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  • Brand Promise vs. Brand Commitment

    Posted on November 23rd, 2009 by Spike and currently 8 commenting.

    “There’s a difference between a brand promise and a brand commitment. It’s easy to promise. It’s hard to commit.” – Greg Cordell, Chief Inspiration Officer, Brains on Fire

    I love this nugget. Because we’ve all heard again and again agencies saying, “What is your brand promise?” or “Do people know what your brand promise is?”

    Look, it’s great to have a brand promise. It can communicate the characteristics and value of your offering and what people can expect from you. But as we all know, promises were made to be broken. A promise is a set of words with your intention. But a commitment – that’s action.

    What are you willing to commit to? I mean REALLY commit to. Speaking of committing, our own Geno Church got some new ink last week in Vegas (I promise to post a pic when I get it from him). Now that’s a commitment. Wearing something on your skin that really means something to you and signifies who you are and what you believe in for all the world to see.

    As Cordell said, it’s hard to commit. It’s scary to commit. Because now you’re going to held accountable. You’re going to be held to a higher standard. And you’re placing your reputation squarely on that commitment.

    Brand promises seem to change as often as taglines do. But commitments? Those (should) never change. So – as if you didn’t know this was coming – what is your brand commitment?

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  • Marla Matson-Quattrone

    You’re exactly right. That’s why a brand must be authentic to what the company really is- not what they hope to someday be. If that was the case, it would be advertising. Just like a person- when you know what you really believe in, then its easy being you.

    The ancients used to have the Daily Examen to ask themselves poignant questions to gut check their commitment to their convictions everyday. A bit of a drag maybe, but I’ll bet they really knew themselves well.

    Jung said that until we are 35 we are basically “trying on” different personalities to see how they feel, I can see how it might be a bit daunting to commit to a tat when your still aware that you are “in the midst”, so to speak. Ok, that’s enough. Peace ya’ll.

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  • http://www.distility.com 1day1brand

    Spike.

    I violently agree but would add that the problem isn’t so easy to solve.

    The traditional practice is to outsource the promise to a branding expert or agency. But (to fall back on human identity development theory) an achieved identity requires exploration and commitment.

    In humans, exploration without commitment leads to a fragmented identity, same as with brands.
    In humans, commitment without exploration leads to a conformist identity, same as with brands.

    I passionately believe that teams must both explore and commit to the brand themselves in order to truly achieve an enduring and authentic promise.

    – Axle

  • http://mjbraide.com Mary Jane Braide

    Ya but what is a promise without commitment? It’s implicit in the idea. My concern with the commitment thing is you’ll get more of the we’re committed to solutions that bla bla bla. Committed- to can be a cop-out. E.g We’re committed to sustainability (but not actually doing anything about it right now). Promise without commitment is just ink on paper.

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  • http://www.annesauve.com Anne Sauve

    Interesting – I just blogged about the concept of brand promise as being outdated, but with a different twist…perhaps. http://www.annesauve.com/blog/