Is the brand wheel, onion, doughnut really that useful?

Perhaps a somewhat heretical question coming from a planner, but challenging convention is seldom a bad thing.

Now having seen (and done) a countless number of these "precious" brand assets, I really am starting to question their use v. other approaches.

Yes, I think the brand essence is a useful tool in setting a benchmark for communications but frankly there tends to be so many words (personality and values) that surround it that you'd really be hard pressed to work out what the hell a brand's focus is ... and I mean beyond simply communications - it just seems to end up being a catch-all set of sentiments to pacify all the stakeholders. Yes, I know you use them to get to the essence, but my point is that they then become pretty redundant ... and therefore so does the wheel.

Why have such a generic tool? An alternative to the "onion layers" is the 5Es: economy, ease, expertise, empathy, experience. Particularly useful for service sectors such as finance, utilities etc.

By focusing on these elements, it is a hell of a lot easier and clearer to all stakeholders which areas the brand is seeking to excel in (and I mean stakeholders that are not necessarily marketing folk). When I have done Net Promoter Score (NPS) research on financial companies, it is no fluke that companies such as First Direct, The Co-operative and Nationwide score well.

It is clear they have a particular focus on one or two of the Es (I'll leave it to you to pick them) ... the others major institutions are non-descript because they simply do not have sufficient focus (in all stakeholder departments) on what they stand for ... but I bet you they all have brand wheels, onions (and all the other descriptors) coming out their ears.

PS. Before someone gets on their high horse ... 5Es is not my idea. I believe it emanates from one of the big consultancies. Shame on us agency planners for not thinking of this and just re-inventing the wheel (sorry, couldn't resist it!) so that we can pretend it's really that different/better to anyone else's!