To show the whole brand. Again and again, marketing and the brand are said to be the guiding idea for the whole company. In practice, though, brand management is often reduced to communication (Baumgarth, 2016, p. 23). At the start of a brand project, the canvas can make sure that everyone involved understands that a brand is "much more than name, logo and communication" (translated) (Baumgarth et al., 2021, "B*Canvas 2.0" section). Baumgarth sees it as a teaching tool that shows the holistic nature of brand management (Baumgarth, n.d.). Holistic means that brand management looks at the brand as a whole (Baumgarth & Schmidt, 2024, p. 40). In a 2016 article, Baumgarth explains this view of the whole with a picture from art. The artist Phil Hansen builds his works from countless dots. Close up, a viewer sees only single dots. The whole picture appears only from a distance. Single metrics, such as website visits, are like these dots. Brand management cannot rely on them alone. It also needs the view from a distance (Baumgarth, 2016, pp. 23–24).

To bring the canvas method to brands. Baumgarth drew up a first brand canvas in 2016. He took inspiration from three models: the Business Model Canvas by Alexander Osterwalder and Yves Pigneur, the Project Canvas by Frank Habermann and Karen Schmidt and the brand model of his audit for cultural institutions (Baumgarth, n.d.). Canvas tools show a complex area of management on a single sheet. They break a problem into building blocks that are related to each other, use simple language and work for groups with different backgrounds. The content often goes on sticky notes, so the team can share and change it (Baumgarth et al., 2021, "Canvas-Methode – ein Streifzug durch eine Erfolgsgeschichte" section). According to Baumgarth, the canvas has proved useful for discussing and deciding on marketing concepts for start-ups and new business models (Baumgarth, n.d.).

To give brand audits a frame. For Baumgarth, a brand audit is a full, systematic and independent check of a brand's quality. It is repeated at intervals and leads to ideas for improvement (Baumgarth, 2016, p. 25). The B*Canvas is also meant as a tool for assessing brands, one that lays the groundwork for complete brand audits (Baumgarth, n.d.). It builds in part on a large research project on brand management in the cultural sector (Baumgarth et al., 2021, "B*Canvas 2.0" section). In that two-year project, Baumgarth and his team developed and tested a brand audit with eight cultural institutions in Berlin (Baumgarth, 2016, p. 29).

The canvas maps the brand from the inside out. It follows the same order as Baumgarth's audit model, the brand model behind his brand audits. That model shows both what drives a strong brand and what a strong brand achieves (Baumgarth, 2016, p. 26). The canvas sets out this order in three dimensions:

• Brand foundation: everything that forms the base of a strong brand but that customers and other stakeholders outside the company cannot see or experience (Baumgarth et al., 2021, "B*Canvas 2.0" section). For Baumgarth and Schmidt, this includes the corporate culture, the brand's positioning, the way the brand is organised and managed, and the brand tools (Baumgarth & Schmidt, 2024, p. 40).
• Brand touchpoints: the points where the brand meets its customers (Baumgarth et al., 2021, "B*Canvas 2.0" section). They include the marketing mix and the branding, which here means the signs of the brand, such as name, logo and slogan. Only through the touchpoints can customers perceive the brand at all (Baumgarth & Schmidt, 2024, pp. 40–41).
• Brand performance: what brand management achieves (Baumgarth et al., 2021, "B*Canvas 2.0" section). In the end, it reflects how good the foundation and the touchpoints are (Baumgarth & Schmidt, 2024, p. 41).
• One box per field: each of the fourteen fields has a box of its own, but good brand management looks at them together (Baumgarth & Schmidt, 2024, p. 40). The Communication field is split into push, pull and co-creation (Baumgarth, 2021). In co-creation, customers and other stakeholders help to shape the brand (Baumgarth, 2016, p. 32). One working paper from the B*lab, Baumgarth's research platform at HWR Berlin (Baumgarth & Schmidt, 2024, p. 43), counts fifteen elements instead of fourteen (Baumgarth et al., 2023, p. 5).

One of the three models that inspired the canvas is the brand model of Baumgarth's audit for cultural institutions (Baumgarth, n.d.). This audit model for cultural institutions had fifteen dimensions in the same three groups as the canvas. Each brand was rated on 83 indicators (Baumgarth, 2016, pp. 29–30). Nine of its dimensions carry the same German names as canvas fields, for example Positionierung, Markenstrategie and Markenanreicherung (Baumgarth, 2016, p. 30; Baumgarth & Schmidt, 2024, p. 41). Baumgarth first published the canvas online in 2018 under a Creative Commons licence. It was then used many times in consulting, further education and university teaching. Based on observations and direct feedback from users, he presented a slightly adapted version 2.0 in early 2021, in German and English (Baumgarth et al., 2021, "B*Canvas 2.0" section).

Baumgarth and his co-authors name four use cases for the B*Canvas 2.0 (Baumgarth et al., 2021, "B*Canvas 2.0" section):

• Describe: at the start of a larger brand project, the team first describes the brand without judging it. This can make sure that everyone understands the brand as much more than name, logo and communication. It also makes sure that everyone shares the same knowledge of the brand (Baumgarth et al., 2021, "B*Canvas 2.0" section).
• Assess: the canvas helps to find a brand's strengths and weaknesses. It serves as the basis for a brand audit. The audit rates the brand on 80 to 100 single criteria in a scoring model and draws on a broad base of data (Baumgarth et al., 2021, "B*Canvas 2.0" section).
• Develop: the canvas has proved useful for developing a brand as a whole. This is especially interesting for start-ups that want a first draft of their brand in a short time, for example in a sprint workshop of three to four hours (Baumgarth et al., 2021, "B*Canvas 2.0" section).
• Teach: in further education and university teaching, the canvas helps participants to get a first overview of brand management as a whole in a very short time. In Baumgarth's own courses, such as one-semester master's courses, the canvas regularly serves as the frame for the whole semester and as a blueprint for student projects (Baumgarth et al., 2021, "B*Canvas 2.0" section).

For the audit, Baumgarth recommends an external team that brings together different skills, such as strategy, communication and sales. All indicators use the same scale. Ideally, examples or figures show what each point on the scale means. The audit should try to back each rating with at least two sources, such as interviews, the team's own observations, customer and employee surveys or mystery shopping. The results are then discussed in a workshop with a mixed group from the company. The workshop should spend less time on the scores than on concrete improvements. It should agree on measures, milestones and responsibilities and set dates for follow-up workshops (Baumgarth, 2016, pp. 27–29).

Baumgarth and Schmidt use a fictional McDonald's case to show what AI-driven brand management can look like. Marketing has to create content for the brand's Instagram channel, and this one task runs through all three dimensions. For the foundation, an AI tool maps what people associate with the category and the brand, to find associations that set McDonald's apart. For the touchpoint, the Instagram channel, another AI tool creates ads with Ronald McDonald. For performance, marketing measures how attention to the ads is spread, to improve the next round of content (Baumgarth & Schmidt, 2024, p. 42).

From their work with three different canvases, Baumgarth and his co-authors draw ten recommendations for workshops (Baumgarth et al., 2021, "Empfehlungen für den praktischen Einsatz" section). They include these six:

• Adapt the template: the canvas is not a rigid template. Teams should first adapt it to their own industry and company.
• Small, mixed groups: five to seven people are often ideal, with a mix of expertise and rank. Productivity drops as the group grows.
• One argument per note: each sticky note holds one argument, written large enough for everyone to read.
• Same understanding of the fields: the team should stick to the definitions of the fields to avoid misunderstandings. Prompt cards for the fields or experienced facilitators can help.
• Complete before detailed: filling in the whole canvas matters more than details. The order in which the fields are filled matters less. A field the team cannot fill points to a knowledge gap that should be closed.
• Keep it alive: a canvas is never finished. The team revises it as new insights come in and numbers each version to keep track of the current status.

In 2021, a book chapter, a book and a card set for workshops on the B*Canvas were in their final stages of revision (Baumgarth et al., 2021, "B*Canvas 2.0" section).