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INDEX

Definition Example

How to Develop a Brand Promise The Company’s Value Proposition Points of Parity and Differentiation Brand Attributes Promise Definition

How to Deliver Your Brand Promise Brand proof points Example Brand Performance Model Brand Life Cycle

What’s a Brand Promise?

A brand promise is what the company commits to

the people who interact with it.

A brand promise is the statement that you make to

customers that identifies what they should expect

for all interactions with your people, products,

services and company. It is often associated with the

company’s name and/or logo.

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It’s not a description of what a company does in a literal

sense. It’s a description of the company’s character. To

some extent, it’s a mission; it’s how the company creates

and delivers value. Also, it’s the feeling the company

conveys to its stakeholders. Two restaurants, for example,

may have similar menus, but provide different

atmospheres, different associations, and different customer

experiences based on their brand promises.

To Illustrate, Here are the Brand Promises from

Three Highly Successful, World-Wide Brands:

The NFL(NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE):

“To be the premier sports and entertainment

brand that brings people together, connecting

them socially and emotionally like no other.”

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Coca-Cola:

“To inspire moments of optimism and uplift.”

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Virgin:

“To be genuine, fun, contemporary, anddifferent in everything we do at a reasonableprice.”

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INTERESTING!

In none of the above cases does the brand promise describe what these

companies do or provide.

The NFL’s brand promise says nothing about football.

Coca-Cola doesn’t talk about providing the best soft drinks in the

world.

And Virgin’s promise goes a lot farther than seating passengers in

airplanes.

Good brand promises, like these, talk about what these

companies promise to be for you, the consumer.

A company needs to answer these four questions to begin

developing a brand promise:

1. What is the value proposition of the company to its constituents?

2. What are the points of parity and differentiation between the company and its competition?

3. What are the attributes (the values/beliefs) of the company’s brand?

4. What, then, is the company’s brand promise?

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How to Develop a Brand Promise

Companies should not fall into describing what the

organization does.

They need to consider the benefits they provide,preferably from the viewpoint of the stakeholders.

For example, your company may provide 24-7customer service, but what does that mean to thecustomer? What’s the specific benefit of that tothem?

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The Company’s Value Proposition

The Company’s Value Proposition 12

Companies need to remember that “stakeholders”includes every entity that interacts with thecorporation—not just clients and customers.

Stakeholders can include employees, vendors,shareholders, and even government entities,depending upon the business.

Sometimes the quickest way to determine what a

company is, is to determine what it is not, compared tosimilar companies or competitors.

how is the company in question different?

What does the company not offer that its competition does?And vice versa.

What feel or character does the company offer—or notoffer—in comparison with its competition?

Example: Gymnastics

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Points of Parity and Differentiation

Are the values and beliefs that their brands represent.

Describe how the brand delivers on its promise.

Do not describe the company’s actual products or services.

For example Coca-Cola’s brand values say nothing about quality drink development!

Coca-Cola: Simple pleasures, optimism, happiness, human connections/bringing people together

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Brand Attributes

Promise Definition

The brand promise should never be a description of theproducts or services the company offers.

A brand promise describes how people should feel whenthey interact with the brand, how the company providesits products/services, and what sort of character thecompany has.

A brand promise is a short phrase, not a paragraph, andis relevant to all aspects of the organization.

Example: NFL

Strong brands possess credible, relevant and

distinctive brand promises.

Social media has become a zillion-channel placewhere anyone can express their opinion about yourbrand.

So, how can you deal with this? The answer issimple: with trust.

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How to Deliver Your Brand Promise

The brand proof should at least be equal to the brand

promise to avoid disappointing the customer (Smith,2011).

To prove the brand promise, customers have toexperience the brand promise through all thedifferent channels:

The telephone, in all the stores/locations, on the websiteand in face-to-face contact, etc.

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Brand Proof Points

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Example: Starbucks

• They are coffee lovers who enjoyspending time with quality products.

• Employees are friendly and quick

• Atmosphere is inviting with modernfurniture, relaxed music and pleasantaromas.

• They communicate their brandpromise everywhere in exactly thesame manner .

• They are welcoming, provide a fastservice and are passionate aboutcoffee.

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Brand Performance Model

• It enables you to determine the extent to which brand proof points are exploited.

• The top half represents the exterior part of the organization that is visible to stakeholders.

• The bottom half constitutes the internal organization.

Brand Performance Model 20

‘Presence’ is the presentation of the brand in allexpressions.

When the presence fits with the brand, this helpsprove the brand promise.

‘People’ are the people who represent the brand,usually the employees with whom customerscommunicate.

Brand Performance Model 21

‘Processes’ are the procedures within the organizationthat contribute to the applied consistency of thebrand.

‘Programmes & Tools’ are all the resources that areused to provide employees with the opportunity toapply the brand consistently through theirknowledge as well as their attitude and behaviortowards customers.

Brand Performance Model 22

The four dimensions of the Brand PerformanceModel interrelate.

This means that when organizations have problemswith their internal organization, these will be noticedand experienced by people outside the organization.

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Brand Life Cycle:The way your brand looks also implicitly

promises something

• Five phases can bedistinguished:

1. Evaluation and analysis

2. Strategy

3. Development and creation

4. Implementation and activation

5. Management

Monitoring how the brand performs, both internally and

externally.

Some evaluations might lead to significant changes withinthe brand, resulting in a change to the corporate visualidentity and/or brand name. This is called a rebranding.

In these circumstances, the brand evaluation acts as aplatform for the development of a new or adjustedorganizational strategy, positioning of the brand or brandpromise

Brand Life Cycle24

Evaluation and analysis

The organizational strategy is translated into a brand

strategy: here, the mission, vision and core values aretransformed into a clear and relevant positioning ofthe brand or brand promise.

It is vital that an organization only chooses brandpromises that it can actually keep. A beautiful brandpromise is worthless if it is not fulfilled.

Brand Life Cycle25

Strategy

Here the brand promise is translated for the brand

proof points. Programs must be developed toinvolve both employees and external stakeholders inthe creation of a new brand strategy.

All forms of communication should be tailored to thenew promise, and the visual identity must beadjusted or developed. The products and servicesprovided by the organization must be adapted to thenew brand promise.

Brand Life Cycle26

Development and creation

Here the design and programs developed are

implemented at each of the brand proof points.

The introduction of a new or adjusted brand oftenbrings a lot of tension and uncertainty to anorganization. Internal acceptance of the new brandis, therefore, one of the biggest challenges during arebranding .

Brand Life Cycle27

Implementation and activation

Brand Life Cycle -Implementation And Activation

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The greater the change, the larger the impact will beon internal resistance.

Therefore adequate communication before, duringand after the rebranding is crucial to the success ofthe brand.

Proving the brand promise every day demands

organizational skills and coordination between thefront (presence and people) and the back (processesand programmes) of an organization.

This phase is therefore a continuous one in which thebrand is carefully managed at all the brand proofpoints. This requires that the processes in anorganization connect perfectly with the brandpromise.

Brand Life Cycle29

Management

The Brand Life Cycle is a proven model for a modern

brand management approach, across all channels.

The Brand Performance Model is the perfect model forchecking annually whether you are still on or off trackwith your brand management.

The success of a brand does not rest solely with thecredibility, relevance and distinctiveness of the brandpromise, but also, and even more so, with the way inwhich this promise is embedded in the entireorganization.

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Conclusion

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