How strong is the Euro? Is there any chance for the Euro to succeed? And how strong is the European Union?

These are the core questions being posed during the current economic crisis. A few EU countries are so burdened by debt that the rest of the community is being called to bail them out. While Portugal and Ireland have been down this path, Greece is now in especially dire straits—and saving Greece would require some hundred billion Euros. The citizens who are being asked to pay or guarantee these huge sums are alarmed.

While the intention is to continue with a united Europe, nationalistic and anti-European tendencies are taking hold. Those caught between these two positions are riddled with doubt, indecisiveness and fickleness.

When I take a brand man’s perspective and view the EU as a supra-country brand, the first thing I notice is the lack of a Brand Voice^®

and the absence of a consistent expression of a united Europe. When I seek to understand the values of the EU brand, I find no consistency there either. Some stakeholders are willing to shoulder heavy burdens while others—sailing under the same EU flag—prepare to leave the weak behind.

Obviously, the EU doesn’t have an elegantly simple brand platform. Thus the EU is not a strong brand. The communications are confusing the audience. The actions of the politicians don’t follow a superordinate strategy. Why’s that?

A peaceful Europe, borderless, sharing a common market for goods, services, labor and even currency—that was the dream of the founders of the European Economic Community. It was established in 1957 by Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Italy, France and Germany. From the outset, the organizational purpose (“the difference an organization seeks to make in the world”) had been defined.

Since 1989 this community has expanded with enormous momentum. Each member nation acts as a “product brand” to reinforce the idea of the EU. But due to increasing heterogeneity, support of the EU’s central promise is not consistent.

From the beginning there have been visionaries and pragmatics. The latter choose to focus on the immediate economic advantages and disadvantages of the membership. The former are true ambassadors of the values of the EU brand.

But the audience—the people of the countries including their journalists and politicians—has lost sight of what the EU is all about. They don’t know how the EU’s promise might pay off for them. They don’t see how the EU brand can serve them.

Speaking in Siegel+Gale terms, I think it’s time for Europe to eliminate the complexity of its brand platform, reaffirm the purpose and simply state the brand promise. It’s time to clearly communicate the vision. It’s time to re-align the hearts and minds of the people, who require consistent communications and interactions over the long term. Establishing this discipline paves the way for Europe to become a brand that fulfills a strong purpose, gives a binding promise that stands for common values and that speaks with a consistent Brand Voice. No matter if it’s in German, Portuguese or Czech.

Ulf-Brün Drechsel is executive director, EMEA for Siegel+Gale.

Read the German version of this blog.