J3

 Disney

Disney developed its brand mantra in response to its incredible growth through

licensing and product development during the mid-1980s. In the late 1980s,

Disney became concerned that some of its characters, such as Mickey Mouse

and Donald Duck, were being used inappropriately and becoming

overexposed. The characters were on so many products and marketed in so

many ways that in some cases it was difficult to discern what could have been

the rationale behind the deal to start with. Moreover, because of the broad

exposure of the characters in the marketplace, many consumers had begun to

feel Disney was exploiting its name. Disney moved quickly to ensure that a

consistent image—reinforcing its key brand associations—was conveyed by

all third-party products and services. To that end, Disney adopted an internal

brand mantra of “fun family entertainment” to filter proposed ventures.

Opportunities that were not consistent with the brand mantra—no matter how

appealing—were rejected. As useful as that mantra was to Disney, adding the

word “magical” might have made it even more so.

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Disney’s “fun family entertainment” brand mantra has been an invaluable

guide for its product and marketing decisions.

Source: © Jim Nicholson/Alamy

Designing a Brand Mantra

Unlike brand slogans meant to engage, brand mantras are designed with

internal purposes in mind. Although Nike’s internal mantra was “authentic

athletic performance,” its external slogan was “Just Do It.” Here are the three

key criteria for a brand mantra.

• Communicate. A good brand mantra should clarify what is unique about

the brand. It may also need to define the category (or categories) of

business for the brand and set brand boundaries.

• Simplify. An effective brand mantra should be memorable. For that, it

should be short, crisp, and vivid in meaning.

• Inspire. Ideally, the brand mantra should also stake out ground that is

personally meaningful and relevant to as many employees as possible.

For brands anticipating rapid growth, it is helpful to define the product or

benefit space in which the brand would like to compete, as Nike did with

“athletic performance” and Disney with “family entertainment.” Words that

describe the nature of the product or service, or the type of experiences or

benefits the brand provides, can be critical to identifying appropriate

categories into which to extend. For brands in more stable categories where

extensions into more distinct categories are less likely to occur, the brand

mantra may focus more exclusively on points-of-difference.

Other brands may be strong on one, or perhaps even a few, of the brand

associations making up the brand mantra. But for it to be effective, no other

brand should singularly excel on all dimensions. Part of the key to both Nike’s

and Disney’s success is that for years no competitor could really deliver on the

combined promise suggested by their brand mantras.

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