I would like to start with a quote from the first post in this series:

For a brand to exist it needs a sender and a receiver.

If the promise of a sender matches with the associations of a receiver we have good branding.

The first step of a branding feedback loop is the brand promise.

Let's see how we can work with that 👇

Brand Promise: Combination of Brand Vision and Brand Purpose

Good branding is aligned top to bottom.

When distilling a brand promise you would start with:

• Brand vision: How does the world look like tomorrow?
• Brand purpose: Why do we believe in this future and how do we fit in?

In an ideal scenario, your brand promise is a one-liner that captures the brand's vision and purpose.

Nike: Just Do It.

It is a combination of:

• Vision: A world where everyone is an athlete
• Purpose: Nike's goal to empower all athletes
• Promise: Just Do It.

Stripe: Payments Infrastructure for the Internet

It is a combination of:

• Vision: The Internet economy will be the majority of the economy
• Purpose: Increase the GDP of the Internet
• Promise: Payments Infrastructure for the Internet

Bottomline: One Statement to Capture the Brand Strategy

A good brand promise captures is like a guiding light for brand strategy.

• Internal alignment: Your team knows how to communicate into the market
• External commitment: Your customers know what to expect and how to think of your brand

It is the first statement that a customer would see when navigating to your website.

In other words: your brand promise can be your tagline.

🤞

This post is an excerpt from my online course Fundamentals of Brand Strategy where you learn how to build successful brands.

The self-paced online course contains 5 hours of video material and teaches you how to use the Brand Pyramid.

You can hit me up on twitter. DMs are open.

Further Reading

• Start with Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action (Simon Sinek)

Short Excerpts from the Course

These posts are short snippets of the course curriculum 👇

• A Pragmatic Look at Branding: What Is a Brand?
• Touchpoints and Brand Strategy: How do We Build Associations?
• Positioning and Differentiation: How to Stand Out as a Brand?
• Brand Vision: What Is the World That Could Be?
• Brand Purpose: Why Bother?
• Brand Promise: How to Communicate in One Statement?
• Mission Statement: How Do You Do It?
• Brand Attributes: How Does the Brand Present Itself?
• Frame of Reference: Where Is the Brand Placed?
• Target Customer: Who Is Your Audience?
• Customer Need: What Is Their Real Job-to-be-Done?
• Value Proposition: What Are You Offering?
• Reasons-to-Believe: What Are Your Proof Points?