Strategy Note 9: The Six-Element Diagnostic

When I evaluate a brand, I look for six elements. At the beginning of our engagement, most have two, perhaps three. The memorable ones have all six. But I look for opportunities to elevate and strengthen them.

This is not a checklist to complete once and file away. It is a diagnostic lens—a way of identifying where your brand work actually needs to happen.

A clear enemy.

Brands with enemies are more memorable than brands trying to please everyone. The enemy is not a competitor. It is something you are fighting against that is bigger than any single company—an industry practice, a common assumption, a way of doing things that harms the people you serve.

When you stand against something, you give your audience a reason to care beyond the transaction. You become the champion of a cause they share.

Distinctive visual identity.

Not just pleasant or professional, but recognizable. Could someone identify your brand from a social media post without seeing your name attached? If your logo disappeared, would your colors, your typography, your visual style still be distinctly yours?

Distinctiveness requires willingness to make choices others would not make. Safe visual choices produce invisible brands.

Consistent voice across every touchpoint.

Your website, your emails, your customer service responses, your social media, your packaging—these should all sound like the same entity. Not identical in tone, because context matters, but unmistakably from the same source.

Inconsistency in voice suggests a brand that does not know itself. Consistency suggests coherence, reliability, trustworthiness.

Emotional connection beyond satisfaction.

There is a difference between customers who are satisfied with your product and customers who feel genuine connection to your brand. Satisfaction is about expectations being met. Connection is about something deeper—belonging, identity, values.

The brands that create devoted followings do not just satisfy. They mean something to the people who choose them.

Unique rituals or experiences.

What do you do that cannot be replicated by copying? What experiences do you create that competitors could not simply implement?

Starbucks has the name-on-the-cup ritual. In-N-Out has the secret menu. Apple has the unboxing experience. These are not features. They are rituals that create belonging and memory.

A strong point of view on industry issues.

What do you believe that others in your space do not? What would you argue for even if it was unpopular? What hills would you die on?

A point of view makes you interesting. It gives people something to agree or disagree with. It creates conversation. Brands without points of view are furniture—present but not noticed.

Which elements are you missing? Which ones could use strengthening?

The answer reveals where your work actually needs to happen. Not where you are weakest overall, but where the investment would produce the most return. Often it is the element you have been avoiding because it requires making uncomfortable choices.

Most brands default to visual identity because it feels manageable. They neglect the enemy, the point of view, the emotional connection—the harder work that cannot be outsourced to a designer.

Consider this a diagnostic, not a scorecard. The goal is not to check all six boxes. The goal is to identify the specific gaps that, if addressed, would transform how your brand is perceived.

Stay Curious,