How can I say this when businesses and organizations spend hundreds of thousands of dollars developing a brand, a logo and a tag line? If it is so simple why doesn’t every organization do it well and have a meaningful, differentiated brand.

In Kindergarten we learned to:

Treat others as we want to be treated

Make and Keep Promises

Play Fair

What does this have to do with creating a meaningful, lasting brand? A brand is nothing more than a promise that your organization makes to their customers. In Kindergarten, we learned about making and keeping promises. A promise is something you tell someone else that you will do and you deliver on this promise.

But what promise is important to your customer. By understanding how your customer wants to be treated, you can create a promise that is meaningful to your customers and that will differentiate you in the marketplace. It is not enough just to promise to be equal to your competitors, you need to create a promise that you can uniquely deliver and is important to your customer.

Finally, you must play fair. If you create a promise you must fairly and honestly deliver on it. In working with clients, we consistently see customers that research the market place to understand unique needs, promise their customers they can meet those needs and then fall short on delivering on these promises. They are not playing fair with the trust their customers have put into the organization.

Your brand is nothing more than a promise that is meaningful to your customer, and sets you apart from your competitors and that you consistently deliver.

Classico was one of the brands I worked on that got it right. They created a unique promise and made sure that everything they did, delivered on this promise. While the competition tried to talk about homemade taste and home-style flavors, Classico promised that their sauces would be as good as homemade made in the home of Nonnie, an Italian Grandmother. The brand focused on recipes passed down from generation to generation. This promise was meaningful and set the brand apart from the competition.

To insure they delivered on this promise, the Brand created a unique package that was based on the traditional canning or Mason jar. Although today, this type of packaging is used throughout many categories, when Classico launched, they were the first to use this more expensive packaging.

Next they created recipes that were based on classic Italian recipes. While the competition used corn syrup, vegetable oils, and tomato puree; Classico asked itself, what would Nonnie use. How many grandmothers use Corn Syrup, vegetable oil or tomato puree? Classico used Olive oil, whole tomatoes and did not use sugar or corn syrup to balance the sweetness. The brand selected the right tomatoes and quality ingredients, to balance the flavor without sweeteners.

Finally, they based their flavors on recipes from traditional regions throughout Italy. By creating flavors that represented traditional Italian Regions, they were able to reinforce their promise with each new product launch.

 

Everything done to ensure that the brand met its promise drove costs and meant the brand did not appeal to everyone. The product and packaging cost 12% more than the competition. Since the product was not as sweet as some of the competition, many families with young kids did not purchase the product. At the same time, the brand created a new segment of the market that was priced 25% higher than the traditional brands and in time came to represent about 30% of the market.

Although Classico got it right, it took hard work and discipline to keep it right over time. The brand looked at ways to reduce costs, or appeal to those families with kids. At one point the brand substituted Sunflower Oil for the Olive saving 3%. Although in blind taste test the customer could not tell the difference, the loyal customers said that if the brand does this they would not be playing fair. Nobodies Nonnie would use Sunflower oil to make their homemade sauce a little less expensive so why would Classico. Classico quickly went back to the original recipe.

Classico continues to make a brand promise based on Homemade Italian recipes and continues to succeed in the market. The brand continues to create new flavors based on regions in Italy and is enjoyed by many.

So ask yourself:

Does your brand make promise?

Is the promise meaningful to your customers?

Is the promise different from your competition?

And finally, are you consistently delivering on your promise to your customers?