Is you brand CRUD?

I have participated in a number of corporate board meetings lately where brand positioning, brand logos and tag lines have been the desired deliverable.  The recurrence of these events serves as a simple reminder of three key axioms:

1) While branding is essential, brands are only as good as the experiences that fulfill or fail their brand promise. Fortunately, the companies I work with realize this truth and thus have my team in the room.)

2) Brand positioning must pass the C.R.U.D. test.  Is your brand in its current or in its future aspirational form:

Credible, Relevant, Unique, and Durable (with uniqueness being one of the biggest challenges)

3) Great tag lines inform, connect, evoke, and stick with your people and with your customers.

A few brand messages to consider:

BMW – the ultimate driving machine (durable tag – written in the 80’s but relevant today)

UPS – switching from “the tightest ship in the shipping industry” to “what can brown do for you” (signaling a strategic move from operational excellence/fulfillment to a more client-solutions based approach)

and the newest Subaru tag line “confidence in motion” (a keeper from the standpoint of CRUD)

So what are your verbal brand messages?

Does your brand promise pass the CRUD test? If not, what steps must you take to elevate delivery of the experience?

Most importantly, do your customers remember, feel, and believe your promise or to them is it all just a bunch of crud?