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MarkenWesen Model

MarkenWesen-Modell

Marc Sasserath & Christiane Wenhart · Publicis Sasserath Brand Consultancy, Frankfurt and Berlin · 2004

Introduction
Brands Understood as Human Beings

Marc Sasserath and Christiane Wenhart presented the MarkenWesen Model in 2004 (Sasserath, 2005, p. 144). It comes from Publicis Sasserath Brand Consultancy (PSBC), a planning and brand consultancy that Sasserath founded with Publicis in Frankfurt and Berlin in 2001 (HORIZONT Online, 2001). The firm understands brands as human beings: just as a person's nature can only be grasped as a whole, a brand's MarkenWesen ("brand being") has to be viewed and analysed holistically (PSBC, 2004, p. 3). The model works on two levels: a descriptive level asks how a particular brand can be described, and a prescriptive level names the core parameters that make any brand successful (PSBC, 2004, p. 3). The three descriptive dimensions follow the analogy of a person's body and psyche, while the four parameters draw on personality psychology and on what attracts people to each other (PSBC, 2004, pp. 4–5). The firm assumes that a brand needs all four at a high level, that is, a weakness in one cannot be offset by strength in another (PSBC, 2004, p. 8).

The Model

MarkenWesen Model: a sphere carrying three boxes, Properties & Performance and Values & Character at the top and Manifestations below, each with its guiding questions; from the bottom box a line branches into four arrows pointing to Individuality, Attractiveness, Consistency and Familiarity
Redrawn after Publicis Sasserath Brand Consultancy (2004, p. 6, Figure 2), labels translated from the German original.

Elements

Definitions follow the firm's management summary (PSBC, 2004, pp. 4–12), translated from German. The names of the dimensions and parameters are the labels of Figure 2 (p. 6).

Three Descriptive Dimensions

  • 01

    Properties & Performance

    This dimension (Eigenschaften & Leistungen) covers the brand's factual performance and properties, which in a person would be intelligence or particular abilities (PSBC, 2004, p. 4). Its guiding questions are "What is the brand? What can the brand do?" (PSBC, 2004, p. 6, Figure 2; translated).

  • 02

    Values & Character

    This dimension (Werte & Charakter) covers the brand's emotional values, in everyday psychology its character (PSBC, 2004, p. 4). Its guiding questions are "What is the brand like? What does it stand for?" (PSBC, 2004, p. 6, Figure 2; translated).

  • 03

    Manifestations

    Manifestations (Manifestationen) are the brand's typical signals and symbols, the counterpart of a person's physical traits such as eye colour or height (PSBC, 2004, p. 4). Guiding question: "Are there symbols or signals?" (PSBC, 2004, p. 6, Figure 2; translated). Like every trait of the MarkenWesen, a manifestation can be essential (essenziell): very central, sometimes so central that the brand is hardly imaginable without it, and hard to change. Or it can be accidental (akzidenziell): of less importance and much easier to change (PSBC, 2004, pp. 4–5).

    Telekom: "Magenta" and the "T" are essential manifestations; imagine "Magenta" turning into "Cyan". "Enie" is an accidental one: present at the time, but with clearly less influence on how Telekom is perceived as a whole; people would probably simply forget it, without their perception of Telekom changing much (PSBC, 2004, pp. 4–5; translated).
Four Strength Parameters

  • 04

    Individuality

    Individuality (Individualität) means that the brand clearly differentiates itself in the market and from its competitors, so that its descriptive traits evoke a wholly individual and unmistakable MarkenWesen in people's minds (PSBC, 2004, p. 6).

    Krombacher: Beer advertising is almost always marked by nature, freshness and taste, and 65% of Germans find that it is becoming more and more alike (survey by TNS Emnid for the firm, 2001). For the market leader Krombacher, which occupies these traits perfectly, this is no problem; the summary asks what it means for the many other beer brands (PSBC, 2004, pp. 6–7).

  • 05

    Attractiveness

    Attractiveness (Attraktivität) means that the brand is relevant to its target group and desirable; ideally it is admired and loved (PSBC, 2004, p. 7). As between people, initial attraction leads to relationships in which an exchange of rewards plays a part. The MarkenWesen therefore needs traits that seem highly relevant and attractive to its target group, promising a "reward" for entering the relationship, ideally as a whole and not only in single traits (PSBC, 2004, p. 7).

  • 06

    Consistency

    Consistency (Konsistenz) means that the brand behaves consistently at all times, over longer periods too, and across all measures: it has to stay true to itself (PSBC, 2004, p. 7). People combine the traits they notice into a coherent overall picture, fill the gaps with "implicit personality theories" and use it to predict the brand's future behaviour, that is, its rational and emotional benefits. This does not rule out surprise: a brand can appear in different forms and with different messages at different touchpoints and still be seen as one brand, as long as the divergence is not too great (PSBC, 2004, p. 7).

  • 07

    Familiarity

    Familiarity (Vertrautheit) means that the brand is known in its target group and, beyond that, conveys familiarity: it has to be "close" to people (PSBC, 2004, pp. 6–7). Familiarity can grow through habit, when a brand accompanies someone over a long time or is present in their life so often that it becomes indispensable. A brand can also trigger at once the feeling of being made "exactly for me", without a longer phase of getting acquainted (PSBC, 2004, pp. 7–8; translated).

Derived from the MarkenWesen

  • 08

    Brand Proposition

    Besides the target MarkenWesen, the brand strategy defines the condensed core message of this MarkenWesen as the Brand Proposition. It contains the overarching Benefit, which describes the benefit of the brand rather than of single products, and the Support, which explains why the brand can offer this benefit (PSBC, 2004, p. 12). The Brand Proposition stands at the centre of all measures when the strategy is put into practice (PSBC, 2004, p. 12).

    BMW: The Brand Proposition "Freude am Fahren" ("joy of driving"), derived from the MarkenWesen of BMW, is relevant for all target groups, whether the financial community, the drivers or the employees (PSBC, 2004, p. 11).

Source

  1. HORIZONT Online. (2001, January 10). Sasserath Plant für Publicis [Sasserath Plans for Publicis]. HORIZONT. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://www.horizont.net/medien/nachrichten/-Sasserath-plant-fuer-Publicis-27353
  2. Publicis Sasserath Brand Consultancy. (2004). Das Publicis Sasserath Brand Consultancy MarkenWesen-Modell als Erfolgsfaktor für die Ganzheitliche und Kreative Markenentwicklung [The Publicis Sasserath Brand Consultancy MarkenWesen Model as a Success Factor for Holistic and Creative Brand Development] [Management summary of the originator firm, found on markenlexikon.com]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://www.markenlexikon.com/d_texte/verfahren_markenwesen.pdf
  3. Sasserath, M. (2005). Die Rolle eines Neuen und Erweiterten Verständnisses von Marken für Unternehmen und Deren Erfolg [The Role of a New and Expanded Understanding of Brands for Companies and Their Success]. In N. Janich (Ed.), Unternehmenskultur und Unternehmensidentität (pp. 143–152). Deutscher Universitätsverlag. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-663-11695-0_12
  4. Sasserath, M., & Wenhart, C. (2004). Das MarkenWesen-Modell als Erfolgsfaktor für die Ganzheitliche und Kreative Markenentwicklung [The MarkenWesen Model as a Success Factor for Holistic and Creative Brand Development]. In A. Schimansky (Ed.), Der Wert der Marke: Markenbewertungsverfahren für ein Erfolgreiches Markenmanagement (pp. 518–539). Vahlen. This chapter is the originator's full text; it is not freely accessible, so this profile draws on the firm's management summary and the other sources listed above.