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
The brand core (Markenkern), also called the core idea, sits in the middle of the identity. It does four jobs: it underpins the communication strategy, gives a clear mission for the future, ties the values of the corporate brand together and serves as the brand's central communicative positioning statement (Burkhardt & Göpel, 2011, pp. 3–4). The authors name eight criteria for a promising positioning: it reflects the brand's real strengths, fits what the brand offers, matters to the target groups, sets the brand apart, is simple, looks ahead, promises a clear benefit and suits the company 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). For TAIKN they show the company's character and describe how its staff act. They also guide cooperation, shape the company's attitude, drive all its activities and are set for the long term, not to be changed at will. As a rule there should be only a few, so that people can remember them. According to the authors' experience, a corporate brand cannot stand out through its values. Most corporate brands end up with very similar ones, and they have to: at least in the West, a successful corporate culture needs 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
This ring asks whom the brand wants to reach (Zielgruppe(n)) and what these groups expect from it. The groups with priority are described in detail in psychographic terms (Burkhardt & Göpel, 2011, p. 2). The step matters especially for corporate brands. The touchpoints, and with them the brand's performance and communication, follow from the groups chosen (Burkhardt & Göpel, 2011, p. 4). Figure 2 of the paper lists seven possible groups: 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).
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 outer ring lists the places where people meet the brand (Markenkontaktpunkte), both on the communication side and on the performance side (Burkhardt & Göpel, 2011, p. 2). In the long run, communication cannot carry a brand alone; what it promises has to match how the company actually performs. Once the relevant target groups are set, the touchpoints that matter to them are therefore identified and ranked by how relevant they are and how big the existing gap is (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
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