Don’t overwrite your brand promise
Fresh. Focused. Play nice.
Those four words guide our work every day. Inventive thinking built on a base of strategic insight, in a work environment of fun and doing good things.
Those four words are our brand promise. Totaling just 20 letters, they’re pretty easy to remember. It used to be longer, but we kept forgetting most of the letters.
To bring inspiration and innovation to every athlete in the world. Nike’s brand promise. Hardly verbose, but still, it seems a bit overwrought. Can it be tightened? Probably. Inspire every athlete. Does that cover it? I think so. “In the world” is inferred. “Innovation” will be necessary to inspire some of them. Others will be inspired by comfort, colour, shape…
To inspire and nurture the human spirit – one person, one cup and one neighborhood at a time. Starbucks. Again with the “inspire”. Every brand aspires to inspire. What’s distinctive in that? Sensing I’m uninspired. How about “Nurture the human spirit”? I love the breadth of that.
In 2016, Coca-Cola launched a new brand promise – Taste the feeling. It immediately promotes more than taste, and is a strong departure from some of their wordier prose of the past.
Peace of mind. FedEx. Simple. Clear. Benefit-oriented. Brilliant.
