Our process. Part 2. Strategy - Core Messaging.
What a fun ride. In case you missed it, we started last week to break down our regenerative branding process, using Fernweh as an example to make this more tangible for you. We looked at our discovery process and broke down how we do our research and why all of that matters so much in building a solid foundation for a unique and authentic brand that surpasses trends. An important part of that process is the founder story, which I recently shared with B The Change, in case you are interested to learn more about why Fernweh exists.
This week’s section feels like the most challenging part of the process. Mainly, because we, like most people (especially creatives), always want to do it all. We hate narrowing down possibilities, and have so much to say and share that we care about, it makes distilling what we truly stand for a lot more difficult. But we are going to take our own medicine and do the best we can to focus in on what matters most to us and reveal our true purpose.
But first, let us break down the basics of brand strategy and what we are doing in this part, and why.
If a brand is the heartbeat, or essence of a company, the core messaging – Mission, Vision & Values – the part we are looking at today, is its foundation. It’s your company’s reason for existing in the first place, what defines your purpose, and what creates the connection between your company and your audience. And it translates internally into a culture that attracts and retains great talent.
We like to start with the vision, the big, audacious dream you are working towards, that keeps you going. Your vision statement outlines your ideals, and what you hope the impact is that you leave on your industry or the world at large.
As promised, here are our current favorites that what we have been playing with for Fernweh:
Our vision is a world where every business that aims to move us into a regenerative future is positioned above the rest and has a heart-centered brand at its core.
Our vision is a world where people and the planet matter more than profits, where love and care are the currency of choice, and where work feels like play.
Our vision is a world that regenerates through the powers of beauty, play, and love.
Next is the mission. It’s an inspiring statement that defines how you do what you do to get to that big vision. Your brand mission is the reason why your brand exists. It gives your company a clear direction and an ideal to aspire to. Your company’s mission statement outlines the actionable steps you are currently taking to fulfill your goals. It defines company objectives and how you go about fulfilling them. It should be pretty straightforward and concise.
For us that looks something like this:
Our mission is to help brands reveal what’s in their hearts.
Cultivating brands that strive to do better for people and the planet, helping them to connect with the right people on an emotional level, through love and care.
Our mission is to cultivate regenerative brands for the world to fall in love with.
As you can see, there are quite a few elements to this. And usually, reducing it down to the essence is what will be best. And while this is always very clear for us on the brands we work with, it seems to be much harder to do this for ourselves.
Which one is your favorite? We would love to know.
The last piece of the core messaging puzzle is the brand values.
Your core brand values are the beliefs that you, as a company, stand for. They serve as the compass that guides your brand story, actions, behaviors, and decision-making process. And they help you frame your brand story in a way that resonates with your target audience. Ideally, everything you do internally and externally as a company can be checked against this set of values to make sure that it resonates with what you set out to make your audience feel.
Here is what we have defined as Fernwehs core brand values:
Love & Care - Love is the seed from which we cultivate brands and make our every decision, we apply empathy and a deep sense of care in everything we do.
Creative Expression - Exploration, Curiosity, and Play is what drive us to create unique brands and tell meaningful and unheard stories, we don’t jump on trend bandwagon’
Regeneration - More than just sustaining, we strive to create an environment of regeneration that respects people and planet, gives back, and inspires. Community matters deeply to us.
Intention - We only speak when we have something of value to say. Truth, honesty, and transparency, guide our every interaction, and our voice is filled with clarity and confidence. We treat our clients like we want to be treated, and the same goes for our client's audience, we build brands that respect, not coerce
Beauty - We seek and see beauty in all of humanity. We find poetic inspiration and meaningful moments in all of life’s musings. We strive to inspire awe. Everything we produce we do so with the highest quality in mind.
Next week we will be looking at the second part of our brand strategy, the Brand Narrative, which includes Problem/Solution, Approach, and Points of differentiation.
If you have any questions in the meantime, please reach out. We would love to hear your thoughts and are happy to help you get clear on your own core messaging.
Much love,
Lisa & Tim
