TAIKN Brand Identity and Management Model
Markenidentitäts- und -Führungsmodell von TAIKN
Achim Burkhardt & Henrike Göpel · TAIKN Strategische Markenberatung (brand consultancy, Heidelberg) · 2011
Introduction
From Identity to Touchpoints
Achim Burkhardt and Henrike Göpel of the brand consultancy TAIKN presented the model in a 2011 white paper for managing corporate and service brands (Burkhardt & Göpel, 2011, p. 1). It follows the identity-based view of brand management: a strong identity is the precondition for stakeholders' trust, and it fixes what the brand should stand for, first inside the company and later outside (Burkhardt & Göpel, 2011, p. 1). Following "Competence-based Strategic Management", TAIKN works out every element both from the company's own resources (inside-out) and from the view of target groups and competitors (outside-in) (Burkhardt & Göpel, 2011, p. 1). The model places the identity at the centre and arranges target groups, touchpoints and the brand's performance and communication in rings around it (Burkhardt & Göpel, 2011, p. 2). It stresses that brand management covers processes as well as communication: the promise has to be kept in products, services and processes, not only in communication (Burkhardt & Göpel, 2011, pp. 7–8). With slight changes, the model also suits product brands (Burkhardt & Göpel, 2011, p. 10).
The Model
Elements
Definitions follow Burkhardt and Göpel (2011, pp. 2–9), translated from German. The German terms in italics are those of the figure or the text.
Who Are We? Brand Identity in the Narrow Sense
01
Brand Core
At the centre of the identity lies the brand core (Markenkern), also called the core idea. It is the basis of the communication strategy, sets a clear mission for the future, links the values of the corporate brand and is the brand's central communicative positioning statement (Burkhardt & Göpel, 2011, pp. 3–4). A good positioning represents the brand's real strengths, fits its offering, matters to the target groups, sets the brand apart, stays simple, looks to the future, promises a clear benefit and suits the company's culture (Burkhardt & Göpel, 2011, p. 4).
02
Brand Values
The values (Markenwerte) are "standards against which one's own or other people's behaviour is measured" (Bierhoff, 1998, as cited in Burkhardt & Göpel, 2011, p. 3; translated). They express the company's character, describe how its employees act, guide cooperation, form the basis of its attitude, drive all its activities and are meant for the long term. They should be few, so that people can remember them. Experience shows that a corporate brand cannot set itself apart through its values: the values of most corporate brands are very similar, and must be, because a successful corporate culture, at least in Western cultures, calls for very similar values (Burkhardt & Göpel, 2011, p. 3).
03
Brand Personality
Because the values stay few, the identity also fixes a brand personality (Markenpersönlichkeit). It is the basis for the tone of the brand's communication. TAIKN determines it inside and outside the company with Jennifer Aaker's internationally validated personality items (Burkhardt & Göpel, 2011, p. 3).
04
Brand Offering
The offering (Markenleistung) states exactly which products and services the brand "actually offers" (translated). Together with the strengths, the benefit promise and the differentiators, it forms the core of the identity in the narrow sense (Burkhardt & Göpel, 2011, p. 3).
05
Brand Strengths
The identity defines the brand's strengths (Markenstärken) (Burkhardt & Göpel, 2011, p. 3). The first success criterion of the positioning, competence, says that it should represent the brand's actual strengths (Burkhardt & Göpel, 2011, p. 4).
06
Benefit Promise
The identity sets the brand's exact benefit promise (Nutzenversprechen, in the text also Markennutzen) (Burkhardt & Göpel, 2011, pp. 2–3). A positioning should make a clear benefit promise to the stakeholders (Burkhardt & Göpel, 2011, p. 4). Positionings built on benefits promise more success than self-descriptive ones, because they "think" from the target group and address its needs and expected benefits (Burkhardt & Göpel, 2011, p. 6).
07
Differentiation
The differentiators (Differenzierung in the figure, Differentiatoren in the text) answer the question of how the brand differs from its competitors "actually and noticeably in content" (translated) (Burkhardt & Göpel, 2011, p. 3). The positioning must allow the brand to stand apart from the competition (Burkhardt & Göpel, 2011, p. 4).
Whom Do We Address? Target Groups
08
Target Groups
The ring around the core specifies the target groups (Zielgruppe(n)) the brand should address and surveys what they expect from it; the groups with priority get a detailed psychographic description (Burkhardt & Göpel, 2011, p. 2). Corporate brands in particular have to fix their target groups, because the touchpoints and the brand's performance and communication are derived from them (Burkhardt & Göpel, 2011, p. 4). Possible groups are the sales market, the labour market, employees, media and the public, politics and lobbies, the capital market and investors, and business partners (Burkhardt & Göpel, 2011, p. 5, Figure 2).
Siemens and Procter & Gamble: which groups a corporate brand addresses depends on the brand architecture. In a branded house such as Siemens, the corporate brand faces all stakeholder groups. In a house of brands such as Procter & Gamble, it plays no role, or a very small one, for the sales market (Burkhardt & Göpel, 2011, p. 5).09
Psychological Moment of Brand Choice
Beyond naming the groups, the model describes them by their motives and expected benefits. The aim is to understand these motives and the experience customers have when the brand's promise fulfils them. Burkhardt and Göpel call this the "psychological moment of brand choice" (psychologischer Moment der Markenwahl). Only with this deep understanding can the benefit promise be put into practice for the target groups. Means-end analyses have proved especially useful for this (Burkhardt & Göpel, 2011, pp. 6–7).
Where Can We Be Experienced? Brand Touchpoints
10
Brand Touchpoints
The outermost ring records the brand's touchpoints (Markenkontaktpunkte) on the communication side and on the performance side (Burkhardt & Göpel, 2011, p. 2). Communication alone does not make a brand successful in the long run: the promise it makes has to be in step with the company's performance processes. So, once the relevant target groups are fixed, the touchpoints that matter to them are worked out and ranked by relevance and by existing deficit (Burkhardt & Göpel, 2011, pp. 7–8).
How Can We Be Experienced? On-Brand Performance and Communication
11
On-Brand Performance (Proofpoints)
For each relevant touchpoint, the model works out in detail what performance fits the brand (markenadäquate Leistung), where the brand stands today and which measures are needed to keep its promise. On the performance side, the "proofpoints" or "moments of truth" (translated) are identified in three search fields: products, services and processes (Burkhardt & Göpel, 2011, pp. 2, 8).
BMW: for the positioning "Freude am Fahren" (joy of driving), the company would ask how its products must be designed and how they must drive to convey it, which service aspects can deliver it, and how internal processes from R&D to sales must work to bring it to the customer (Burkhardt & Göpel, 2011, p. 8).12
On-Brand Communication (Coding)
On the communication side, the model defines the design of the brand's appearance (markenadäquate Kommunikation): its coding through language, images and symbols, and other sensory elements. It has proved helpful to set down in detail not only the "go's" but also the "no go's" (Burkhardt & Göpel, 2011, pp. 2–3, 9). On-brand language uses the right key terms again and again over a long time, and its whole style reflects the brand's values and personality and the motives of the target groups (Burkhardt & Göpel, 2011, p. 9).
BMW: for years, even decades, BMW has used not only the claim "Freude am Fahren" but variations of it throughout its communication, such as "Pure Fahrfreude", along with synonyms such as "Vergnügen" or "Fun" and words such as "Dynamik" that add the sporty side of the positioning (Burkhardt & Göpel, 2011, p. 9).
Source
- Burkhardt, A., & Göpel, H. (2011). Markenidentitäts- und -Führungsmodell von TAIKN [TAIKN's Brand Identity and Management Model] [White paper]. TAIKN Strategische Markenberatung. Retrieved October 7, 2026, from https://www.taikn.de/app/download/14884063722/WP_MarkenmodellTAIKN.pdf