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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 described brand orientation in publications from 1994 and in his doctoral thesis of 1997 as a new approach that treats brands as resources and strategic hubs; case studies at DuPont, Nestlé, Tetra Pak, Nicorette and Volvo inspired it (Urde et al., 2013, Section 3.2; Larsson et al., 2001, p. 23). It is an inside-out, identity-driven approach, unlike the outside-in, image-driven market orientation (Urde et al., 2013, Abstract). The wants and needs of customers "are not allowed to unilaterally steer the development of the brand and determine its identity", so brand building starts from a clear understanding of the internal brand identity (Urde, 1999, as cited in Mohamed, 2013, p. 47). In his 1999 article, Urde presents this view of brand management as the Brand Hexagon, with the brand mission as its point of departure (Gerlach & Witt, 2012, p. 18). In the hexagon, brand equity and brand identity are tied to where the company is heading, its strategy and its own identity (Mohamed, 2013, p. 48) and takes up Aaker's brand 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, translated from Swedish; all three draw on Urde (1999). Urde's article is not freely accessible, so the profile draws on these sources. 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 the point of departure of the model (Gerlach & Witt, 2012, p. 18). Brand building starts from a clear understanding of the internal brand identity, so the brand mission comes first (Mohamed, 2013, p. 47). The brand mission includes the brand's reasons for existence, core values, identity, personality and strategy (Gerlach & Witt, 2012, p. 18). The lower part of the hexagon shows what the company intends with the brand (Mohamed, 2013, p. 48).

    GEELY and BYD: both brands state their mission and vision clearly and are on their way to becoming brand-oriented organisations (Mohamed, 2013, p. 275).

  • 02

    Target Audience

    The upper node stands for how the target customers understand the brand (Mohamed, 2013, p. 48). In a brand-oriented organisation, the brand is "a strategic platform for interplay with the target group" and not just an unconditional response to what customers demand at any moment (Urde, 1999, as cited in Mohamed, 2013, pp. 48–49). The node is linked to the centre by communication (Gerlach & Witt, 2012, p. 18, Figure 3), through which the brand identity can be explained to the customer (Gerlach & Witt, 2012, p. 18).

    GEELY and BYD: for Chinese brands, the main challenge lies in understanding how their target customers see the brand (Mohamed, 2013, p. 275).

  • 03

    Product Category and Product

    On the right side of the hexagon, product category and product serve as the reference function, and customers judge them rationally (Mohamed, 2013, p. 48). Urde's model distinguishes between product and product category (Larsson et al., 2001, p. 26). The product is linked to the centre by quality (Gerlach & Witt, 2012, p. 18, Figure 3), which is product-related (Larsson et al., 2001, p. 29), and in Mohamed's reading the model treats product quality as an important part of brand building (Mohamed, 2013, p. 49).

    GEELY and BYD: on the rational side, both brands are moving up into a higher product category (Mohamed, 2013, p. 275).

  • 04

    Company Name and Brand Name

    On the left side, company name and brand name carry the emotional function, and customers judge them emotionally; for Urde, a brand is experienced as a whole, with feeling as well as reason (Mohamed, 2013, p. 48). The brand name is linked to the centre by personality (Gerlach & Witt, 2012, p. 18, Figure 3). Larsson et al. note that the model is built for companies that make and sell only their own brands; for the retailer Gröna Konsum, they name the question of how brand names such as Änglamark and Blåvitt affect the company's image (Larsson et al., 2001, pp. 26–27; translated).

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

  • 05

    Positioning: Core Values

    The centre holds the core process in which the meaning of the brand is created; it consists of positioning and core values (Mohamed, 2013, p. 48). A brand-oriented company communicates its core values through positioning (Larsson et al., 2001, p. 29; translated). The meaning of the brand is reflected by its core values and positioning, and the relationship between brand and target audience becomes a question of identity (Urde, 1999, as cited in Larsson et al., 2001, p. 29; translated). In the figure, communication, personality and quality join the centre with target audience, brand name and product (Gerlach & Witt, 2012, p. 18, Figure 3).

    GEELY and BYD: Chinese brands still lack the positioning and core values at the centre of the model, which Mohamed sees as their second challenge (Mohamed, 2013, p. 275).
Links to the Centre

  • 06

    Communication

    Positioning consists of three parts, quality, personality and communication, and their combination makes it possible to position the brand clearly in customers' minds (Urde, 1999, as cited in Larsson et al., 2001, p. 29; translated). Communication covers the choice of media, the type of communication and the message itself (Larsson et al., 2001, p. 29; translated). It plays a major role in the model, because through communication the brand identity can be explained to the customer (Gerlach & Witt, 2012, p. 18). In the figure, it joins the centre with the target audience (Figure 3).

  • 07

    Personality

    Personality means the human characteristics that can be associated with the brand (Larsson et al., 2001, p. 29; translated). Urde holds that a product can be compared with and replaced by another product, whereas a brand with a personality and identity of its own provides the basis for a unique relationship (Gerlach & Witt, 2012, p. 18). In the figure, personality joins the centre with the brand name (Figure 3).

  • 08

    Quality

    Quality is product-related; price, for example, often reflects quality and can therefore be used in positioning (Larsson et al., 2001, p. 29; translated). In Mohamed's reading, the model treats product quality and brand identity as important parts of brand building (Mohamed, 2013, p. 49). In the figure, quality joins the centre with the product (Gerlach & Witt, 2012, p. 18, Figure 3).

Inner Triangle

  • 09

    Awareness

    Awareness, associations and loyalty build the fundamental inner relationships of the model (Gerlach & Witt, 2012, p. 18); they follow Aaker's brand equity dimensions of brand awareness, brand association and brand loyalty (Mohamed, 2013, p. 49). Awareness is the first step: without awareness, consumers do not recognise the brand, and it cannot be built up further (Gerlach & Witt, 2012, p. 18). In the figure, the step runs between target audience and product (Figure 3).

  • 10

    Associations

    Through associations, the second step, the brand is differentiated, and attitudes and feelings are created (Gerlach & Witt, 2012, p. 18). In the figure, the step runs along the base of the triangle between brand name and product (Figure 3).

  • 11

    Loyalty

    In the last step, a strong relationship and loyalty are created through the communication of the brand identity and core values (Gerlach & Witt, 2012, p. 18). In the figure, the 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 This is the originator's work; it is not freely accessible, so this profile draws on the substitute sources listed above.