Though brand management is sometimes thought of as more art than science, we believe all great brands start at the same point – with a motivating promise to deliver something specific and unique. To be successful, that promise must meet the needs of our guests.

    This requires understanding what our guests want in both a functional and an emotional sense. For example, from a functional perspective, Olive Garden meets guests' need for a good meal at a good value. On a more emotional level, however, the leader in Italian casual dining provides guests with a genuine Italian dining experience. We believe meeting this emotional need is critical to brand management excellence. The emotional experience is what connects our guests to our brand and our employees with our guests. It also is one of the key competitive differentiators for our brands in the marketplace. And, the ability to deliver both a functional and emotional experience forms the basis of a strong brand promise.

    The ability to make and deliver a unique and compelling brand promise is the ultimate goal for every Darden concept. It tells consumers why they should choose to dine in our restaurants and what to expect when they get there. A well-defined brand promise helps align and integrate every guest touch point, to create an overall dining experience. These touch points represent all elements with which guests come into contact during their visit – in essence, everything they see, hear, smell and taste, as well as how they are made to feel.

    With a well-defined brand promise, brand management excellence becomes the ability to deliver the promise on a consistent basis. For a casual dining company the size of Darden, the challenge lies in doing so for millions of guests each week, through thousands of employees in more than 1,380 restaurants. This challenge can only be met through restaurant operating excellence which, in turn, is guided by the brand promise. For example, whether you're an Olive Garden server, line cook or executive, everyone has the same purpose: to delight guests with an idealized Italian family meal featuring fresh, simple, delicious Italian food complemented by a glass of wine in a comfortable homelike Italian setting, where you feel like family. If every employee understands and commits to delivering this promise, it can be delivered on a consistent basis. The result is the opportunity to form trusted, lasting relationships with our guests – relationships that ultimately personify brand management excellence.