Think of core values as the foundation of your brand’s personality - much like how a person’s fundamental beliefs shape their character and guide their decisions. These values aren’t just words on a wall; they’re the principles that influence every aspect of your brand’s communication and operation.
Our strategic approach deliberately focuses on identifying three core values. This might seem restrictive initially, but this limitation has a purpose. Imagine trying to consistently remember and live by ten different personal values - it becomes overwhelming and dilutes their impact. Concentrating on three essential values becomes more memorable, meaningful, and, most importantly, actionable.
These carefully chosen values then become the compass that guides all brand decisions. They influence your visual identity - from colour choices to design elements. Your business values shape your brand’s voice - how you communicate in text and speech. They even impact operational decisions - how you interact with customers and respond to challenges.
For example, if ‘innovation” is one of your core values, this might manifest in forward-thinking design choices, progressive communication styles, and cutting-edge service delivery. Each value creates ripples that influence and inform every aspect of your brand experience.
“People want to know you care. Companies need to be value-driven, focussed, have a set of values you passionately care about, and you are clear about what those values are, and you build a track record over time.”
— Sundar Pichai, CEO Google
Benefits of a value-driven company
Internal benefits:
A team with commitment and loyalty, sustainable growth, high morale, and a shared mission.
Innovativeness, thanks to a strong team that appreciates management’s commitment to values
Ability to deliver high-quality products and services.
Inspires and empowers employees to take initiative
Moral compass for decision making
External benefits:
Brand consistency, visual and verbal
Consistent brand messaging builds a strong brand
Transparency
Customer satisfaction: customers feel heard and resonated with
How to uncover your values
Helping your team or client reach their chosen brand values is often a difficult task and full of opinion, ego, and subjectivity. One of the tools we’ve developed that helps to align your team in the process is the core value explorer tool.
— Core value finder from our Brand Building Toolkit
— Core value finder from our Brand Building Toolkit
We’ve consolidated 180 example core values under headings Form, Success, Wisdom, Expertise, Connection, Virtue, Courage, Emotion, and Love.
This is the starting list, of course, there are hundreds more possible brand values, but these should help you kick off the discussions!
— Core value map from our Brand Building Toolkit
Once you brainstorm 20-30 core values, you will begin to see some correlation. You can now refine your list of values, critically cutting out lower-priority values. Using the above value map, I would like you to refine your value brainstorm into three core values supported by three complimentary secondary values.
We like to think of the three circles in the Venn diagram as pieces of the brand pie. It’s a bit abstract as every brand is different, but you might have a societal, technological, and environmental value. Your brand’s purpose is more than the sum of it’s core values.
— Core value pyramid from our Brand Building Toolkit
Think of your brand’s values like a three-story building. Each floor serves a specific purpose, creating a stable, meaningful structure. Here’s how the value pyramid works from top to bottom:
Driving Value (Your What) — At the top sits your driver, representing what your brand fundamentally does or provides. This value tends to be more practical and tangible.
Differentiating Value (Your How) — On the second floor, we find what makes your brand unique - how you do what you do differently. This value helps set you apart in your market.
Foundational Value (Your Why) — This is your ground floor - the solid base upon which everything else is built. This value often connects to a larger purpose or mission. This is your motivating force - the reason behind everything you do.
When these three values work together, they will create a coherent narrative: “We practice excellent craftsmanship (what), through innovative approaches (how), because we believe in empowering our clients (why).”
This structure helps ensure your values aren't just random positive attributes but work together to tell your brand’s story. Each value supports and reinforces the others, creating a strong, memorable brand foundation.
— Core value journey from our Brand Building Toolkit
Now that you’ve explored the process of uncovering your core values, it’s time to take action! Use these tools to shape your mission statement, guiding your decision-making and building a brand that truly resonates with your audience.
About the author —
Adam is the co-founder of Attend The Way, a Brighton-based branding agency. Adam helps build brands for companies at every growth stage, from startups to industry leaders. Adam has consulted and built brands for some of the world’s most recognised companies.
