10 Examples of Companies with Great Brand Values

When it comes to brand building, it’s no longer enough to offer great products and services. If you want your brand to stand the test of time, you will need to build strong relationships — which calls for something more. It calls for strong brand values that authentically, transparently, and consistently communicate your:

• Purpose: Why do you exist?
• Vision: What do you aspire to do? How will you achieve what you set out to through your brand strategy?
• Values: Who are you? What do you believe in? How do you work?

Conceptualising these values is crucial to your success. Sadly, not all companies take time to articulate and manifest their core brand values, opting for a muddled brand mission statement hidden somewhere on their website, or a basic ‘about us’ statement that fails to capture a full sense of their personal values, passion, or objectives. This is a missed opportunity that hurts both the brand and customer, but fortunately, there are lots of great brands out there that recognise just how important company values are. These brands actively embody their values in their actions: talking the talk and walking the walk.

In this article, we’ve pulled together a list of brands that convey their company’s core brand values in an engaging, authentic and considered way. So, without further ado, here are 10 shining examples of well-known brands with impeccable core brand values to help you get inspiration for writing your own.

10 Examples of brand values from leading brands

Conceptualising these values is crucial to your success. Sadly, not all companies take time to articulate and manifest their core brand values, opting for a muddled brand mission statement hidden somewhere on their website, or a basic ‘about us’ statement that fails to capture a full sense of their personal values, passion, or objectives. This is a missed opportunity that hurts both the brand and customer, but fortunately, there are lots of great brands out there that recognise just how important company values are. These brands actively embody their values in their actions: talking the talk and walking the walk.

In this article, we’ve pulled together a list of brands that convey their company’s core brand values in an engaging, authentic and considered way. So, without further ado, here are 10 shining examples of well-known brands with impeccable core brand values to help you get inspiration for writing your own.

1. LEGO

What comes to mind when you think about LEGO? Creativeness? Playfulness? Imagination? Quality? That’s no accident. It’s LEGO’s philosophy that good quality play enriches a child’s life, and lays the foundation for later adult life. LEGO knew that if they wanted to make an impact in a highly saturated market, they’d need to focus on delivering unique brand values that would make a difference to, and be respected by, their customers.

LEGO’s company values centre creativity, learning, caring, fun, imagination and quality, and while children are their role models, this promise isn’t just limited to younger age groups. Instead, the brand aspires to inject a sense of inquisition, playfulness, and excitement into all areas of their loyal customers’ lives regardless of their age, location or gender.

Their ‘Rebuild the World’ campaign perfectly captures the guiding principles and boundless creativity of their brand, a creativity that knows no limits, and celebrates bringing people together to rebuild, create and experiment.

The campaign encourages children and adults to let their imaginations run free using LEGO bricks to rebuild the world as they’d like to see it. It also contains a poignant reminder of the power of play and creativity, celebrating young people’s optimism, imagination and resilience in an ever-changing, complex world.

For this reason, LEGO deserve their spot as one of the most successful brands, joyfully spreading their core brand values through marketing campaigns that share, and celebrate their unique company culture.

2. Adidas

Framing their core brand values in competition and challenging the status quo, Adidas assert that they play to win. It’s all about improving their competitive position, achieving peak performance and continuously moving forward by improving. This sense of determination and competition perfectly matches the values of their target audience. In as much, Adidas’ core values are:

• Purpose: Through sport, we have the power to change lives
• Mission: To be the best sports company in the world
• Diversity: We know it takes people with different ideas, strengths, interests and cultures backgrounds to make our company succeed. We encourage healthy debate and differences of opinion.

Their ‘impossible is nothing’ campaign is a blueprint for diverse and authentic representation. Customers from all walks of life see themselves reflected in Adidas’ visual imagery and brand message, which in turn, prompts brand loyalty.

The campaign features athletes from all over the world — from different sports, genders, ethnicities and nationalities — in intimate documentary-style footage, sharing their stories of achieving greatness. A diverse range of stories are told, paired with photos showcasing a diverse group of people, meaning that everyone can connect with someone in the campaign. This campaign intentionally and proactively reflects Adidas’ brand values, and testifies to their commitment to building a brand that is diverse, pioneering and a force for positive change.

3. Microsoft

They’re one of the largest technology companies in the world, and they’ve mastered value-selling. Their brand values are:

• Corporate Social Responsibility
• Trustworthy Computing
• Innovation
• Diversity and Inclusion.
• AI
• Responding to Covid-19 together

As the company proudly states, it is their values that drive them to achieve more, motivate them to work harder, and push them to challenge the status quo. To demonstrate their commitment to embodying their values, the company regularly publishes blog articles. They go one step beyond merely listing their values, too: They provide examples of their mission in action, sharing real-life stories about their research, approach, and responses.

In their We All Win Super Bowl advert, six young disabled boys and their families share how the Xbox Adaptive controller changed the gaming experience, connecting them with their friends worldwide. This campaign embodies Microsofts values of diversity and inclusion and creates awareness of Microsoft’s overall message, which is ‘to empower every person and every organisation on the planet to achieve more.’

4. Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream

Today’s modern consumer seeks out brands who strive to give something back, and that do so authentically. Ben & Jerry’s are this brand, and through their credible and transparent communications, deliver outstanding customer satisfaction, which drives customer loyalty. Their values?

• Human Rights & Dignity: We are committed to honouring the rights of all people to live with liberty, security, self-esteem, and freedom of expression and protest, and to have the opportunity to provide for their own needs and contribute to society.
• Social and Economic Justice: We are committed to achieving equity, opportunity, and justice for communities across the globe that have been historically marginalised, recognising that this is tied to fair livelihoods that enable individuals, families, and communities to thrive.
• Environmental Protection, Restoration and Regeneration: We are committed to a positive, life-giving environmental impact that restores degraded natural environments and enables increased diversity and abundance of ecosystems.

Ben & Jerry’s logo, products, website, and digital marketing campaigns are underpinned by their values and one cohesive mantra: using ice cream to change the world.

Their campaigns and products speak to these core values, whether it’s their People’s Climate March video or ‘Save Our Swirld’ ice cream flavour, their strong political, social, and cultural values are served with a sprinkle of humour and friendly tone.

No matter where you look, Ben & Jerry’s have a legacy of high quality brand campaigns that creatively push for progressive change, all powered by the brand’s core values.

5. Google

The tech-giants have ten core values:

• Focus on the user and all else will follow.
• It’s best to do one thing really, really well.
• Fast is better than slow.
• Democracy on the web works.
• You don’t need to be at your desk to need an answer.
• You can make money without doing evil.
• There’s always more information out there.
• The need for information crosses all borders.
• You can be serious without a suit.
• Great just isn’t good enough.

The tagline ‘just Google it’ has become synonymous with Google’s brand identity, and encapsulates their technological prowess, thirst for knowledge, and ability to help their customers.

Have you ever noticed the way that Google update the graphic on their landing page (if you’re using Chrome) every day? Called Google Doodles, the company update it all the time to reflect holidays, events, showcase notable historical figures, and more.

Moving beyond Google’s logo templates, Google Doodle is a playful storytelling tool that enables the tech giants to playfully engage with their clients and customers, sharing information across borders and providing a charming and informative user experience – all the while blending a love of design, and sharing knowledge. In as much, this simple design, which many of us likely take for granted, reflects Google’s core values with aplomb.

6. Starbucks

On a trip to Italy in 1983, Howard Schultz fell in love with Italian coffee culture and the unbridled beauty of espresso and was compelled to return to the USA and create the same atmosphere and experience. As Starbucks’ CEO, he quickly imbued the brand with the same sentiment, and transformed the business into the largest coffee company in the world. How did he do it? Well, with the following set of strong brand values:

• Create a culture of belonging and warmth
• Deliver your best and hold yourself accountable
• Act with courage and challenge the status quo
• Be present and connect with transparency, respect and dignity

Starbucks embody their values both internally and externally. Their company policy of covering 100% of the university tuition of eligible team members creates a culture of belonging and warmth, and challenges the status quo.

In 2019, Starbucks launched their ‘Starbucks Stories’ campaign, an entire website dedicated to telling stories that relay the brand’s social impact. These stories are also rolled out across the brand’s social media channels as part of their marketing strategies, where they share real-life, real-impact stories pertaining to the brand and its employees. With an emphasis on teamwork, solidarity, care and support, Starbucks connect with their customers and employees with transparency, respect and dignity.

One of the most impactful campaigns found on Starbucks Stories is #ToBeHuman. This illustrated series showcases short and engaging video illustrations that share personal and uplifting stories.

More than just a box-ticking exercise, Starbucks’ values are consistently embodied internally, as they spotlight their people, provide transparency and turn their culture into content.

7. Apple

Here are Apple’s seven core values, which form their corporate culture, align the company, and give them that competitive advantage that has meant the brand stands as a tech leader year after year.

• We believe that we’re on the face of the Earth to make great products that will change the world.
• We believe in the simple, not the complex.
• We believe that we need to own and control the primary technologies behind the products we make.
• We participate only in markets where we can make a significant contribution.
• We believe in saying no to thousands of projects so that we can really focus on the few that are truly important and meaningful to us.
• We believe in deep collaboration and cross-pollination of our groups, which allow us to innovate in a way that others cannot.
• We don’t settle for anything less than excellence in every group in the company, and we have the self-honesty to admit when we’re wrong and the courage to change.

Apple’s branding is sleek, savvy and tech-smart, and consistently embodies their brand values, promising innovation, quality, and technological prowess.

Apple’s Silhouettes campaign, which features people letting loose to their favourite songs on their iPod, put Apple on the map in more than one way, asserting them as global technology leaders, and as bold, brave and advancing creatives.

Grabbing attention with bold, simple graphics soundtracked by U2 and the Black-Eyed Peas, the campaign epitomises Apple’s ability to collaborate, create, and challenge the status quo. It’s a strong brand image that is still remembered years later.

Grabbing attention with bold, simple graphics soundtracked by U2 and Black-Eyed Peas, the campaign epitomises Apple’s ability to collaborate, create and challenge the status quo.

8. Coca Cola

No matter where you are in the world, Coca-Cola promises the same set of principles: happiness, sharing, and family. These motifs are consistently, universally, and passionately embedded into their core values:

• Leadership: The courage to shape a better future.
• Collaboration: Leverage collective genius.
• Integrity: Be real.
• Accountability: If it is to be, it’s up to me.
• Passion: Committed in heart and mind.
• Diversity: As inclusive as our brands.
• Quality: What we do, we do well.

Kicking things off with one of the most iconic Coca-Cola campaigns of all time, the Hilltop advertisement of 1971 depicts people on a hilltop singing together, backed by The New Seekers’ track ‘I’d Like to Teach the World to Sing.’

Over thirty years later, and the company’s values remain the same, and have been used across campaigns such as ‘share a coke with…’ which enabled the brand to create more personalised customer experiences for their target audience and beyond.

9. Airbnb

What started as two roommates struggling to pay rent transformed into a multibillion-dollar company with millions of hosts worldwide. Airbnb’s company values were integral to their success, and they are:

• Champion the mission
• Be a host
• Embrace the adventure
• Be a ‘cereal’ entrepreneur

Did you have to double-take at cereal entrepreneurs? The term harks back to the company’s roots, reminding stakeholders of a time where Airbnb’s founders were exactly that, selling cereal boxes to fund their company. Airbnb don’t just tell their brand story with their values, but they establish a specific purpose. Their ‘champion the mission’ value serves a reminder to its employees to ‘create a world where anyone can belong anywhere.’

This sentiment is consistently represented across Airbnb’s marketing campaigns. Reacting to accusations that some of its hosts were discriminated against based on their race and gender, the brand launched their ‘We Accept’ campaign. Conveying Airbnb’s long-standing values of community-led and culturally diverse travel, the campaign combines simple photography — showcasing a diverse range of people — and soft music, encouraging viewers to reflect on the messaging. The result is poignant and moving and perfectly embodies core Airbnb’s values.

10. Zoom

Zoom has only one core value: care. This applies to its community, customers, company, teammates, and selves.

This deceptively simple value encompasses a great deal. When internally focussed, Zoom addresses and speaks to their employees specifically, fostering an internal sense of continuity and connection. The simplicity of their values make them easy to learn, remember and emulate, solidifying brand awareness, both internally and externally.

Adapting to meet employees’ changing needs post-pandemic, the brand’s ‘Zoom Powers the Anywhere Workforce’ emphasises the needs of employees, and champions a more flexible, employee-oriented work approach, demonstrating a willingness to learn, grow and adapt.

With a focus on driving B2B growth, Zoom seeks to enable other businesses to adapt their models, kickstarting a wider attitude shift and change in practices, and helping organisations empower connect teams, modernise workspaces, and enable efficient collaboration.

Inspired by these brand values?

We hope that any business owner or employee reading this recognises the importance of brand values and we’ve inspired some ideas on how your company’s core values can transform your future. These values form the foundation of your business, and when backed up by tangible actions demonstrating how you live by these values, they secure your position as business leaders. Ultimately, strong core values can help an audience identify with — and stay loyal to — your brand.

It’s vital that you learn from how other brands define themselves and use the example they’ve set to guide your own evaluation, discovery, and differentiation. Only once you’ve defined what you really stand for, can you begin to get to work on your own brand values.

Identifying your company’s brand values can be difficult, but it’s important not to rush the process. Be sure to take your time to choose values that make sense for you, your employees, your customers, and your brand as a whole. A good place to start is to bring everyone on your team together and ask yourselves: what does your brand mean to you? These internal brand perspectives are vital when it comes to shaping your brand perception, and preparing to be open-minded: brands can mean a lot of different things to different people.

By creating compelling content that is engaging and feels authentic, your brand values should form the foundation of your customer connections and be central to your business practices. To ensure long-term success and long-term employee retention, it’s critical you create — and live by — a set of non-negotiable company values.

Need help defining your brand values?

If you’re in need of a partner to help steer you in the right direction — we facilitate workshops that help you to realise your brand values, tell your brand story, and deliver a unique and memorable set of brand values that resonates with your audience and drives meaningful change. Whether you’re a small business or a global brand, get in touch to discuss how we can help.