A brand promise isn’t a line on your About page. It’s the heartbeat of your business. In today’s content-driven, AI-generated world, brands that don’t walk the walk get ignored! By telling people what to expect, how they’ll feel when they interact, and why they should hang around. You'll win their hearts.
A brand promise isn't a clever phrase. It's like getting married; it’s a commitment, something you live every day. And that doesn't mean it's all plain sailing. You have to work on it, and some days, you'll be close to failure. But from failure comes redemption, and the chance to improve. A brand promise rarely appears on your website or customer emails. It's something your team knows. It affects the customer experience, so they must understand it.
The old adage that 'actions speak louder than words' rings true. Bear that in mind as you read this.
We'll cover what a brand promise is, why it matters, how to write one that feels true to you, and how to make sure it sticks. Let's go!
What is a Brand Promise vs a Value Proposition?
Think of your brand promise as a handshake. It’s a clear, confident statement about what your customer can expect from you. It doesn't just happen on the first time. IT'S EVERY TIME. But, it’s not a tagline, a mission statement, or a vision statement. It’s the glue between what you say and what you do.
Successful businesses deliver exceptional service throughout the whole customer journey. Businesses don't always get it right.
Blockbuster didn't evolve; its service was not exceptional. It did what people expected, it was ordinary. You rented 3 DVDS for a week and brought microwave popcorn and lollies, and that was it.
Netflix tried to match them, only to discover the rental model was broken. But the subscription model gained them market traction. They gave customers a huge choice of movies and TV series, without having to leave the house. If you wanted, you could binge-watch episodes of Stranger Things and Orange is the New Black for a month. That's delivering an incredible customer journey.
Blockbuster rejected the opportunity in the year 2000 to buy Netflix for $50m. They went from cornering the market to dead in 10 years.
If you don't evolve, you get forgotten. If you learn one thing from me, it's this: your brand is worth nothing. If you can't uphold a promise through each customer interaction.
Brand Promise ≠ Tagline: A tagline might sound good on a billboard. A brand promise is what backs it up. It's an action.
Brand Promise ≠ Value Prop: Your value proposition talks about features. Your brand promise speaks to the feeling your audience walks away with. Customers need to resonate with your story. Come and learn about emotional branding.
Why does a brand promise matter?
- It sets expectations.
- It builds emotional trust.
- It helps you deliver consistently, online, in-store, and everywhere between.
You might not want to read this stat, but 61% of people say they’ll ditch your brand if it breaks their trust. Even if that happens once (cheers, Edelman Trust Barometer). Your promise helps you avoid that.
It's crucial that your branding aligns with your customer experience. This is key to longevity and building authentic connections with your audience.
So, answer this: can you stick your branding and customer experience in a blender? No. We have to get our lab coats on and make a culture. A sourdough culture requires patience, feeding, and the right atmosphere. It doesn't happen overnight.
Why a Brand Promise strategy is more than just words
Your brand promise strategy isn’t fluff, it’s fuel. It shapes how your team behaves, your marketing, and how customers feel when they interact.
It builds trust Take Zappos. Their promise is “delivering happiness”. And they mean it, from free returns to unexpected customer service.
It keeps customers loyal Amazon promises fast and reliable. It delivers. That’s why it’s become the default for millions.
It creates clarity FedEx says “overnight delivery.” Customers know exactly what to expect. No fluff, just fact. It's clear, confident and reliable AF.
It makes you stand out TOMS Shoes nailed this with their “One for One” model. It wasn’t just a cute tagline, it was a movement. Nike have a great one – not Just Do It! That's a tagline. Nike's brand promise is “To bring inspiration and innovation to every athlete in the world. This is inclusive and suggests “If you have a body, you’re an athlete.”
It keeps your team aligned A good promise gives your people purpose. And, a good culture is the best way to ensure your company delivers on a brand promise. If staff send the wrong message about what your brand stands for, your customers won't connect. The easiest way is to look at it with an inside-out approach.
What makes a Brand Promise work?
Let’s strip it back. A powerful promise has five things going for it:
1. Clarity — No jargon. You're not trying to sound clever. Give people clear language. Apple's a great example: “Think different.” Short. Punchy. Iconic.
2. Emotion — Tap into what people want to feel. Dove promises “real beauty.” It’s not about the soap. It’s about self-worth.
3. Credibility — Don’t make a promise you can’t keep. You’re not here to bluff. Patagonia’s sustainability promise works because they walk the walk. They focus on activism, ethical sourcing, and repair programs.
4. Relevance — Make it meaningful. Meet people where they are. Slack promises productivity, and it promises pleasantwork. That hits different.
5. Differentiation — Say what others can’t. Be bold about your point of difference. Tesla’s (no matter your personal opinion) do a great job. “Accelerating the world’s transition to sustainable energy” isn’t a car pitch; it’s a mission.
Use our Brand Promise Template to write a promise that feels like you
This is our step-by-step template for crafting your brand promise. Start with company values. Then answer how you want to make people feel (both staff and customers). Check competitors aren't using a similar message, and adapt it to sound like you. Finally test it. Fix it and test it, until it is achievable.
A promise can be written as simply as this.
We promise to [outcome] by [approach] for [audience]
Here’s a deeper explanation:
Start with your values
What do you stand for? What’s your non-negotiable? Ben & Jerry’s puts social justice at the centre of everything; it’s not tacked on, it’s churned in (pun intended). Write that down.
Know your people
What do your customers and staff care about? When you nail your promise, it's easy to unify people.
If you unite your team through your brand promise, it becomes a powerful way to foster team spirit. A brand promise is a statement that defines the purpose and values of your business. Your team needs to understand the how, what, and why to provide a unified outlook. And deliver on your brand promise.
If you provide a clear vision, your team can pour their hearts into it and become a tight-knit unit. A weekly hands-on meeting so people can throw out ideas and know what's happening day-to-day is a great idea. You'll solve problems, inform them about the business, and see how your goals are being tracked.
Map the landscape
Look at your competitor's message. Are they all saying the same thing? That's a vanilla approach. Make sure you're not promising what everyone else does.
Sound like yourself
Your promise should match your tone of voice. If you’re bold and cheeky, don’t go all corporate. Harley-Davidson promises “freedom for the soul.” It screams rebellion!
Test it
One step most brands miss is testing. Before you go live, share it with your team, your audience, and your mates. If something breaks, fix it.
What is the difference between a Brand Promise, a Mission Statement and a tagline?
A brand promise is the emotional and experiential commitment you deliver to your audience. This is what they can expect from your brand every time they interact with it. It’s customer-facing, short and punchy, and tied to how your brand makes people feel. It's a handshake before the sale, the reason someone trusts you. It’s not always written down like a tagline, but it's deeply rooted. This is the “gut feeling” your brand creates. Emotional branding drives buying behaviour more than logic ever could.
Whereas a mission statement is inward-facing and strategic. It outlines your business’s core purpose, what you do, who you serve, and how you do it. It’s more rational and operational, guiding internal decision-making, culture, and long-term goals. Where the brand promise lives in the heart, the mission statement lives in the head. While they often align, the difference matters. Your mission drives your internal team, and your brand promise motivates your customers.
A tagline, is a bite-sized, memorable phrase used in marketing to grab attention and stick in someone’s mind. It’s a slogan that might appear in your ads, packaging, or your homepage. A tagline can express part of your brand promise, it doesn’t have to. I prefer if taglines focus on rhythm and recall. A brand promise is the message you live by, and the tagline is the chat-up line that introduces you.
Done well, your tagline should hint at your promise, but it’s the promise that does the heavy lifting over time.
All three, should be authentic and work together to build trust, clarity, and a strong emotional connection.
Hire people with your brand promise in mind
Let's dig further into your team or your staff.
When hiring, look for candidates who embrace your brand's values. This ensures they align with your promise and understand how to deliver it.
Don't place someone in a customer-facing or leadership role if they don’t share your brand’s mindset. If they pull in a different direction, they’ll struggle to uphold the brand promise.
Include your team in brand promise development
Transforming how your brand delivers starts by involving your team. When empowered, they shape your brand promise and strategy, it won’t be static for decades.
Involve your team in defining the vision. Review your current values and set new ones together. This creates ownership. Team members begin to reflect the brand’s values and tone in their emails and conversations. It becomes second nature and aligns your culture.
Everyone, from the receptionist to the CEO, should know the brand promise and how to deliver it. At the Ritz-Carlton, employees go above and beyond. That’s not chance, it’s culture.
Accept employee feedback when creating your brand promise
Critical to your strategy work is the ability to accept feedback. You might uncover new ways to complete tasks.
If you strategise alone, you risk heading in the wrong direction. Involve your customers, peers, and team. Encourage open feedback and let people share their thoughts and criticisms. Stay humble and respectful, and you'll build a strong, collaborative culture.
Feedback strengthens your plans, improves systems, and sharpens final results.
How to live your Brand Promise
Your brand promise can’t just sit in a strategy doc. It has to show up everywhere—and that starts with you. Aside from training your entire team to live the brand promise, you need to do the following:
Tell the story
Weave your promise into your content, campaigns, and conversations. Airbnb’s “Belong Anywhere” shows up in its UX, listings, and brand voice. What does your story look like? How can you embed a promise?
Back it up with service
Where most promises die, customer service. If you say one thing, but your actions are the opposite. That's a problem, as you won't be build trust.
Measure and tweak
Track things like Net Promoter Scores, customer feedback, and reviews. This is how we know your promise is landing? If you receive negative feedback, something's gone wrong in the customer journey. You should fix it.
Evolve (but don’t flip-flop)
Your promise can grow! But you should never lose the heart of it. Coffee shops may change their menus, but they still deliver the promise of coffee. Except if their coffee grinder breaks 😬. That's a story for another time.
Avoid these Brand Promise traps
Let’s keep it real—some brand promises flop. Here’s what not to do:
- Don’t go generic. “Great service at a great price” is forgettable, it's yuck!
- Don’t overpromise. If you say you’re “always available,” but you’re not, people will notice.
- Don’t be out of sync. There's so many businesses that say “customers first” while doing the opposite.
- Don’t send mixed signals. Consistency is what builds trust.
- Don’t copy/paste. You’re not Nike. Be you.
How to evolve your Promise as you grow
You’re business is not static, your brand promise can't be either.
- Check in. Is it still relevant and true?
- Listen to your people. What are customers saying about your brand? Is feedback/reviews taken into consideration?
- Stay culturally aware. In both a team sense and a social, emotional sense. You'll need to shift your language and values in time. Your message needs to shift too.
- Innovate with intent. Let tech or trends shape your delivery or the actions you take, but keep your core steady.
- Rebrand if needed. Big shifts (like mergers or scandals might need a brand promise refresh. Do it transparently and with heart.
Top examples of real Brand Promises
We've covered a few of these as we go, but here's a list.
- Nike: “To bring inspiration and innovation to every athlete in the world.” (And FYI: “If you have a body, you’re an athlete.”)
- FedEx: “When it absolutely, positively has to be there overnight.” Clear, confident, and reliable AF.
- Apple: “Think different.” Minimal words. Maximum emotion.
- Disney: “The happiest place on Earth.” Simple. Unforgettable. Aspirational.
- BMW: “The ultimate driving machine.” Speaks directly to experience, not just features.
FAQs: no-fluff answers
Q: What’s the point of a brand promise?
A: It sets expectations and builds trust. It’s the invisible thread between your words and actions.
Q: How long should it be?
A: One to two sentences. Short enough to remember. Strong enough to matter.
Q: Can it change?
A: Absolutely. Just keep the heart intact.
Q: How do I know it’s working?
A: Your customers feel the promise without you having to shout it. That’s when you’ve nailed it.
Q: Should it be public or private?
A: Both. Internally, it guides your team. Externally, it creates clarity.
Q: Is it the same as a mission?
A: Not quite. A mission is why you exist. A promise is what people can count on from you.
Q: Do startups need one?
A: 100%. A clear promise gives early-stage brands direction and distinction.
Want help writing your brand promise? That’s our jam. We’re Snapper Studio, a branding agency for purpose-driven businesses. Who are ready to help you show up with clarity, character, and confidence. Let’s craft something real. Something bold. Something that feels unmistakably you.
