Could your brand use a guide to ensure consistency?
As a marketing professional, you have worked side-by-side with your advertising agency and design resources to develop a brand with a look, feel and messaging that represent your organization well. In today’s digital world it is difficult to ensure that your branding remains consistent when there are tools that literally anyone in your company can use to create and publish content that will be representative of your brand. These people may have good intentions, but they need direction.
Take steps to ensure your brand is not open to graphic and messaging interpretations and customizations. Consistency with your brand over time is one key to your success. That consistency builds awareness and loyalty with customers. It can’t be subject to changes in its presentation or messaging, and still be expected to get the job done. Your brand’s interactions with customers should embody the brand promises and values in a dependable and understandable way.
No matter what size your company, you should seriously consider creating brand style and usage guidelines to ensure all messaging and brand asset use is on-point and consistent. These guides not only help the marketing department, they also serve as guides to other employees and departments. These guidelines should be developed across the organization and should align with your company’s vision and mission.
Even if you are involved in a small business, a brand guide is very useful at some level of scale. In small businesses, staff members have a tendency to, “wear a lot of hats”. This puts people in situations where they may need guidance to carry out communications that remain on-brand, even when doing so is not part of the individual’s core function at the company.
A brand style guide touches on a variety of assets from color treatments to graphics, photography, written messaging and more. You may want to seek professional help with the development of a guide. If you do choose to seek help, McCafferty Advertising is here to guide you through the process. For more information check out our website and contact us there for more information about our intelligent approach to marketing.