Building a brand is a long, fraught, and difficult process, and one that’s full of potholes on the road to success. Many companies have tried – and even more have failed – when building their brand, and having a good handle on what your company is, what it represents and to whom is vital if you want to start building yours.

Airbnb is a great example of a successful brand: until very recently, nobody had heard of them and their concept was a little ‘out there’. Now? Well, go just about anywhere in the world and someone has at least a room for your to lay your weary head for a night – or a month.

Airbnb had to fight the conception that this was “weird” – or even “dangerous” at first – and it took building a brand to do that. In the process, the team identified five key characteristics:

1. Visual recognition: think Nike, Coca Cola, and Starbucks – all iconic, all instantly recognizable
2. Value preposition: an offering that people understand easily and want to take advantage of
3. Cultural role: think of Apple’s cultural role in our society, and you’ll get this one
4. Product transcending: the product isn’t everything – and a truly great brand means a lot more than what it seems
5. Emotional connection: consumers are emotional, and connecting to that makes a world of difference – see Disney, the worldwide masters at this art

Of course, you can’t hit some of these until you have recognition, but here’s the thing to remember: you don’t need to be an Apple to enjoy a cultural role. So long as you find your niche and stick to growing in it, you can find your brand’s placing in these five roles. Once you do, you’ll know that you’ve finally made it!