternatives, thus, making it different in terms of perception. The premium on seemingly equal products and quality is attributable to its brand equity.
Brand positioning is about creating a mental real estate in the mind of the target market. If successful, brand positioning allows a business to gain a competitive advantage. And it also works as a switching cost in favor of the brand. Consumers recognizing a brand might be less prone to switch to another brand.
Business storytelling is a critical part of developing a business model. Indeed, the way you frame the story of your organization will influence its brand in the long-term. That’s because your brand story is tied to your brand identity, and it enables people to identify with a company.
Content marketing is one of the most powerful commercial activities which focuses on leveraging content production (text, audio, video, or other formats) to attract a targeted audience. Content marketing focuses on building a strong brand, but also to convert part of that targeted audience into potential customers.
One of the first mentions of customer lifetime value was in the 1988 book Database Marketing: Strategy and Implementation written by Robert Shaw and Merlin Stone. Customer lifetime value (CLV) represents the value of a customer to a company over a period of time. It represents a critical business metric, especially for SaaS or recurring revenue-based businesses.
Customer segmentation is a marketing method that divides the customers in sub-groups, that share similar characteristics. Thus, product, marketing and engineering teams can center the strategy from go-to-market to product development and communication around each sub-group. Customer segments can be broken down is several ways, such as demographics, geography, psychographics and more.
Developer marketing encompasses tactics designed to grow awareness and adopt software tools, solutions, and SaaS platforms. Developer marketing has become the standard among software companies with a platform component, where developers can build applications on top of the core software or open software. Therefore, engaging developer communities has become a key element of marketing for many digital businesses.
A digital channel is a marketing channel, part of a distribution strategy, helping an organization to reach its potential customers via electronic means. There are several digital marketing channels, usually divided into organic and paid channels. Some organic channels are SEO, SMO, email marketing. And some paid channels comprise SEM, SMM, and display advertising.
Field marketing is a general term that encompasses face-to-face marketing activities carried out in the field. These activities may include street promotions, conferences, sales, and various forms of experiential marketing. Field marketing, therefore, refers to any marketing activity that is performed in the field.
interaction with a brand until they become a paid customer and beyond.
Funnel marketing is modeled after the marketing funnel, a concept that tells the company how it should market to consumers based on their position in the funnel itself. The notion of a customer embarking on a journey when interacting with a brand was first proposed by Elias St. Elmo Lewis in 1898.
Funnel marketing typically considers three stages of a non-linear marketing funnel. These are top of the funnel (TOFU), middle of the funnel (MOFU), and bottom of the funnel (BOFU). Particular marketing strategies at each stage are adapted to the level of familiarity the consumer has with a brand.
A go-to-market strategy represents how companies market their new products to reach target customers in a scalable and repeatable way. It starts with how new products/services get developed to how these organizations target potential customers (via sales and marketing models) to enable their value proposition to be delivered to create a competitive advantage.
The term “greenwashing” was first coined by environmentalist Jay Westerveld in 1986 at a time when most consumers received their news from television, radio, and print media. Some companies took advantage of limited public access to information by portraying themselves as environmental stewards – even when their actions proved otherwise. Greenwashing is a deceptive marketing practice where a company makes unsubstantiated claims about an environmentally-friendly product or service.
Grassroots marketing involves a brand creating highly targeted content for a particular niche or audience. When an organization engages in grassroots marketing, it focuses on a small group of people with the hope that its marketing message is shared with a progressively larger audience.
Growth marketing is a process of rapid experimentation, which in a way has to be “scientific” by keeping in mind that it is used by startups to grow, quickly. Thus, the “scientific” here is not meant in the academic sense. Growth marketing is expected to unlock growth, quickly and with an often limited budget.
Guerrilla marketing is an advertising strategy that seeks to utilize low-cost and sometimes unconventional tactics that are high impact. First coined by Jay Conrad Levinson in his 1984 book of the same title, guerrilla marketing works best on existing customers who are familiar with a brand or product and its particular characteristics.
Hunger marketing is a marketing strategy focused on manipulating consumer emotions. By bringing products to market with an attractive price point and restricted supply, consumers have a stronger desire to make a purchase.
Integrated marketing communication (IMC) is an approach used by businesses to coordinate and brand their communication strategies. Integrated marketing communication takes separate marketing functions and combines them into one, interconnected approach with a core brand message that is consistent across various channels. These encompass owned, earned, and paid media. Integrated marketing communication has been used to great effect by companies such as Snapchat, Snickers, and Domino’s.
Inbound marketing is a marketing strategy designed to attract customers to a brand with content and experiences that they derive value from. Inbound marketing utilizes blogs, events, SEO, and social media to create brand awareness and attract targeted consumers. By attracting or “drawing in” a targeted audience, inbound marketing differs from outbound marketing which actively pushes a brand onto consumers who may have no interest in what is being offered.
Integrated marketing describes the process of delivering consistent and relevant content to a target audience across all marketing channels. It is a cohesive, unified, and immersive marketing strategy that is cost-effective and relies on brand identity and storytelling to amplify the brand to a wider and wider audience.
The marketing mix is a term to describe the multi-faceted approach to a complete and effective marketing plan. Traditionally, this plan included the four Ps of marketing: price, product, promotion, and place. But the exact makeup of a marketing mix has undergone various changes in response to new technologies and ways of thinking. Additions to the four Ps include physical evidence, people, process, and even politics.
Marketing myopia is the nearsighted focus on selling goods and services at the expense of consumer needs. Marketing myopia was coined by Harvard Business School professor Theodore Levitt in 1960. Originally, Levitt described the concept in the context of organizations in high-growth industries that become complacent in their belief that such industries never fail.
Marketing personas give businesses a general overview of key segments of their target audience and how these segments interact with their brand. Marketing personas are based on the data of an ideal, fictional customer whose characteristics, needs, and motivations are representative of a broader market segment.
Meme marketing is any marketing strategy that uses memes to promote a brand. The term “meme” itself was popularized by author Richard Dawkins over 50 years later in his 1976 book The Selfish Gene. In the book, Dawkins described how ideas evolved and were shared across different cultures. The internet has enabled this exchange to occur at an exponential rate, with the first modern memes emerging in the late 1990s and early 2000s.
Microtargeting is a marketing strategy that utilizes consumer demographic data to identify the interests of a very specific group of individuals. Like most marketing strategies, the goal of microtargeting is to positively influence consumer behavior.
Multichannel marketing executes a marketing strategy across multiple platforms to reach as many consumers as possible. Here, a platform may refer to product packaging, word-of-mouth advertising, mobile apps, email, websites, or promotional events, and all the other channels that can help amplify the brand to reach as many consumers as possible.
Multi-level marketing (MLM), otherwise known as network or referral marketing, is a strategy in which businesses sell their products through person-to-person sales. When consumers join MLM programs, they act as distributors. Distributors make money by selling the product directly to other consumers. They earn a small percentage of sales from those that they recruit to do the same – often referred to as their “downline”.
The Net Promoter Score (NPS) is a measure of the ability of a product or service to attract word-of-mouth advertising. NPS is a crucial part of any marketing strategy since attracting and then retaining customers means they are more likely to recommend a business to others.
Neuromarketing information is collected by measuring brain activity related to specific brain functions using sophisticated and expensive technology such as MRI machines. Some businesses also choose to make inferences of neurological responses by analyzing biometric and heart-rate data.
Neuromarketing is the domain of large companies with similarly large budgets or subsidies. These include Frito-Lay, Google, and The Weather Channel.
Newsjacking as a marketing strategy was popularised by David Meerman Scott in his book Newsjacking: How to Inject Your Ideas into a Breaking News Story and Generate Tons of Media Coverage. Newsjacking describes the practice of aligning a brand with a current event to generate media attention and increase brand exposure.
A microniche is a subset of potential customers within a niche. In the era of dominating digital super-platforms, identifying a microniche can kick off the strategy of digital businesses to prevent competition against large platforms. As the microniche becomes a niche, then a market, scale becomes an option.
We can define pull and push marketing from the perspective of the target audience or customers. In push marketing, as the name suggests, you’re promoting a product so that consumers can see it. In a pull strategy, consumers might look for your product or service drawn by its brand.
Real-time marketing is as exactly as it sounds. It involves in-the-moment marketing to customers across any channel based on how that customer is interacting with the brand.
Relationship marketing involves businesses and their brands forming long-term relationships with customers. The focus of relationship marketing is to increase customer loyalty and engagement through high-quality products and services. It differs from short-term processes focused solely on customer acquisition and individual sales.
Reverse marketing describes any marketing strategy that encourages consumers to seek out a product or company on their own. This approach differs from a traditional marketing strategy where marketers seek out the consumer.
Remarketing involves the creation of personalized and targeted ads for consumers who have already visited a company’s website. The process works in this way: as users visit a brand’s website, they are tagged with cookies that follow the users, and as they land on advertising platforms where retargeting is an option (like social media platforms) they get served ads based on their navigation.
Sensory marketing describes any marketing campaign designed to appeal to the five human senses of touch, taste, smell, sight, and sound. Technologies such as artificial intelligence, virtual reality, and the Internet of Things (IoT) are enabling marketers to design fun, interactive, and immersive sensory marketing brand experiences. Long term, businesses must develop sensory marketing campaigns that are relevant and effective in eCommerce.
Services marketing originated as a separate field of study during the 1980s. Researchers realized that the unique characteristics of services required different marketing strategies to those used in the promotion of physical goods. Services marketing is a specialized branch of marketing that promotes the intangible benefits delivered by a company to create customer value.
Sustainable marketing describes how a business will invest in social and environmental initiatives as part of its marketing strategy. Also known as green marketing, it is often used to counteract public criticism around wastage, misleading advertising, and poor quality or unsafe products.
Word-of-mouth marketing is a marketing strategy skewed toward offering a great experience to existing customers and incentivizing them to share it with other potential customers. That is one of the most effective forms of marketing as it enables a company to gain traction based on existing customers’ referrals. When repeat customers become a key enabler for the brand this is one of the best organic and sustainable growth marketing strategies.
360 marketing is a marketing campaign that utilizes all available mediums, channels, and consumer touchpoints. 360 marketing requires the business to maintain a consistent presence across multiple online and offline channels. This ensures it does not miss potentially lucrative customer segments. By its very nature, 360 marketing describes any number of different marketing strategies. However, a broad and holistic marketing strategy should incorporate a website, SEO, PPC, email marketing, social media, public relations, in-store relations, and traditional forms of advertising such as television.
Gennaro is the creator of FourWeekMBA, which reached about four million business people, comprising C-level executives, investors, analysts, product managers, and aspiring digital entrepreneurs in 2022 alone | He is also Director of Sales for a high-tech scaleup in the AI Industry | In 2012, Gennaro earned an International MBA with emphasis on Corporate Finance and Business Strategy.
