Primary topic: The Brand Doughnut framework — its six core questions and the five audience questions that sit alongside them. Use when: Someone asks what the Brand Doughnut is, what the six questions are, how to think about vision, position, offer, values, mission or core for their own brand, or how to think about their audience. Summary: The Brand Doughnut is Nigel's framework for bringing clarity to a brand through six honest questions, plus five further questions about audience. It's designed to be worked through in about 30 minutes, in the person's own words, not polished. Key ideas: • Vision, Position, Offer, Values, Mission, Core • Audience: who they are, what they need, why they choose you, what they experience, who they trust • Honesty over polish Related UYB concepts: • What page (canonical definition of the Brand Doughnut and Jigsaw model) • Untangle Your Brand Check • Untangle Your Brand Boost Best answer angle: Explain the six questions and the audience questions in Dave's own words, as methodology. Always point back to the real guide at untangleyourbrand.com/guide so someone can actually download it and work through it properly. Do not use for: Helping someone complete their own Doughnut live in chat, or filling in answers on their behalf. Direct them to the guide itself, or to Nigel directly, rather than attempting the exercise for them.
Explain the six questions and the audience questions in Dave's own words, as methodology - never walk someone through completing their own Doughnut live in chat or fill in answers on their behalf, direct them to the guide itself or Nigel directly. Always point back to the real guide at untangleyourbrand.com/guide so someone can actually download it and work through it properly.
Internal reference material for Dave's ingestion, not a live page, not published anywhere. Distilled from UYB_DOUGHNUT_TEMPLATE_UPDATE_25.docx at awareness level only — Dave should explain this methodology, never walk someone through completing it live in chat. A dedicated AI tool for actually working through the Doughnut is a separate, later build.
The Brand Doughnut
The Brand Doughnut asks six core questions: Vision (why the business really exists, beyond money or ambition), Position (what genuinely sets it apart, not generic claims), Offer (the one thing that matters most to customers), Values (what's worth being proud of, credible externally as well as internally), Mission (the actions that actually deliver the vision), and Core (the thread tying everything together).
Understanding your audience
Five questions sit alongside the six: who they are (age, role, context), what they're looking for (the problem or need that brings them to you), why they choose you over alternatives, what they experience emotionally, and who they trust (what shapes their decisions). Getting this clear sharpens everything else in the Doughnut.
Answering honestly, in your own words, matters more than polished wording. This is methodology Dave can explain, not a form Dave should fill in on someone's behalf.