Complete A-Z List of Brand Values

Your brand values should be an integral part of building your brand. They’re an essential part of any brand strategy, and you should choose values that resonate strongly with who you are and what your brand stands for.

You’ll find over 350 different values in this comprehensive list, but it’s not exhaustive. Use this list as inspiration to drill down into a list of 4-5 key values for your business, and use those as the position you view every decision from.

The importance of Brand Values

It’s hard to overstate the importance of defining your values when it comes to creating a standout brand.

Your brand values are the guiding principles that can be used to define how you’ll approach every decision in your business- from the suppliers you choose to work with to shaping the customer experience and the services you offer, right down to the wording you choose.

It’s becoming increasingly important for consumers to buy from companies whose values align with their own. Values-led businesses can command a higher price and greater market share as companies like Toms with their buy 1 give 1 pledge, Patagonia with their focus on sustainability backed by free lifetime repairs and even Rihanna’s Savage X Fenty body-positive & inclusive underwear brand have proven.

As Conscious customers vote with their wallets, it’s important not just to choose our values wisely but to authentically embody them – the success of your brand may depend on it.

How to Choose Your Core Brand Values

What matters to you more than money? Now think about why? Those are your values.

Elaine Welteroth – Author, multimedia icon.

Aim to condense your values into 3-5 core brand values representing the guiding principles that define your identity. These are the things that are so important to your brand; without them you would cease to be what you are:

Imagine Disney without the magic, Zappos without the service or Dior without the luxury – it’s almost unthinkable.

To choose your core values,

• start by jotting down all of the values that resonate from the list below
• group similar values together in ‘value buckets’, e.g. joy, happiness and fun could all be grouped together.
• From each bucket, choose the value that resonates the most.

Once you’ve got your shortlist, sit with them for a few days and see if they feel right for your brand.

Define your Brand Values

What values mean to different people can be subjective; values can be defined and expressed differently by different people. For example, the idea of what constitutes ‘fun’, ‘happiness’ or even ‘adventure’ is subjective, so it’s essential to define what those values look like to your brand – I call this walking the talk.

For each core value, create a short sentence that defines that value for your brand i.e.

Happiness – we bring a smile to every moment.

Wellness – we prioritise physical & mental health.

Remember, your core values should make sense for the type of brand you are, and align with your actions.

Communicating Your Brand Values

Once you’ve shortlisted, refined and defined your values, don’t just leave them to sit in a brand strategy document; here are some ideas for how you can communicate your brand values:

• Create a brand manifesto
• Add them to your website’s About Page
• Weave them into your brand design
• Express them through your brand communications
• Embody them through the customer experience
• Communicate them to your staff / team members / suppliers
• Remind yourself of them before every important meeting/ event
• Use them as a barometer for business decisions.

Create a list of all the ways you could communicate your brand values to your audience, clients and wider community.

Brand Values A-B

Brand Values C-D

Brand Values E-F

Brand Values G-K

Brand Values L-P

Brand Values R-S

Brand Values T-Z

Need help defining your brand values?

If you need help defining your brand values take a look at my 4-week brand mentoring programme. Alternatively, if you want help creating a brand that fully expresses and aligns with your values check out my brand design packages.