The Brand Canvas Model
The Brand Canvas Model
Brandcom · Brand and advertising agency, Germany · 2018
Introduction
All Building Blocks of a Brand on One Chart
Brandcom, a German brand and advertising agency, published the Brand Canvas Model in 2018. It puts the main building blocks of a brand on one chart, so that everyone involved with the brand keeps an overview of it (Brandcom, 2018a, FAQ, "Fazit"). The idea comes from the Business Model Canvas of the start-up world, but the content is its own and deals only with brands (Brandcom, 2018a). Filling in the fields means answering the key questions about the brand briefly and clearly. The finished canvas shows what the brand is built on (Brandcom, 2018a). It suits new and existing brands, product and company brands, in B2B and B2C (Brandcom, 2018a, FAQ). It is a summary and does not replace detailed work (Brandcom, 2018a, "Fazit"). Version 2 of 2018 had a field for the logo, and the 2022 version asks for the objectives instead (Brandcom, 2018b, 2022).
The Model
Elements
Definitions follow Brandcom (2018a, section "Detailerläuterung und Ablauf") and the guiding questions on the canvas (Brandcom, 2022). Both are in German, so quotations are translated. The fields appear in the order in which brandcom recommends filling them for a new or revised brand.
Set-Up
01
Framework Conditions / External Factors
The top block places the brand between outside conditions, inside conditions and its goals (Brandcom, 2018a). This field collects the outside forces that affect the brand, such as the economic climate, social trends and legal rules (Brandcom, 2018a). The 2022 canvas lists economic, social and political conditions (Brandcom, 2022).
02
Organisation / Structure
Here the canvas shows where the brand sits in the company and who looks after it. The brand can be the whole company or just one product line. A team, one person or an agency can run it, and it can be international or purely local (Brandcom, 2018a). The 2022 canvas adds the brand's place in the organisation chart, team and resources, and other brands or companies (Brandcom, 2022).
03
Objectives
Brandcom calls the goal one of the most important guides for everything else, and says it is often settled only in passing. Focused measures need a clear goal. So the field asks how far the brand wants to go, "niche hero or world market leader" (translated) (Brandcom, 2018a). The 2022 canvas asks for the goals of both the company and the brand (Brandcom, 2022).
Alignment
04
Competitors
The middle block sets the strategic direction, with competitors on one side and customer demands on the other (Brandcom, 2018a). This field names the main competitors and notes how big they are, what they argue with and why customers pick them (Brandcom, 2018a). The 2022 canvas also asks for their strengths, weaknesses and market share (Brandcom, 2022).
05
Customers
The field describes the customer groups and goes beyond age and gender. It records what customers need and expect from the brand, which problem they have, and in what situation they come across the brand (Brandcom, 2018a).
06
Brand Promise
The promise is the core of the brand and the link customers draw between brand and product (Brandcom, 2018a). At best it sits clearly between what customers want and what competitors can offer. It should be broad enough for all products and sharp enough to be unique. Brandcom calls finding it "certainly the hardest task in brand development" (translated) (Brandcom, 2018a). The 2022 canvas asks for it in one sentence (Brandcom, 2022).
07
Story / Differentiation
This field holds the story behind the brand and what sets it apart (Brandcom, 2022). A brand marks a difference from its competitors, and the German word Marke comes from Markierung (marking) for that reason (Brandcom, 2018a). When the product itself is hardly different, the story can carry the difference. It can tell how the brand or company began, name its goals, or give any other reason that matters to customers, even the pricing (Brandcom, 2018a).
08
Services / Offers / Products
This field lists what the brand offers. That means products and services and, for NGOs, beliefs or services for others, with details where they help (Brandcom, 2018a). The range should already fit the brand promise. A brand that wants to make life easier should not have a complicated offer (Brandcom, 2018a). The 2022 canvas also asks how the offer is built up and how it is priced or paid for (Brandcom, 2022).
Derivation
09
Corporate Design
The bottom row turns the upper fields into the brand's appearance, and its fields should follow logically from the ones above (Brandcom, 2018a). Corporate design is the visual side. It depends on the impression the brand should give, such as trust or innovation, on whether it should stand out or blend in, and on the colours and imagery that fit. The canvas suggests small pictures instead of words (Brandcom, 2018a, 2022).
10
Brand Personality
The design shapes the personality, but the personality deserves its own description. It shows how the brand behaves, for example close or distant, relaxed or formal. A simple test is the form of address. If the brand were a person, would it use the informal or the formal word for you (du or Sie)? A few descriptive adjectives often say enough (Brandcom, 2018a).
11
Marketing Strategy
The strategy is the plan for reaching the brand's goal (Brandcom, 2018a). The field records which media and channels the brand uses and in what order, and whether seasons or trade fairs play a role (Brandcom, 2018a, 2022).
Source
- Brandcom. (2018a, March 9). The Brand Canvas Model: Warum Wir Marken in Spalten Packen [The Brand Canvas Model: Why We Put Brands Into Columns] [Blog post]. Retrieved October 7, 2026, from https://www.brandcom.de/blog/the-brand-canvas-model-warum-wir-marken-in-spalten-packen
- Brandcom. (2018b). The Brand Canvas Model (Version 2) [Canvas template, PDF]. Brandcom Group. Retrieved October 7, 2026, from https://www.brandcom.de/assets/Uploads/9ffa1fd61c/bc-brand-canvas-model-v2.pdf
- Brandcom. (2022). The Brand Canvas Model [Canvas template with guiding questions, PDF]. Brandcom Group. Retrieved October 7, 2026, from https://www.brandcom.de/assets/PDFs/bc_brand_canvas_modell_2022.pdf
Part of the Brand Identity Model Atlas. The atlas underpins the Brand-Building Canvas: a practical one-page brand identity and strategy framework for building, auditing, and repositioning brands. Download the PDF or PowerPoint template, or compare all brand identity models in the overview.