NFL: “To be the premier sports and entertainment brand that brings people together, connecting them socially and emotionally like no other.”
Nike: “To bring inspiration and innovation to every athlete in the world.”* * If you have a body, you are an athlete.
ESPN: "Sports with authority and personality."
Adidas: "The Adidas Group strives to be the global leader in the sporting goods industry with brands built on a passion for sports and a sporting lifestyle."
Under Armour: "To Make All Athletes Better Through Passion, Design And The Relentless Pursuit Of Innovation."
New Balance: "Always in Beta."
The above mentioned quotes are from well-known sports companies. They are not taglines, as taglines are only slogans stand to inspire and summarize the brand's values in a short sentence. They are not advertising headlines either. They are not seasonal, that can change from one year to another. These are brand promises. They offer something what cannot be refused. They are in the middle of the brand's existence. A brand promise is an objective offer that shows what you do to others, no matter what. The brand promise is based on your mission, your vision and your core values.
When you craft your own brand, the first thing you have to have, is a promise. You can show your product or service, you can give a speech about how great you are, what your achievements are and how high your reputation is, it will be only a forgettable monologue, if you do not fill it with the most important elements of your company's culture, corporate behaviour and core values. Before we go deeper in the topic, lets see who is this message crafted for.
1. It is for your customers, obviously. First and foremost they are your main communicational target. You are planning to talk to them and occasionally to encourage them to purchase your product or service. So, you need to explain them what you do, what you are good at, why you do it and what feelings they will have while experience your brand. Also you should highlight why is this experience will be always unique. Your customers should be emotionally involved with your brand to keep them. Loyalty is based on constantly deliver on the promise.
2. Brand promise is for your employees. Your workforce worth a lot. If they communicate your inner values clearly, honestly and from their heart, they will be not only your coworkers, but also your ambassadors. If they do not experience your brand values by themselves, they might miscommunicate your messages. If their expectations - according to your brand promise - does not match with the experience they have during the time working for you, your employees might give the wrong impression to the outside world.
3. It is for the entire market and even more. Before one becomes a customer, the person is usually "just another member" of the market and society. Therefore it is important that whenever you invite anyone to experience your brand, you need to communicate what they can expect from you. Not necessarily in terms of facts, rather emotions. A brand promise should never include what you do, rather what feelings you would bring out of them. Did you hear in any of the above mentioned promises anything about product quality, good price, technical solutions? No, because information and data, however they count and highly important, especially in our technology-driven environment, but they are not the main factor in motivation to purchase, to experience or being loyal.
Now, it is time to get back to the brand promise, how to make it happen. First of all, we need to answer a few questions: A) what can my brand offer that always can be delivered to my customers and tells them that we care for them, B) why can they expect such an experience from my brand everytime they purchase or have a contact with, C) after many times experiencing the same feeling, why will it be still something special. After you answered to these questions, write down what is your mission, how do you see the future (this will be your vision) and collect your values. Then summarize it. Keep in mind that your promise should be:
1.) Simple: keep it as simple as possible, as short as you can. Remember, this is an information that you will read only, over and over again, but act accordingly everywhere. Your brand promise does not need to be stated anywhere, but it has to exist and your corporate culture has to reflect it. Be clear and exact, keep the big words for the brand philosophy, here is the place for the core.
2.) Credible: this is an easy point, you have to always deliver what you promise. If you say that you guarantee something 100%, you cannot miss even one chance to do exactly that. If customers have different experience with your brand what you communicate about yourself, that devaluates your brand.
3.) Unique: if you want your brand to exist on the market for a longer time, you cannot afford to be too general and offer the same as all of your competitors. Your brand is a unique entity, so make your brand promise also different than others'. If your values, your mission and vision is the same as all other brands' on the market, how do you imagine to offer a product or service to your customers that is somewhat outstanding and cannot be replaceable from one day to the other.
4.) Personal: it talks to people and they feel that you care about them. Your brand promise should talk to the individual in the society and inspire. If you think you are everything for everybody, you miss the chance to connect with the real customer who wants to connect with the brand that emotionally calls him or her for a meaningful relationship. When you are being personal, keep in mind that it is not all about you. Rather you phrase your promise in a way that a person would know and feel how you can help them to have a better life and what you can do to make the world a place worth living.
All your branding efforts you might take during the existence of your company, based on your promise alone. No matter how large budget you have, how much you spend on PR, marketing and communication, if you fail to have a brand promise or cannot (or worst case scenario, do not want to) deliver it, you might lose your brand's credibility. If a brand's honesty is in question, it can cause a loss in numbers of customers and ultimately the end of your company. How serious this case is? Well, very. According to studies, 91% of customers would choose an authentic brand rather than a dishonest brand. 91%. That is a big number. Worth to consider.
Does your brand has a promise that would stand the test?