I’ve been thinking a lot about the idea of “brand promise” lately. Every brand is different, but distilled to their most basic purpose, all brands promise us something we’re supposed to want: comfort, happiness, security, entertainment, success, beauty, status… the list is endless. What I’ve noticed is that marketers are obsessed with projections about the future, while consumers seem far more concerned with the past.

It's not that current events, industry trends, or new product releases aren't important. It's that a brand's past colors how they respond to the future. History offers consumers a measure of confidence at each step: from trial; to re-purchase; all the way to brand loyalty.

Deep backstories are why we love rich fantasies. Think George R. R. Martin, J. R. R. Tolkien, J. K. Rowling, or any number of other monogrammed authors. They all build around a "how did we get here" narrative.

A history is absolutely priceless. The Norman Rockwell Coca-Cola ads aren't just about nostalgia. They're also about reminding you that they were around back when Norman Rockwell was still painting. And yet those brands are still here, and they're not going anywhere anytime soon. The implicit message is that they'll never go out of style. It's the reason why so many brands state the date of their establishment prominently on their store front window, their website header, or their product label. They’re not just bottling a beverage, they’re bottling a timeless story.

Projecting an image of reliability can be particularly challenging for new brands. At its core, branding is an attempt to project a "who we are" story. Telling that story properly takes more than a list of facts in the form of a paragraph. It takes careful consideration of every consumer-facing facet of a brand. It means crafting a voice. It means using thoughtful materials in production. It means being conscious of consumers’ experiences, both past and present. If a brand's words and actions don't jibe, even the best "who we are" risks sounding more like a "who we're trying to be."

I'm interested in your take. Has it ever piqued your interest when you learned that a brand is more than 50 years old? Have you ever scoffed at a brand for printing "Since [less than two years ago]"? I know I have.