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Dentsu Honeycomb Model

電通ハニカム・モデル

Dentsu Inc. · Advertising agency, Tokyo · 2003

Introduction
A Honeycomb for Brand Identity and Brand Messages

The Tokyo advertising agency Dentsu uses the Honeycomb Model to plan the branding process. This profile follows a 2003 article by Gosuke Sato, head of the brand consulting office in Dentsu's Brand Creation Center (Sato, 2003, pp. 4, 7). The model lists the elements a brand should have, to fix its brand identity, and sets out four kinds of message the brand can send (Sato, 2003, p. 7). Sato sees branding where two processes meet. One gives form to the will of the company and its management. The other captures what consumers have in mind. The aim is a "shared value" (Sato, 2003, p. 5; translated). Six cells surround the core value, the brand essence. They sit in four message layers, from "This is ~" to "You are ~" (Sato, 2003, p. 8, Figure 3). Sato gives the last two layers the most weight, because the relation between brand and customer sits in the "brand world" (ブランド世界) that the messages create (Sato, 2003, p. 7). In 2014 a Dentsu author called the model the planning framework the agency had used for more than ten years, and adapted it for fundraising (Hasumura, 2014).

The Model

Dentsu Honeycomb Model: seven hexagonal cells with Core Value (Brand Essence) at the centre, set on four horizontal bands: Symbol and Base of Authority in Message Layer 1 (This is ~), Emotional Benefit and Functional Benefit in Message Layer 2 (You can get ~), Personality in Message Layer 3 (I am ~) and Ideal Customer Image in Message Layer 4 (You are ~)
Redrawn after Sato (2003, p. 8, Figure 3), labels translated from the Japanese original.

Elements

Definitions follow Damema (2019), a practitioner's walk-through of the model, condensed from the Japanese and cited by section, with quotations translated; the message layers follow Sato (2003, pp. 7–8). Element names are the English labels of Dentsu's figure (Sato, 2003, p. 8, Figure 3).


Message Layer 1 (This Is …)
  • 01

    Symbol

    The symbol (ロゴやカラーアイコン, "logo, colour, icon") is the icon people remember with their senses, mostly the logo and the brand colour. Damema defines it as the brand's visual emblem (Damema, 2019, "Symbol"). Together with the base of authority it forms message layer 1, "This is ~". This message comes from whatever physically stands for the brand, such as the package, the logo or sometimes the head of the company (Sato, 2003, pp. 7–8).

    Georgia (canned coffee): the name calls up a mountain, and the colour is basically blue (Damema, 2019, "Symbol").
  • 02

    Base of Authority

    The base of authority (ブランドの信頼の証, "proof of the brand's trustworthiness") is the evidence behind the trust. It states what the brand does to be trusted or what technology it has (Damema, 2019, "Base of Authority"). With the symbol, it is what users see first and where they notice how the brand differs from others (Damema, 2019, "Message Layer 1").

    Georgia (canned coffee): the feeling of satisfaction right after opening the can (Damema, 2019, "Base of Authority").

Message Layer 2 (You Can Get …)
  • 03

    Emotional Benefit

    The emotional benefit (情緒的価値, "emotional value") is the feeling and sensory value the brand gives (Damema, 2019, "Emotional Benefit"). With the functional benefit it forms message layer 2, "You can get ~", which tells consumers what benefits the brand offers (Sato, 2003, pp. 7–8).

    Georgia (canned coffee): Damema describes it as praising hard work and standing by each person. It shows in the advertising more than in the coffee. The campaign line "The world is made of someone's work" followed from it (Damema, 2019, "Emotional Benefit"; translated).
  • 04

    Functional Benefit

    The functional benefit (機能的価値, "functional value") is the practical value of the product. Users feel it directly, and it matches what they expect from the specification, such as a mild sweetness (Damema, 2019, "Functional Benefit").

    Georgia (canned coffee): carefully selected, rare, top-grade beans (Damema, 2019, "Functional Benefit").

Message Layer 3 (I Am …)
  • 05

    Personality

    The personality (ブランドの人的性格, "the brand's human character") asks what kind of person the brand would be. Giving a product a human trait is common practice (Damema, 2019, "Personality"). It forms message layer 3, "I am ~", in which the brand states its own character (Sato, 2003, pp. 7–8). Design shows the outward look. This layer shows character (Damema, 2019, "Message Layer 3").


Message Layer 4 (You Are …)
  • 06

    Ideal Customer Image

    The ideal customer image (ターゲット, "target") defines the people the brand wants as users and fans, and the ones it moves most. Damema calls it an important part, because if it shifts, the other elements shift with it (Damema, 2019, "Ideal Customer Image"). It forms message layer 4, "You are ~", through which the brand also marks out the consumers who feel attached to it (Sato, 2003, pp. 7–8).

    Marlboro: its communication carries the unspoken message "You are manly" (Sato, 2003, p. 7), meant for the people Marlboro wants to love the brand. Georgia (canned coffee): the main target is working men. With high-school girls as the target, the campaign "The world is made of someone's work" would not exist and the can would look different (Damema, 2019, "Ideal Customer Image").

Centre
  • 07

    Core Value (Brand Essence)

    The core value (象徴的なブランド経験, "symbolic brand experience"), labelled "Brand Essence" in Dentsu's figure (Sato, 2003, p. 8, Figure 3), sits in the centre. It gathers the six surrounding elements into the position that users give the brand. The brand image is made of those six, and the core value is the message they send together (Damema, 2019, "Core Value").

    Georgia (canned coffee): the core value is "supporting working people" (Damema, 2019, "Core Value"; translated).

Source

  1. Damema. (2019, June 18). 電通ハニカムモデルのフレームワークをジョージアを例題に徹底解説 [The Dentsu Honeycomb Model Framework Explained in Detail With the Georgia Example]. 企画のミカタ damema.net. Retrieved October 8, 2026, from https://damema.net/article/116/
  2. Hasumura, T. [蓮村俊彰]. (2014, August 12). 社会と共創するためのフレームワーク(2) [Frameworks for Co-Creating With Society (2)]. 電通報 [Dentsu-Ho]. Retrieved October 8, 2026, from https://dentsu-ho.com/articles/1505
  3. Sato, G. [佐藤剛介]. (2003). 強いブランドを作るコミュニケーション [Communication That Builds Strong Brands]. AD STUDIES, 3, 4–8. https://www.yhmf.jp/as/.assets/ads_03.pdf

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