You’ve got your swank new logo, a whip-smart tagline, a killer website design, letterheads, business cards and even a pull-up banner. Everything you need for international brand domination, right?
Think again … without some serious brand discipline, your plan to take over the world will quickly succumb to inconsistency and confusion.
Uniform brand expression is integral to the development of brand equity. Marketing 101 defines the four main inputs to brand equity: awareness, loyalty, perception and associations. Inconsistent application of your brand (visually or otherwise) jeopardises its recognition and identification, making it harder for consumers to know it, love it, trust it or, ultimately, prefer it.
To get the most from your new brand you’ll need a masterful, zero-tolerance approach.
Here are some “tough love” tips to get you started:
1) Develop a style guide
Whether you prefer style guide or graphics standards manual, it’s a rule book for your visual brand. It provides clear protocols for size, shape and colours of your logo in any given application from online to print to signage to vehicle livery. It defines font types, font sizes, spacing, positioning, paper stock and much more.
It sets non-negotiable boundaries to help you and your staff make the right decisions when arranging print and design – even when setting email signatures – so that every time your brand is seen, it is seen in the same way; not stretched tall to fit a certain space or re-coloured to suit an individual preference.
Think of it as your brand “constitution” – the document that embodies the way your brand is governed.
2) Execute a brand audit
Piece-by-piece expose all your marketing and communications collateral to a no-holds-barred brand audit.
The usual suspects like business stationery and signage fall into line easily, so make an effort to focus on inconspicuous offenders like order forms, receipts, memos and social media. Be ruthless – if it’s not up to scratch, scrap it. Any straggling, non-conforming relics will only diminish the influence of your fresh image.
3) Appoint a gatekeeper
Gatekeeper, bouncer, door bitch … call them what you like, but use them at the brand exit, not the entry.
Endow your guard with the authority of brand veto. Task them with checking every outgoing brand expression – print orders, emails, newsletters, correspondence, advertising – to ensure ongoing integrity with your style guide. Then let the power go to their head because the more demanding they are, the stronger your brand will be.
4) Identify brand champions
Balance out your tough-guy approach with some good old-fashioned propaganda.
Unearth any likely brand devotees within your enterprise, skill them up with brand wisdom and send them troop-side to wax lyrical about all things “brand”. Arm your brand champions with pithy key messages around the benefits of brand consistency to help win-over their less enthusiastic counterparts. The more brand converts on your team, the more chance you have of nurturing a consistent image to your external market.
5) Do what I do
Lead by example. Model perfect brand expression in everything you do. Nothing conveys brand obedience better than “be like me”.
Beating your business image into shape is a tough gig but someone’s got to do it. Responsible brand ownership decrees it … and when your brand grows up it will thank you for your “tough love” devotion.
Share with us how you keep your brand on the straight and narrow.
Author Bio Sheryl Allen is a Professional Copywriter with over 15 years of experience dealing with all types of businesses – from small start-ups to national brands. To find out more about Sheryl, visit her online at www.overthepage.com.au.
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