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Brand Orientation and Brand Hexagon

The Brand Hexagon

Mats Urde · Lund University · 1994/1999

Introduction
Brands as Strategic Resources

Mats Urde of Lund University introduced brand orientation in the 1990s, in publications from 1994 and in his doctoral thesis of 1997. It sees the brand as a resource and as the strategic centre of a company. The idea grew out of case studies at DuPont, Nestlé and Tetra Pak, and at Nicorette and Volvo (Urde et al., 2013, Section 3.2; Larsson et al., 2001, p. 23). Brand orientation works from the inside out and starts from the company's own identity. Market orientation works from the outside in and starts from the image that customers have of the brand (Urde et al., 2013, Abstract). Customers' wants and needs are not ignored, but they "are not allowed to unilaterally steer the development of the brand". Brand building therefore begins with a clear idea of the internal brand identity (Urde, 1999, as cited in Mohamed, 2013, p. 47). In his 1999 article Urde shows this view as the Brand Hexagon, which starts from the brand mission (Gerlach & Witt, 2012, p. 18). Mohamed says the hexagon "integrates brand equity and brand identity with a company's direction, strategy, and identity" (Mohamed, 2013, p. 48). It also uses Aaker's equity dimensions of awareness, association and loyalty (Mohamed, 2013, p. 49).

The Model

Brand Hexagon: six circles at the corners of a hexagon, clockwise from the top Target Audience, Product Category, Product, Vision & Mission, Brand Name and Company Name, with Positioning: Core Values in the centre; an inner triangle joins Target Audience, Product and Brand Name, its sides labelled 1) Awareness, 2) Associations and 3) Loyalty; spokes labelled Communication, Personality and Quality join the centre with Target Audience, Brand Name and Product
Redrawn after Urde (1999, p. 125) as reproduced in Gerlach and Witt (2012, p. 18, Figure 3).

Elements

Definitions follow Mohamed (2013, pp. 47–49), Gerlach and Witt (2012, p. 18) and Larsson et al. (2001, pp. 26–29), a Lund bachelor's thesis supervised by Urde; all three draw on Urde (1999). Passages from Larsson et al. are translated from Swedish. Mohamed (2013, p. 48) reads the six outer nodes by their position in the hexagon and describes the two nodes on each side together; the cards follow this reading. The examples come from Mohamed's application of the hexagon to the Chinese car brands GEELY and BYD (2013, p. 275).

Outer Nodes

  • 01

    Vision & Mission

    The lower node is where the model starts. The brand mission covers why the brand exists, plus its strategy, identity, personality and core values (Gerlach & Witt, 2012, p. 18). Brand building begins with a clear picture of the internal brand identity, so the mission comes first (Mohamed, 2013, p. 47). This part of the hexagon shows what the company wants with its brand (Mohamed, 2013, p. 48).

    GEELY and BYD: Both brands express their mission and vision well, and Mohamed sees them moving towards brand-oriented organisations (Mohamed, 2013, p. 275).

  • 02

    Target Audience

    The upper node shows how the target customers understand the brand (Mohamed, 2013, p. 48). In a brand-oriented company the brand is "a strategic platform for interplay with the target group". It does not simply answer every demand of the moment (Urde, 1999, as cited in Mohamed, 2013, pp. 48–49). Communication links this node to the centre, and through it customers learn what the brand identity is (Gerlach & Witt, 2012, p. 18, Figure 3).

    GEELY and BYD: Mohamed sees the main challenge for Chinese brands here. They need to understand how their target customers see the brand (Mohamed, 2013, p. 275).

  • 03

    Product Category and Product

    The right side of the hexagon is the reference side. Customers judge product category and product with reason (Mohamed, 2013, p. 48). Urde's model keeps the two apart (Larsson et al., 2001, p. 26). Quality links the product to the centre (Gerlach & Witt, 2012, p. 18, Figure 3), and Mohamed adds that the model treats product quality as important for building a brand (Mohamed, 2013, p. 49).

    GEELY and BYD: On this rational side, both brands are aiming for a higher product category (Mohamed, 2013, p. 275).

  • 04

    Company Name and Brand Name

    The left side carries the emotional function. Customers judge company name and brand name by feeling. For Urde, a brand is experienced as a whole, with heart and head together (Mohamed, 2013, p. 48). Personality links the brand name to the centre (Gerlach & Witt, 2012, p. 18, Figure 3). Larsson et al. point out that the model assumes a company that makes and sells only its own brands. For the retailer Gröna Konsum they leave the names aside, though they find it interesting how names such as Änglamark and Blåvitt shape its image (Larsson et al., 2001, pp. 26–27).

    GEELY and BYD: Both brands, like Chinese brands in general, need to give more attention to the emotional side of company and brand name (Mohamed, 2013, p. 275).
Centre

  • 05

    Positioning: Core Values

    The centre is where the meaning of the brand is formed. It consists of positioning and core values (Mohamed, 2013, p. 48). Together, these two carry the brand's meaning. The tie between brand and audience then becomes a question of identity (Urde, 1999, as cited in Larsson et al., 2001, p. 29). A brand-oriented company uses positioning to get its core values across (Larsson et al., 2001, p. 29). If it later has to change its communication, it can reposition the brand and leave the identity as it is (Aaker, 1996, as cited in Larsson et al., 2001, p. 29). Communication, personality and quality tie the centre to target audience, brand name and product (Gerlach & Witt, 2012, p. 18, Figure 3).

    GEELY and BYD: Mohamed sees the missing positioning and core values at the centre as the second challenge for Chinese brands (Mohamed, 2013, p. 275).
Links to the Centre

  • 06

    Communication

    Positioning has three parts: quality, personality and communication (Urde, 1999, as cited in Larsson et al., 2001, p. 29). Used together, they let the brand take a clear place in customers' minds (Larsson et al., 2001, p. 29). Communication is about how the brand speaks, that is, which media it uses, what kind of communication and what it says (Larsson et al., 2001, p. 29). Urde's hexagon gives it a large role, because it is how customers are told what the brand identity is (Gerlach & Witt, 2012, p. 18). In the figure it links the centre with the target audience (Figure 3).

  • 07

    Personality

    Personality is the human side of the brand, the character that people attach to it (Larsson et al., 2001, p. 29). Urde points out that any product has a substitute. A brand is different when it has its own personality and identity, because it can give customers a relationship that no other brand offers (Gerlach & Witt, 2012, p. 18). In the figure, personality links the centre with the brand name (Figure 3).

  • 08

    Quality

    Quality is the product-related part of positioning. Pricing shows how this can work, since a price is often read as a sign of quality (Larsson et al., 2001, p. 29). Mohamed reads the model as treating product quality and brand identity as important parts of building a brand (Mohamed, 2013, p. 49). In the figure, quality links the centre with the product (Gerlach & Witt, 2012, p. 18, Figure 3).

Inner Triangle

  • 09

    Awareness

    Awareness, associations and loyalty are the inner relationships of the model (Gerlach & Witt, 2012, p. 18). They follow Aaker's three equity dimensions: awareness, association and loyalty (Mohamed, 2013, p. 49). Awareness comes first. If people have never noticed the brand, there is nothing to build on (Gerlach & Witt, 2012, p. 18). In the figure, this step runs between target audience and product (Figure 3).

  • 10

    Associations

    Associations are the second step. They set the brand apart from others and give people attitudes and feelings about it (Gerlach & Witt, 2012, p. 18). In the figure, this step runs along the base of the triangle between brand name and product (Figure 3).

  • 11

    Loyalty

    Loyalty comes last. People form a strong tie to the brand once its identity and core values have been communicated to them (Gerlach & Witt, 2012, p. 18). In the figure, this step runs between brand name and target audience (Figure 3).

Source

  1. Gerlach, A., & Witt, J. (2012). Sustainability in the Context of Strategic Brand Management: A Multiple Case Study on the Automobile Industry [Master's thesis, Halmstad University]. DiVA. https://www.diva-portal.org/smash/record.jsf?pid=diva2:537876
  2. Larsson, J., Saarinen, J., & Siesing, C. (2001). Varumärkespassion: En Studie av Varumärkesorientering inom Gröna Konsum [Brand Passion: A Study of Brand Orientation at Gröna Konsum] [Bachelor's thesis, Lund University]. LUP Student Papers. http://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/1350800
  3. Mohamed, N. A. A. (2013). Antecedents of Brand Equity: The Chinese Path to Building Brands – A Case-Study of GEELY and BYD Automotive Brands [Doctoral thesis, Durham University]. Durham E-Theses. https://etheses.durham.ac.uk/10670/
  4. Urde, M., Baumgarth, C., & Merrilees, B. (2013). Brand Orientation and Market Orientation – From Alternatives to Synergy. Journal of Business Research, 66(1), 13–20. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2011.07.018 [Online-first version of 2011, cited by section]
  5. Urde, M. (1999). Brand Orientation: A Mindset for Building Brands Into Strategic Resources. Journal of Marketing Management, 15(1–3), 117–133. https://doi.org/10.1362/026725799784870504

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