Golden Circle
DefinitionBrand Strategy
Golden Circle
Simon Sinek's model that communication should move from why (belief) through how to what (product), because 'people don't buy what you do, they buy why you do it'. Enormously popular as a narrative device; treat the causal claim with care - the evidence for why-led messaging outperforming is thin, and the model works best as a storytelling discipline.
Evidence from the library
"People don't buy what you do; they buy why you do it."QuotePeople come to believe in a brand through participation, not through being told a storyPrincipleReal belief goes deeper than product proofs or purpose statements - it turns a category need customers already feel into a promise the brand delivers onPrinciplePeter Aitken, Head of Customer Strategy & Insights at Kantar: 'Brands that want to grow can't just communicate what they want the world to hear. You must resonate. That's what we mean when we talk about real belief.'QuoteThe Distinctive Experience Cycle: a shared belief drives Expression, Participation, Experience and Validation in a loopPrinciple
Put it to work
Source
Marketing Definitions
Simon Sinek, Start With Why (2009); contested empirically
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