The Building Blocks of Brand Value

Activities
What the brand does through products, services, partnerships, communication, or operations.

Actor–Network perspective
An approach recognising that both human and non-human actors influence systems and outcomes.

Archetype
A recurring character pattern that can help clarify the emotional centre of gravity of the brand.

Archetypical business models
Broad patterns for how Sustainable Brands operate.

Baseline
A starting point for measuring current reality.

Blue Ocean
A new market space created by changing the rules of an existing market.

Brand and Message Strategy
A structured plan for deciding who to involve, what to say, how to say it, where to say it, and how to learn.

Brand Engagement Strategy
A strategic blueprint aligning identity, story, evidence, messages, and action.

Brand Essence
The most distilled expression of the brand’s inner DNA.

Brand Evidence
The tangible proof that supports the brand’s claims and makes its sustainability ambitions credible.

Brand Identity
The core of the brand: its purpose, values, personality, and essence.

Brand Messages
The specific things the brand should say, how it should say them, and where dialogue is needed.

Brand Personality
The character of the brand as expressed through tone, style, behaviour, and emotional presence.

Brand Promise
The concise expression of what participants can expect from engaging with the brand.

Brand Story
The narrative that makes the brand meaningful, relatable, and motivating.

Brand Value Engage
The third circle focused on how the brand becomes visible and participatory.

Brand Value Imagine
The first phase where the brand’s future role and value creation are imagined.

Business model logic
The underlying way the business creates and earns value.

Call to action
The realistic next step the stakeholder is invited to take.

Certification
Third-party validation confirming specific standards or impacts.

Context
The wider environment in which a brand operates.

Core Values
The beliefs and principles the brand stands on.

Credibility
The degree to which the brand’s claims, behaviours, and evidence align.

Data Management & IT
Digital infrastructure supporting operations and transparency.

Digital evidence
Evidence expressed through digital platforms and systems.

Digital resources
Platforms, data systems, and tools enabling solutions.

Disruptive innovation
Innovation that makes existing models less relevant or obsolete.

Dreamholders
Visionary allies who help shape and reach the brand’s ambition.

Eco-empathy map
An empathy map representing ecosystems or future generations.

Eco-persona
A persona representing non-human stakeholders.

Ecosystem engagement
The process of aligning and collaborating with key actors.

Empathy Map
A tool to understand what a stakeholder thinks, feels, says, and does.

Engagement blueprint
A strategic frame guiding teams and collaborators.

ERRC framework
A tool used to redesign value: Eliminate, Reduce, Raise, Create.

ESG reporting
Reporting on environmental, social, and governance performance.

Ethos
The credibility and trustworthiness of the story.

Experiential evidence
Sensory and lived cues through which the brand is experienced.

Future Vision
The long-term change the brand wants to enable.

Gain motive
A message strategy based on practical value.

Green ERRC
An ERRC version embedding environmental and social value.

Green Ocean
A market space built around social or ecological needs.

Greenwashing
Misleading signals about sustainability performance.

Helper
The role of the brand as guide or enabler.

Hedonic motive
A message strategy based on pleasure or positive emotion.

Heritage
The origin and lived experience that make the brand credible.

Hero
The stakeholder group the story seeks to mobilise.

Hope
The future the brand and stakeholders aim to create.

Human actors
Individuals and organisations influencing the brand.

Iceberg Model
A framework distinguishing events, patterns, structures, and mental models.

If–then–and statement
A way to express causal logic from action to impact.

Impact
The broader environmental or social contribution.

Impact baseline
A view of current environmental and social performance.

Key Activities
Critical actions needed to deliver the value proposition.

Key Resources
Assets needed to operate the model.

Key Suppliers & Collaborators
Actors delivering materials or support.

Key Value Indicators (KVIs)
Indicators tracking value contribution.

Logos
The logical dimension of the story.

Market creation
Shaping new market conditions.

Market space name
A name for a new category or market.

Megatrend
A large-scale long-term shift.

Message tactics
Practical ways of activating communication.

Micro interventions
Small prompts supporting behaviour change.

Microtrend / Sub-trend
A focused manifestation of broader change.

Mission
The brand’s everyday reason for being.

Mission alignment
How well value capture supports the purpose.

Mission drift
A shift away from the original purpose.

Monetary value capture
Financial returns supporting viability.

Monetary, Social, and Planetary Costs
Costs involved in delivering value.

Monetary, Social, and Planetary Value
Financial and positive societal/environmental outcomes.

Mother Canvas
A canvas integrating the business model.

Movement label
A phrase people can rally around.

Narrative transportation
Being absorbed in a story.

Non-disruptive creation
Creating new value without destroying existing markets.

Non-human actors
Technologies or systems shaping behaviour.

Non-monetary value capture
Trust, relationships, and legitimacy gained.

Normative motive
A message strategy based on values and responsibility.

Obligatory passage points
Elements that must be engaged for the model to work.

Outcomes
Direct results of activities.

Participation
Inviting stakeholders to engage actively.

Participants
The people and communities the brand seeks to serve, involve, and learn from through ongoing interaction and engagement

Partners & Dreamholders
Actors who enable or strengthen the model.

Pathos
The emotional dimension of the story.

PESTLE analysis
Framework mapping external drivers.

Perception baseline
How stakeholders currently perceive the brand.

Physical evidence
Evidence through physical manifestations.

Planetary Value Path
The environmental pathway of value creation.

Pricing strategy
Logic behind price setting.

Problem Owner
Who or what experiences the problem.

Promise-Centred Narrative Model
A model structuring brand story elements.

Purpose
A unifying statement of mission, vision, and values.

Rebound effect
When positive effects are offset by behaviour.

Red Ocean
A crowded competitive market.

Resource ecosystem
System of accessible resources.

Resource leverage
Using resources more efficiently.

Resource mapping
Identifying available resources.

Resource prioritisation
Assessing critical resources.

Resources
Assets, capabilities, and partnerships enabling action.

Rich Value Proposition
How the brand creates value for individuals, society, and the planet.

Risks and Opportunities
Threats and growth possibilities.

Root cause analysis
Identifying underlying causes of problems.

SDGs
UN Sustainable Development Goals.

Social Discourse
Societal conversations the brand engages in.

Social Value Path
Value creation for people and communities.

Stakeholder promises
Commitments derived from the value proposition.

Stewardship
Ongoing care and development of value.

Strategy canvas
A visual comparison of competitive factors.

Sustainable Business Model
A model creating business, social, and planetary value.

Sustainable Engagement Journey
How stakeholders move to active participation.

Target Insight
Deep understanding of stakeholder needs or tensions.

Theory of Change
Explanation of how actions lead to outcomes and impact.

Think–Feel–Do
Structure for stakeholder response.

Touchpoint
Where stakeholders encounter the brand.

Transparency
Open communication about impacts and trade-offs.

Trend
A pattern of change over time.

Trend Cartogram
A one-page summary of a trend.

Trend Drivers
Forces shaping trends.

Trend Innovate
Shifts inspiring new solutions.

Trend Innovators / First Movers
Actors acting early on trends.

True Pricing
Including social and environmental costs in pricing.

Users & Customers
Those who use or pay for the offering.

Value
Meaningful change experienced by stakeholders.

Value capture
How value is earned and retained.

Value exchange
What stakeholders give and receive.

Value pathway
How activities lead to outcomes and impact.

Values
Principles guiding decisions.

Verifiable evidence
Documentable and validated proof.

Weak Signal
An early sign of change.

World Impact
The environmental and social change the brand aims to contribute to.