The model rests on one idea. Aaker defines brand identity as "a unique set of brand associations that the brand strategist aspires to create or maintain", in short, what the brand should stand for (Aaker, 1996, p. 68, as cited in da Silveira et al., 2013, p. 29). Associations are the ideas that should come to mind when people see or hear of the brand (Aaker, 2011, point 3). A brand can stand for several of them, maybe six, ten or twelve, and some are more central than others (Meyerson, 2019a, para. 6). Aaker calls these ideas identity elements (Aaker, 2012, principle 1). The figure turns the idea into a plan in three stages, read from top to bottom. First comes an analysis, then the identity system, and last its implementation. The identity system in the middle takes up three of the five points below (Meyerson, 2019b, figure):

• Analysis first: the plan starts with a strategic brand analysis in three parts. The customer analysis looks at trends, motivation, unmet needs and segmentation, the division of customers into groups. The competitor analysis looks at rivals' brand image and identity, their strengths and strategies, and their weak spots. The self-analysis looks at the brand's existing image and its heritage, that is, its history. It also looks at the brand's strengths and capabilities and at the values of the organisation (Meyerson, 2019b, figure).
• One identity with a core: the identity elements are split into a core identity and an extended identity. The core is "the timeless essence of a brand" (Aaker, 1996, p. 85, as cited in Urde, 2013, p. 746). It holds what is most central to the brand and stays the same over time (Meyerson, 2019b, "Putting the Brand Vision Model All Together" section). The extended identity holds the other elements and adds detail (Kell, 1996, para. 11).
• Four perspectives as a search grid: the strategist looks at the brand from four perspectives, as a product, an organisation, a person with human traits and a symbol. Under them sit twelve categories, each a kind of idea the brand might stand for. They are meant to make sure that the strategist looks at the brand from every angle. But no category is required. Aaker encourages strategists to go through the categories, but only where they make sense for the brand (Meyerson, 2019b, "Brand Vision Perspectives and Elements" section). In the figure, lines from all four perspectives lead into the identity (Meyerson, 2019b, figure).
• From identity to relationship: the identity leads to a value proposition. In the figure, it consists of benefits for the customer, which can be functional, emotional or self-expressive (Meyerson, 2019b, figure). In a later blog post, Aaker explains two of these kinds. An emotional benefit makes the buyer or user feel something. A self-expressive benefit lets a person show who he or she is through the brand (Aaker, 2014b, "Emotional Benefits" and "Self-Expressive Benefits" sections). The identity also leads to credibility, which means how far people believe in and trust a brand. The figure adds only a note about supporting other brands. Value proposition and credibility both lead to the brand–customer relationship. A third line runs straight there from the bottom of the identity box. It starts below the category Brand–Customer Relationships (Meyerson, 2019b, figure).
• Position last: only then does implementation begin, with the brand position. Aaker defines it as the part of the identity and value proposition that is "actively communicated" to the target audience and shows an edge over rival brands (Aaker, 1996, p. 176, as cited in Urde, 2013, p. 746). Execution and tracking follow (Meyerson, 2019b, figure).

The model was first presented in Building Strong Brands (1996) and refined four years later in Brand Leadership (Aaker, 2012, para. 1). The 1996 model has no brand essence, a single thought that sums up the brand and that later versions place at the centre. Aaker recalls that he left it out because he did not want the brand reduced to a short phrase. He added it later because it helps in most cases (Meyerson, 2019a, "Brand Essence" section).

According to Meyerson, Aaker suggests that work begins with research, the "strategic brand analysis". It looks at customers, competitors and the brand or organisation as it is today. From the findings, strategists collect possible identity elements and check each of the twelve categories. Workshops or further research can help them choose the most important elements and place each one in the core or the extended identity. The chosen elements should hang together and make the brand's meaning easy to see (Meyerson, 2019b, "Putting the Brand Vision Model All Together" section).

The finished identity works like a map that shows what the brand means. Strategists can use it to develop a brand position or a value proposition, and to shape a brand experience that stays consistent (Meyerson, 2019b, "Putting the Brand Vision Model All Together" section). The implementation system in the figure spells this out. The brand position is part of the identity and value proposition. It is aimed at a target audience, should be actively communicated and gives the brand an advantage over competitors. Execution covers generating alternatives, symbols and metaphors, and testing. Tracking comes last (Meyerson, 2019b, figure).

Ferreiro-Rosende and colleagues applied Aaker's model to Picasso museums in Spain. They interviewed the curators or heads of communication of all Spanish Picasso museums except the one in Málaga, which did not take part. The interviews asked how each museum shows its identity through the four perspectives (Ferreiro-Rosende et al., 2023, pp. 160, 162). Picasso himself is a human brand, that is, a person who is also a brand. He belongs to the brand as person and is present in all other perspectives as part of the core identity (Ferreiro-Rosende et al., 2023, p. 164). Some museums use the painter's signature as their logo (Ferreiro-Rosende et al., 2023, p. 165). On the choice between local and global, the museums with larger collections think more globally, the smaller ones more locally (Ferreiro-Rosende et al., 2023, p. 166).

Konecnik and Go applied a later version of the planning model to Slovenia as a tourism destination. They call it the brand leadership model of Aaker and Joachimsthaler. They kept its three stages. First comes a strategic analysis of tourists, competitors and the destination itself, then an identity system with the four perspectives, and last the implementation (Konecnik & Go, 2008, pp. 179–182). Representatives of seven Slovenian organisations saw Austria as the main competitor. Their answers suggest a possible core identity: a varied and safe tourism experience in a small area (Konecnik & Go, 2008, pp. 183–185).

Aaker's own words point to three stumbling blocks (Aaker, 2012; Kell, 1996; Meyerson, 2019a, 2019b):

• Fixing on product attributes: in his book Aaker on Branding (2014), Aaker warns that product attributes often take up all the attention in identity work, so that other perspectives that could add value and distinctiveness are left out (as cited in Meyerson, 2019b, "Product Attributes" section).
• Filling every box: the twelve categories are not boxes to fill. Aaker built his model in reaction to models with eight boxes, where every one had to be filled (Meyerson, 2019a, para. 3). He writes that his model "does not pre-specify dimensions that all brands in all contexts must contain". By dimensions he means kinds of content, such as personality, symbols or emotional benefits. Nor does the model give all dimensions equal weight, even minor ones or ones that make no sense for the brand (Aaker, 2012, principle 2).
• Working at cross-purposes: this warning concerns systems of brands and subbrands, the brands that sit under a main brand. Aaker asks strategists to think in such systems rather than manage single brands. He warns that the brands in one system must not work against each other. In his view, inconsistency or "cross-purposes" inside a company's branding system can do real damage (Kell, 1996, paras. 12, 14).

• Brand Vision Model: this is Aaker's own later version. In his book Aaker on Branding (2014), he renamed the concept. The identity model became the brand vision model. For him, the word vision fits better because the concept is strategic and describes what the brand should stand for. The word identity, he says, too often causes confusion, because some take it to mean the graphic design around the brand (Aaker, 2014a, p. 20). The later version also has a brand essence at its centre (Meyerson, 2019a, "Brand Essence" section).
• Kapferer's Brand Identity Prism: Meyerson sets Aaker's model apart from the prism. The prism requires a brand personality, while Aaker's model does not prescribe any particular kind of idea (Meyerson, 2019a, para. 6).
• Neumeier's Brand Commitment Matrix and agency models: the matrix requires purpose and values, and many agency models require a set number of positioning pillars, the main ideas a brand is built on. Aaker's model leaves open how many ideas to include and what kinds (Meyerson, 2019a, para. 6).