Core Values vs. Brand Value: What’s the Difference?
Given these two terms share the word “value,” it’s not a surprise that they get confused. A lot.
So which is which? Is there even a difference between the two? In this article, we'll unpack the relationship between these critical pillars of branding, show how they influence each other, and outline the role of each in your company’s overall success.
What Are Core Values?
Core values are like your brand's moral compass — the fundamental "code of conduct" that your company lives by. They are the beliefs and principles that drive decision-making, guide employee behavior, and nurture a strong company culture.
Companies with strong core values don’t just write them on their website; they live by them. They’re the cornerstone of every decision, strategy, and action taken within the company. Their effects may not always be directly visible to consumers, but they define the integrity and authenticity of the business behind the scenes. These values often attract the right kind of talent to the company and ensure everyone is working towards the same goal, under the same set of governing principles.
For example, Google's beloved focus on user experience is captured in their core value of "Focus on the user and all else will follow." Living by this core value in every aspect of the business has guided the company through critical business and product decisions, and helped them create products that are universally accessible, useful, and loved by billions around the world.
“Focus on the user” was the driving force behind Google's decision to prioritize user experience over immediate profit when they opted for a clean, ad-free search engine interface instead of cluttering it with advertisements. Or when they chose to make Android an open-source platform, promoting universal access and freedom of information over exclusive control.
In our business, our core value: “Stubborn on Vision, Flexible on Detail” gives us the flexibility and agility to evolve our practice to meet the individual needs of our clients, vs sticking to a rigid one-size-fits-all framework. On a larger scale, we leaned into that value in a big way as we evolved our entire business model to meet the changing needs of the marketplace after the pandemic and subsequent recession.
Core values are also critical to talent recruiting and retention, as they offer current and prospective employees a clear and simple framework to decide if your company is a place they want to invest their time and energy.
So, what is Brand Value?
If core values are the heartbeat, then brand value are the essence and ethos that your brand radiates to the world. It's the external expression of a combination of the unique qualities that make your brand special, the promises you make and keep to your customers, and the feelings your brand evokes.
I’ll give you a quick example: When you think of Volvo, what word or idea comes to mind?
If you said “safety,” you can high-five a Swedish engineer. Through R&D, product engineering and its commitment to human-centered design, Volvo has been keeping that promise to consumers for decades. Did you know that a Volvo engineer made the patent for the 3-point seatbelt available to the world, for free? Through their commitment to keeping their safety promise, they’ve been credited with saving at least 1 million lives worldwide.
Brand Value serves as a promise, helping consumers quickly identify what your brand is all about, and deciding whether it’s aligned with what’s important to them. When it works, it makes an immediate emotional connection with your target customer that lays the foundation for forever brand loyalty — so long as you keep fulfilling that promise.
Apple's brand value of "innovation" is a prime example. It's not only about creating cutting-edge products, but delivering an innovative experience at every touchpoint.
Think about Apple's packaging. It's far from being just a box — it's a tangible and delightful immersion into the genius of their design team. From the clean aesthetic to the smooth, sleek cardboard, to that satisfying, slow-release suction when you lift the lid — opening an Apple product is a ceremony that celebrates the experience of product design.
This simple yet deliberate focus on the experience has transformed consumer expectations about packaging. Maybe it’s just me, but opening Apple products has raised the bar for the packaging of every other product I buy.
How Do They Work Together?
Brand value and core values aren't two distinct realms — they're intertwined: The promise you make to your customers (Brand Value) should be rooted in the values your company holds dear (Core Values). And your Core Values are the playbook by which your employees deliver on your Brand Value promise.
Consider Patagonia: Their brand value of environmental stewardship is deeply rooted in their core values of making the best product, causing no unnecessary harm, and using business to inspire solutions to the environmental crisis.
Their commitment to the environment isn't just marketing spin; it's reflected in every aspect of their business, from their sustainable production practices to their support for environmental causes — and in the ultimate display of Brand Ethos, Patagonia’s founder recently gave away his the entire company (and his billionaire status) to fight climate change.
Founder Yvon Chouinard writes, "Instead of extracting value from nature and transforming it into wealth, we are using the wealth Patagonia creates to protect the source. We're making Earth our only shareholder. I am dead serious about saving this planet."
And while exactly no one expects you to give your company away in the name of brand ethos, understanding how to make and keep this promise to the world will make your brand not just unforgettable, but irreplaceable.
Defining Your Values is Simple (But Not Always Easy)
It takes time, objectivity and resources to identify, define and implement these key brand building blocks into your business — and discipline to sustain them, authentically, over time. But when done well, they can become the beating heart of your brand, guiding both internal decisions and external perceptions.
They can set you apart from the crowd, foster deeper connections with your audience, and steer your business towards consistent, sustainable growth — they’ll take you from being a brand that people like, to one they can’t live without.
if any of this resonates and you're wondering how to align your Brand Value with your Core Values, we'd love to help you map it out.
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We think brand & marketing go together like peanut butter & jelly. Get in touch & let’s talk shop. 👇
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