Elevator pitch vs. about statement

An elevator pitch and an about statement introduce your brand. You need both. But what’s the difference between them?

They work in slightly different ways, varying in content and context. Building a set of foundational language empowers your brand to communicate your value front and center, generating awareness and connection.

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Elevator pitch

An elevator pitch is an invitation to connect with your brand. It leads with your why and begins to tell your story. It always comes from you. Though still short (the length of an elevator ride or around 30 seconds), use your pitch to begin telling your brand story. What problem you’re solving, and for who. Our favorite part about your pitch? It’s flexible. Pull a sentence or a phrase to use as a headline or a short pitch. Tweak it if you feel compelled. Verbalize it, use it on the website, or create a social post to make an introduction. Your audience will want to know more.

Here’s an example pitch for Bullhorn.

Change starts with a decision. We’re a branding agency that partners with companies making strategic decisions to do good work, to make something better than before. From naming and brand strategy to language and design to launch and campaigns, we’ll give voice and shape to your brand’s purpose.

Brands are dynamic. Like humans, we are always growing and changing. Sometimes it makes sense to have a different pitch for your audience that works for the moment. That addresses a relevant obstacle that your audience wants to solve. But still fits in your brand voice, your universe. Here’s another option.

Your challenge is to communicate a future vision that no one else can see. And not just to the public. You also need to align your culture with your brand. We help. We make language and design to solve your naming, brand identity, and brand campaign problems so you can get back to why you do your work: to maximize your impact.

Both speak directly to the audience but carry slightly different tones. But each serves as an introduction to why we do what we do (and how we do it). A 30-second brand story sound byte.

We can also lift smaller pieces from the pitches.

We give voice and shape to your purpose.
We partner with brands doing good work.
Change starts with a decision.
Maximize your impact.

Here’s a pitch we developed for a client.

Wealth changes things. We believe that change should be for good. By educating and guiding our family to invest with purpose, we help build more resilient communities and a more equitable, secure future for all. And we’re not alone. We’re part of a growing movement of ESG investors endeavoring to multiply our impact.

About statement

An about statement is a concise and informative description of your core offering — the what. But that doesn’t mean dry. You can (and should) still write in your brand voice. Are you casual? Sharp? Irreverent? Give people the language to think about and talk about your brand. An about statement may come from you, but third parties can use it to talk about your brand (like in a news article or brand partnership). Your statement is also flexible. Shorten it to a phrase and use it for a social media bio or PR purposes.

Here’s ours.

We build impact brands with language and design. As a B Corporation, we believe business should be a force for good. And a force for change.

Or, for a short pitch.

Building impact brands with language and design.

And here’s one we wrote for a client.

We educate and guide our family to invest with purpose — opening doors for wealth to help, not hurt.

It takes some brand soul-searching to get these statements down. And often, an outside perspective. Need to create or clarify your foundational language? We can help.

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