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Branding for Builders

Branding for Builders

Gibson Biddle · Former VP of Product, Netflix · 2017

Introduction
A Brand Model for Product Teams

Gibson Biddle was VP of Product at Netflix from 2005 to 2010. In 2017 he published two small models that show how a brand and a product can be built together (Biddle, 2017). The work is split between two teams. Marketing sets the brand, and the product team makes it real with the product (Biddle, 2017). A brand, in his words, "tells a story that builds a relationship between a customer and product" (Biddle, 2017, brand definition figure). The story has five parts: positioning, customer benefit, personality, aspiration and emotion. The positioning model covers the first three, and the brand pyramid adds the last two (Biddle, 2017). Biddle suggests testing the answers with consumers, above all through A/B tests. At Netflix the positioning kept changing, while the upper levels of the pyramid stayed steady and kept the product team on course (Biddle, 2017).

The Model

Branding for Builders: the five components of a brand, and the brand pyramid with product attributes, product benefits, emotional benefits and something bigger below a headline
Schematic after Biddle (2017), two figures placed one above the other: the five components of a brand and "The Brand Pyramid".

Elements

Definitions follow Biddle (2017). The examples are his: Volvo, Apple and, above all, Netflix.

The Positioning Model

  • 01

    Positioning

    Biddle explains positioning with Volvo. Ask people for the first word that comes to mind, and most say "safety". Volvo has put one idea into people's heads, and that idea sets the brand apart from its competitors. The model's first question is how you would describe the product or company in simple terms. The answer should be short and plain. In the long run, the team should ask which single word the brand wants to own (Biddle, 2017).

    Volvo and Netflix: Volvo has spent billions on advertising and kept inventing safety features to own that one word. Netflix describes itself as a monthly subscription service for TV and movies. Biddle expects it to own "entertainment" one day (Biddle, 2017).

  • 02

    Customer Benefit

    The second question asks how the product helps customers. The answer moves unchanged into the brand pyramid, where it becomes the second level (Biddle, 2017).

    Netflix: fast, easy, entertaining and good value (Biddle, 2017, Netflix positioning model).

  • 03

    Personality

    The third question is about character. How should the product come across to customers? Biddle's test is a cocktail party. A guest has just met your product. What would you want that guest to say about it afterwards (Biddle, 2017)?

    Netflix: straightforward and friendly (Biddle, 2017, Netflix positioning model).
The Brand Pyramid

  • 04

    Product Attributes

    This is the base of the pyramid. It lists the features that deliver the benefits above it, meaning what customers actually buy or use. The pyramid is read from the bottom up, and every other level builds on this one. Features come and go, so this is the level where new ideas show up. The levels above it change much less (Biddle, 2017).

    Netflix: in the early days, 100,000 DVD titles, delivery the next day, a website for building a queue, no late fees. Later came streaming and Netflix's own productions (Biddle, 2017).

  • 05

    Product Benefits

    Here the team says how the product makes customers' lives better. They repeat the benefits from the positioning model, and the attributes below must make them possible (Biddle, 2017).

    Apple: its human-centred design is easy to use, so customers get more done and become more creative (Biddle, 2017).

  • 06

    Emotional Benefits

    This level is about feelings. Suppose the product delivers its benefits and then beats expectations. How do customers feel? The answer has to be feeling words. Biddle includes emotion because it makes a brand memorable. He cites Maya Angelou, who said people "will never forget how you made them feel" (Biddle, 2017).

    Netflix and Apple: Netflix aims for delight. Apple wants its customers to feel imaginative and free (Biddle, 2017).

  • 07

    Something Bigger

    The top level looks far ahead. If the product fully delivers on the levels below, how might it "dent the universe"? Biddle asks teams to think twenty years out. Many find this hard, so his advice is simply to think big. The goal is a purpose that can inspire the team for fifty years (Biddle, 2017).

    Apple, Nike, SpaceX and Netflix: Apple stands for revolutionary innovation. Nike wants people to reach their full human potential. SpaceX wants to save humanity by colonising Mars. For Netflix it is escaping reality, through a service that is so easy to use that the technology disappears (Biddle, 2017).

  • 08

    Headline

    The headline is the whole pyramid in one line. If the team later builds an advertising campaign, this line is what the campaign is called (Biddle, 2017).

    Netflix and Apple: "Movie Enjoyment Made Easy" was the Netflix headline, and customers were never meant to see it. Apple's "Think Different" campaign cost forty million dollars to create (Biddle, 2017).

Source

  1. Biddle, G. (2017, December 18). Branding for Builders: How Netflix Defined a Brand That Helped It to Build a Great Product, and Vice-Versa [Blog post]. Medium. https://gibsonbiddle.medium.com/branding-for-builders-19e103ef3f1d (archived copy retrieved October 7, 2026, from https://web.archive.org/web/20250105120005/https://gibsonbiddle.medium.com/branding-for-builders-19e103ef3f1d)

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.