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In a perfect segue from last week’s column on being bold when you brand, I gave a six-hour workshop on branding recently, and in the midst of it, a gentleman asked a question that bears some discussion. He said, in essence: “Aren’t most taglines pretty interchangeable? Couldn’t one of your competitors just say the same thing?”

The answer is no, not if you do it right. First you do it right by figuring out how you are tangibly different from everyone else. You take time to dig deep enough to find the true heart and soul of your company, as we talked about last week. Then you say it in a bold voice that is uniquely yours. But even that is not enough. So far, all you’ve done is talk.

There is making the promise and there’s keeping the promise. A brand promise is made through a tagline or marketing communications.

But it is kept when the customer experiences you.

Do you actually deliver what you described? Does it feel authentic? Do I have the same experience time after time? It’s easy to fake a brand position but only for a little while. That’s why it is so critical to do the necessary soul searching, rather than just whipping up a new logo and tagline. You want to get to the substance, not stay at the surface.

As we said last week, being bold is essential. You have to make a statement worthy of note and do it in a way that demands attention. But you cannot stop there. If you are bold enough to make the promise, be ready to keep it. That’s how you protect your brand from copycats and “me too.” You make it come alive, and no one can steal it from you.

Drew McLellan is Top Dog at McLellan Marketing Group and blogs at www.drewsmarketingminute.com. He can be reached at Drew@MclellanMarketing.com. © 2008 Drew McLellan