What is a brand identity prism

A Brand Strategy Agency and those individuals who work in marketing and branding will probably have heard of a brand identity prism. It will be a part of the work that companies like www.reallyhelpfulmarketing.co.uk/specialist-services/brand-strategy-agency/ will undertake when they work with companies to develop a strategy for the brand.

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The concept was developed by Kapferer in 1986 and it is a prism that is hexagonal in shape and it looks at the six key elements that make up any brand. By working through each element of the prism, a business can get a clear picture of what their brand stands for and can develop a personality for that brand. It allows businesses to be reflective about their core values and for finding ways that they can reinforce the strength of their brand.

Jean-Noel Kapferer, who developed the concept of the brand prism looked at six key areas through which a brand is expressed. The overarching concept of the prism is to allow businesses to look at their brand from a wider perspective and to not only concentrate on elements such as the logo. It allows companies to use all the elements of the brand together to be able to tell the story of the business and the products within it.

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The six elements that make up the brand prism include:

• Physique
• Personality
• Culture
• Relationship
• Reflection
• Self-Image

These elements are then grouped together as those that are linked to the Picture of Sender, the Picture of the Receiver, those that are Internalisation and those that are Externalisation.

• Picture of Sender – this is how the brand presents itself and it incorporates the elements of Physique and Personality.
• Picture of Receiver – this is how the clients and customers of the company see the brand and it incorporates the elements of Reflection and Self-Image.
• Internalisation – these are the elements that directly impact the Culture of the company and would include areas such as the company values and the policies and procedures that it develops.
• Externalisation – these are the elements that the brand produces that affected the Relationship of the brand with its customers and clients. This is made up of areas such as the logo, products and services that are offered and any advertising that is undertaken.

Working through each of these areas in detail and highlighting what the elements are made up of a business can create a persona and an overall brand that is congruent and this can then be communicated through the business. This then enables everyone to ensure that the work they are doing is on brand and it further helps to strengthen the brand identity that is portrayed to customers and clients.