A brand promise is a statement that businesses write to describe the value they deliver to customers. The brand promise can cultivate trust between a business and its customers, as it guides customer interactions. Stakeholders can also use the brand promise to manage their expectations of the business
A brand promise is not a public statement. Companies use tag lines or slogans to frame a brand’s offerings or inject something exciting and noteworthy. A tag line is, by definition, a public statement that appears to the customer as many times as possible. Because the brand promise is not a public statement, it should not be communicated to the customer or the external public. Let us be clear here, it is not some deep, dark secret. It would be fine if it got out into the public consciousness. It is not designed for public consumption. It is only to align people’s efforts within the organisation. In short, it is like an internal compass that guides the activities of the people within the organization. Simply put, it influences what comes from inside to the outside. That way, members of the organisation will act and engage in specific ways and manners, known and understood by insiders, but received by outsiders and taken as the style or philosophy of the organisation.
Let us consider the promises of some brands and see if these are reflected in their services and engagements.
Virgin Atlantic: To be genuine, fun, contemporary and different in everything we do at a reasonable price
Virgin’s promise goes a lot farther than seating passengers in airplanes
Coca Cola: To refresh the world in mind, body, and spirit, and inspire moments of optimism; to create value and make a difference
Coca-Cola’s brand promise takes a bit of a different route. It does not mention the product or service, but instead aims to convey a mindset held by all of those that are a part of the company. With a brand promise like this, Coca-Cola positions itself as a lifestyle brand that is about much more than just manufacturing popular drinks.
Apple: Think Different
Apple’s brand promise is arguably the most famous slogan of all time and the key to Apple’s wild success in the computer industry. Apple’s brand promise is two-sided–their guarantee to create products based on seeing the world a little differently, and their promise to inspire their customers to do the same.
BMW: The Ultimate Driving Machine
This bold statement is the driving force behind BMW’s brand. They aim to produce only the most efficient and elegant vehicles and their brand promise states this with confidence.
It is important to state clearly that a brand promise is different from a brand’s tag-line. While a brand promise is for internal use, a tag-line is for the external public, especially customers. It accompanies all brand publicity and promotions, particularly commercials.
Developing a tag- line for a brand is not an easy task. The process might take copywriters and brand managers months, and over a thousand iterations, to be tight enough to speak to consumers in only a few words. You do not need to go to all that effort with a brand promise. A brand promise is talking to employees, investors, and partners. These people have already bought into the brand; they need to know what to do to further it. Any material designed for these people is going to be worded entirely differently than a tag-line.
A brand promise and a value proposition are similar. Both are one or a few lines on why a consumer would choose the brand over its competition. But a value proposition focuses on product features, where a brand promise speaks to the long-term meaning of a brand. Features may change, but the promise endures. A value proposition is on a shorter time horizon than a brand promise.
Read also: Connecting vision, mission, strategy, brand, and culture
A value proposition is a useful exercise to go through. Look at your brand’s offerings versus other brands consumers might choose. What are the product features that make your brand the clear choice? Does the market value these features? Are these features strategically defensible? In other words, what is stopping the competition from adopting these features, if the product is successful?
The value proposition should be a stepping stone on the road to the brand promise. If Swedish car maker, Volvo’s brand promise is to provide a safe car suitable to protect the driver’s loved ones, then the safety features of its vehicles cannot be compromised, and are necessary to establish the brand promise credibly. The value proposition that established Volvo’s reputation of safety was the three-point seatbelt. The seatbelt that is now standard in every car was first offered in the Volvo PV 544 in 1959. Nowadays, Volvo needs to be first to provide new features to protect its legacy of safety.
Last line
A brand promise is that unique promise of value you make, to your target market, that your brand will fulfill. It is the essence of what you have to offer, and guides you in how your brand will engage. It clarifies and communicates what makes your brand special–what makes you different from other brands. Crafting this promise requires understanding your values, interests, strengths, and personal qualities and using them to distinguish your brand
