Without these answers, they are not really ‘brands’.

At best, they are products and services with a logo attached.

People are quick with their unique proposition or rationale. Unfortunately, products have ‘rationales’. Brands have ’emotional’.

So on to the five questions that reveal the soul of a brand:

1. What is the obvious emotional truth on which your brand is based?
2. Therefore, what business are you really in?
3. Therefore, to whom is your brand aimed?
4. If so, what are the personality traits your brand should have that will attract this target mindset?
5. What is the organizing idea, that captures the essence of your brand, that users will want to champion?

SEE ALSO: Story-telling to connect hearts and minds

They are actually quite common sense questions for any brand. With these answers, you know all the gears of your brand-building motorcycle. Getting your brand to fire on all the 8Ps of Marketing becomes easy.

Yet, I am surprised at the number of people who can’t answer them in 100 characters, or less. They have to look up their “brand guidelines” document and then get lost in reams of words, charts, and statistics.

I guess I should give you an example of how simply these questions should be answered. So that they are easy to remember.

Kodak forgot they had once worked out these answers. Don’t let their fate happen to you. Here they are for Kodak:

What is the obvious emotional truth on which your brand is based?
People take pictures to share memories

Therefore, what business are you really in?
Memories

Therefore, to whom is your brand aimed?
Those who want to share memories

If so, what are the personality traits your brand should have that will attract this target mindset?
Strong on family values, helpful, avuncular

What is the organizing idea, that captures the essence of your brand, that users will want to champion?
Kodak Moment

SEE ALSO: 9 digital value drivers for businesses

Kodak simply forgot they were in the “memories” business. They kept doing patents for films and cameras! Because that’s probably the business they thought they were in.

If they hadn’t forgotten they were in the memories business, they would have added a sim card to their camera or had a social media site called KodakMoments before Facebook or Instagram was a twinkle in anyone’s eye.

They would still have been alive today.

Do you know the answers to your brand?

If you want a sounding board you can send your answers, in confidence, to [email protected]

This is a guest post, originally written by Sumit Roy, check out all his posts on LinkedIn.