Whiplash Team, June 13th 2025

From Image to Strategic Purpose

Branding cannot be reduced to a logo or a colour palette. It is the outward expression of a company’s entire identity—its purpose, mission, vision, values, products, people and operations—and must be woven organically into corporate strategy to deliver genuine value.

Traditional branding, focused on creating symbols and visual identity guidelines, has become obsolete. Today, a brand must form the backbone of business strategy, not merely serve as an attractive wrapper for products and services. As Roger L. Martin, Jann Schwarz and Mimi Turner observe in Harvard Business Review, “the key to building a successful brand is a clear and specific promise to the customer that can be demonstrably fulfilled.”

For that promise to be credible, it must align with business decisions: which markets to enter, which partnerships to forge, which suppliers to select and which technologies to adopt. In his book Start with Why, Simon Sinek popularised the notion that “people don’t buy what you do; they buy why you do it.” But that “why” only inspires confidence when it is reflected in every corporate decision and in every stakeholder interaction.

The brand is a reflection of corporate identity

Brand identity is far more than a style guide: it encompasses the tangible and intangible attributes that define a company. It is a process that builds brand equity through the strategic management of assets associated with the concept and symbol that represent it.

David A. Aaker, one of the fathers of modern branding, argues in Building Strong Brands that a brand includes elements such as brand architecture, personality, customer relationships and brand equity. When these components are articulately aligned, the brand becomes a tangible promise that transcends mere appearance.

Branding and experience: From employee to customer

Strategic branding must nurture internal culture before permeating the external experience. Paul Polman, former CEO of Unilever, asserts that “brands that want to last 100 years must have a purpose that lasts 100 years.” Under his leadership, Unilever embedded diversity and sustainability policies into its operations, backing brand communications with concrete actions.

Moreover, studies demonstrate the economic impact of such coherence: a Lucidpress analysis found that maintaining brand consistency can boost revenues by up to 23%. According to Marq, companies with uniform branding experience global growth of 10–20% and up to 33% higher revenues than those lacking consistency.

Operational consistency: When the brand becomes action

Brand purpose ceases to be a mere slogan when integrated into day-to-day processes, policies and practices.

For example, IKEA has turned its commitment to the circular economy into an operational engine: its buyback and refurbishment scheme for second-hand furniture not only extends the life of its products but also redefines its supply chain, inventory management and relationships with customers and suppliers. Each returned item becomes raw material for new designs, closing the production loop and making the brand’s purpose tangible.

Similarly, Ben & Jerry’s weaves its social activism directly into product development and distribution: it launches limited-edition flavours tied to causes such as racial justice or environmental protection, and allocates a percentage of sales to partner NGOs. This strategy places the brand’s mission—“peace, love & ice cream”—at the heart of its marketing, production and community partnerships.

In both cases, strategic branding is not ornamentation but the vehicle through which the company’s purpose is operationalised, making its impact visible at every link in the value chain.

Measurement and transparency: Trust as an asset

We live in an age of hyper-transparency: brand promises are verified in real time. That is why forward-thinking companies publish impact targets with measurable indicators. For instance, IKEA details its circular economy goals in annual reports, and Lush publishes its progress on its cruelty-free policies.

Consultancy Meaningful Brands warns that brands failing to fulfil their promises not only lose reputation but are perceived as opportunistic, suffering a reputational cost that can amount to around 10% of their market value.

Towards purpose-driven branding

Embracing branding as a holistic strategic exercise rather than a mere aesthetic endeavour enables companies to:

• Steer key decisions with an authentic purpose.
• Reflect their identity at every interaction and touchpoint.
• Mobilise employees and customers through consistent experiences.
• Operate with coherence in processes and policies.
• Build trust through transparency and measurement.