“There’s a difference between a brand promise and a brand commitment. It’s easy to promise. It’s hard to commit.” - G. Cordell
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?