Example · evidence-based profile
---
standard: brandbook.md
spec_version: "0.1"
profile: evidence-based
brand:
name: Acme Hot Sauce
slug: acme-hot-sauce
owner: Acme Foods Ltd.
category: "Hot sauce / chilli condiments" # buyer-term category, not self-image
markets: [US, GB, DE]
languages: [en, de]
default_language: en
maintainer: brand@acmefoods.example
version: "1.3.0"
last_validated: 2026-07-07
review_cycle: P6M
confidentiality: public
files:
- path: assets/dba-inventory.md
type: dba
summary: "All Distinctive Brand Assets incl. usage rules and tracking scores"
- path: ceps/category-entry-points.md
type: cep
summary: "Prioritised Category Entry Points per market, with evidence notes"
- path: governance/anchor-rules.md
type: governance
summary: "Non-negotiables AR-01 to AR-07 and approval processes"
- path: portfolio/portfolio.md
type: portfolio
summary: "Product ranges, naming and claim rules, CEP coverage"
---Acme Hot Sauce: BRANDBOOK.md
Reference example for the brandbook.md standard. Acme Hot Sauce is a fictional brand; all tracking figures are illustrative placeholders.
1. Positioning#
Acme is the forged hot sauce in the US/GB/DE chilli-condiments category: aged in a proprietary smoke-forge process, sold at honest, published heat ratings. Category buyers reach for Acme when a meal needs real heat they can trust, with no roulette and no gimmick sauces. We compete for all category buyers, mostly light ones who buy a few bottles a year, by being the most mentally and physically available credible-heat option, never the novelty option.
2. Brand Codes#
Top assets, in deployment priority. Full inventory with scores and rules: assets/dba-inventory.md.
- Anvil logo: the black anvil mark, unaltered, on every asset (AR-02).
- Tagline (en): “Forged, not blended.” Used verbatim on all US/GB communication; the approved German localisation is a separate asset (AR-01).
- Smithy bottle: square-shouldered bottle with embossed anvil; never depict jars, pouches, or invented formats (AR-04).
- The Blacksmith: forge-worker figure. Building asset; deploy only in lock-up with the anvil or tagline.
- Published heat rating: the Scoville number on the front label is a brand code and is never dramatised or rounded for effect (AR-05).
3. Category Entry Points#
Top CEPs, prioritised. Full list and evidence: ceps/category-entry-points.md.
| ID | Entry point (buyer situation) | Markets |
|---|---|---|
| CEP-01 | Taco night at home | US |
| CEP-02 | Weekend grilling / BBQ | US, GB, DE |
| CEP-03 | Upgrading delivery or takeaway food | US, GB, DE |
| CEP-04 | Rescuing a boring desk lunch | GB, DE |
| CEP-05 | Cooking to impress friends | US, GB, DE |
| CEP-06 | Spice-dare ritual among friends | US, GB |
| CEP-07 | Breakfast eggs | US |
4. Buyers#
Our buyer is the category buyer of hot sauce and chilli condiments in US/GB/DE, roughly every household that buys the category at least once a year. Penetration, not loyalty, drives growth: most volume comes from light buyers with two or three purchase occasions a year, reached through our codes at the CEPs above. The superfan “chilihead” community is culturally loud and useful as a fame vehicle, but it is not a target definition: we do not narrow media, range, or copy to it.
5. Voice#
| Do | Don’t |
|---|---|
| Blacksmith deadpan: state the fact about heat or craft, let it land. | Exclamation-mark hype, “insane heat” clichés. |
| Short declarative sentences, active voice. | Artisanal poetry (“small-batch symphony of flavour”). |
| Name the process plainly: forged, aged, smoked. | Vague craft-washing (“lovingly made”). |
| State the Scoville rating as printed. | Dramatising or fudging heat numbers (see AR-05). |
| Dry humour about consequences, in on the joke. | Mocking the buyer for choosing a milder variety. |
6. Anchor Rules#
Summary; the governing text is governance/anchor-rules.md:
- AR-01. Taglines are used verbatim or not at all; the German localisation is a separate approved asset, and no other translation exists.
- AR-02. The anvil logo is never redrawn, recoloured, cropped, or animated without brand-owner approval.
- AR-03. No health claims. Hot sauce is food, not medicine or metabolism magic.
- AR-04. The pack shown is always the embossed smithy bottle; no fictional pack formats.
- AR-05. Heat honesty: published Scoville ratings are never rounded, inflated, or understated in any copy or imagery.
- AR-06. AI-generated brand-facing content is disclosed where legally required and checked against this file before release.
- AR-07. New pack designs, new taglines or claims, and tagline use in new media require written brand-owner approval.
7. File Index#
| File | Type | Contents |
|---|---|---|
| assets/dba-inventory.md | dba | All Distinctive Brand Assets incl. usage rules and tracking scores |
| ceps/category-entry-points.md | cep | Prioritised Category Entry Points per market, with evidence notes |
| governance/anchor-rules.md | governance | Non-negotiables AR-01 to AR-07 and approval processes |
| portfolio/portfolio.md | portfolio | Product ranges, naming and claim rules, CEP coverage |
8. Portfolio#
Ranges and coverage; rules and claims per range: portfolio/portfolio.md.
| Range | Status | Serves |
|---|---|---|
| Original Forge | core | CEP-01, CEP-02, CEP-03, CEP-04, CEP-05 |
| Inferno | core | CEP-06 |
| Smoke & Honey | seasonal | CEP-02, CEP-07 |
9. Campaign Context#
Current fame vehicle in US/GB is the “Forge Trials” content series (spice-dare ritual, CEP-06). The DE market launched last year; media there leads with CEP-02 and CEP-03 and the localised tagline. No master-brand campaign change is planned before the next major version.
10. Glossary#
- Heat rating: the printed Scoville value; the only permitted heat descriptor in copy (see AR-05).
- The forge: the smoke-ageing process; may be named, never mystified.
- Banned words (en): insane, extreme, gourmet, artisanal, lovingly.
- Banned words (de): Gourmet, Wahnsinn, himmlisch.