Directorate of distance education

What does your Brand Promise?
The brand statement, often called the brand promise or proposition, 
is a derivative of branding research. It states the benefit of buying and 
using your company’s products or services. For clothing, it could be about 
style or comfort. For a car, it could be about safety or reliability. Whatever 
it is, it must be clear, engaging and presented in a context relevant to the 
customer. One example of an effective brand promise is that of BMW’s. 
It’s stated right in the company’s tagline: The Ultimate Driving Machine.
Your Promise Should be Golden
If your company’s products and service don’t live up to their brand 
promise, new customers will become lost customers and loyal customers 
might leave, too. Simply put, your deliverable, whatever that is, must 
follow through on the promise—in fact, it would be best if it actually over-
delivered.
Your Promise Should be Unexpected, but Welcome
Don’t reuse something a competitor has already promised even if it 
works for your product or service, and don’t be vague in trying to position 
your company favorably against your competitors (such as saying you’re 
“the best pizza in town.”). Be specific because specific is exponentially 
more memorable. Besides, people expect you to be good. Otherwise, they 
wouldn’t give you their business.
Hearts and Minds First, Wallets Later
Creating a positive emotional association in your market for 
your product or service is key. It can create want and desire by the mere 
mention of your brand, product or service name. Needless to say, that’s 

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powerful. For instance, the mere mention of Ben & Jerry’s conjures up 
images of numerous unique premium ice cream flavors and with the 
anticipation for your favorite (in my case, Cherry Garcia). Such positive 
emotional associations are built over time through good branding practice 
and a time-tested relationship between you and your customer based on 
intrigue, trust, understanding and support.
To create a brand promise that creates such emotional connections, 
it should be:
1. Grounded in the brand’s core values
2. Clearly relevant and engaging to your target market
3. Able to create some sort of positive emotional attachment beyond 
just being “good”
4. Repeated internally and externally within your organization
5. Adaptable to the business climate
6. Continually reinforced
7. Consistent across advertising and marketing mediums
8. Known and echoed by business partners