Speaking from years leading creative and branding teams, it’s amazing how many times I’ve been asked to bend the rules of a brand guideline. It often makes me think, do people really understand how important these rules are? Most brand guidelines are a costly line item for the company, developing methodology, voice, research, creative, and production. These are time-consuming efforts necessary to develop a “Corporate Bible” for your brand to live by. Most agencies put in the time and research to justify the suggestions and the cost.
Why does it take so much time, and is it really worth it?
It doesn’t matter what business you’re in, or the size of your business, you need a brand as your foundation. The brand is usually your company’s first impression, and will be the lasting impression, so your guidelines ensure that anyone using your brand is keeping true to what you envisioned.
What Is My Brand?
Well, I’m about to open the floodgates and burst a lot of bubbles, but your brand is NOT your logo! In a nutshell – It’s your elevator pitch that establishes who you are to the consumer. It’s your values that set you apart from your competition. It’s your look that distinguishes you from others in your field. It is the ESSENCE of what makes your company – ”Your” Company.
How Is My Logo NOT My Brand?
It amazes me how many people have a puzzled expression on their face and turn red when I say your logo is NOT your brand. But once they decide I’m not a total idiot and decide to listen, they begin to understand. I use the analogy below to simplify it:
Think of your brand as your favorite business suit that you put on to land a big deal:
- Your tie is your logo, and usually the first thing someone sees.
- Your jacket is a very nice, stylish website.
- Your shirt is your print, billboards, etc. that matches your jacket.
- Your pants are the e-blast and digital ads that draw more supporting attention to the outfit.
- And shoes are your stylish voice and message that wraps it all together as a cohesive…stylish…impressive package.
It takes all of these, perfectly matched pieces, to complement each other and make a great outfit. But even beyond the look, your shirt has to be the right shirt to work with a tie, and your shirt has to be the right color to match the jacket. If one piece of your outfit doesn’t fit, it ruins everything and you look like a clown. Your brand is very similar – it takes many amazing elements to support one another and make an impressive brand.
Should I Adjust My Brand for the Audience?
Now that you understand what your brand is and isn’t, you may find yourself getting closer to why your brand does not fit in all types of media… why?
- Is it because you’re trying to advertise in the wrong place?
- Are you placing your ad there just because you want to see it?
- Is this really your clientele and target audience?
You may be surprised by your own answer. If you put your time and effort into building your brand and finding out who your client really is, then the brand should fit anywhere your target audience is viewing. If it doesn’t fit, you might be advertising in the wrong place.
Exceptions: Yes, there are a few. When it’s Christmas season, go ahead and put snow on top of your ad, and use red and green all over the place. During St. Patrick’s Day, go ahead and make a cool logo in green with a leprechaun holding it up. Of course, there are exceptions… as long as they don’t become the normal rules, and as long as you don’t let it destroy your brand essence. Trust your brand guidelines to place you in front of the right audience.
What’s the Value of a Clearly Defined Brand?
The Disney brand is one of the most recognizable in the world, along with Coke, Apple, McDonalds, and a few others that are instantly recognized. Once again, we go back to the brand being the essence of who you are.
Any normal person would look at the Apple logo and think they were a fruit vendor, but they have done such an amazing job branding themselves, that you probably see a real apple in the store and think technology. McDonalds’ arches don’t really tell you anything about the food, but that has become part of their brand, as well as “bada ba ba ba”. It’s the complete package that defines them and each of these elements are recognizable as part of the brand. The value of these brands is that they are recognizable in any language, any context, and because of their extensive branding, you know who they are and what they do just by seeing a piece of the brand.
You don’t have to be a giant in the industry to have strong brand. Many small businesses use their family name or something representing their business as their logo. But the message you build around it is what really matters. When potential customers connect with a brand, start to recognize it, understand what it’s about, and what it stands for; this is when you have a truly defined brand for success.
Of course this goes much deeper, but we are only scratching the surface for now.
How Do I Develop My Brand?
You have to start from the inside and work your way out! What that means is you have to look at your core values, what is your business, what makes your business unique and different from the competition. Be honest with yourself, it might hurt a little, but it’s better to find out sooner than after you’ve made a substantial capital investment. Find the top traits that make you the best in the business, and start crafting your message.
Don’t cheat. Say what you really are, and if you can’t convince yourself that you have something worth branding, then you might need help, or you may need to start over.
Don’t be afraid to ask for help. Once you think you have crafted your message and defined who and what you are, run it by some co-workers, friends or family. Listen to their input, and be receptive so they will be honest with you. Don’t try to defend your vision, only reply to ask them for more clarification, this is free advice and another opinion that you can either use or discard.
Now it’s time to start developing your brand. Yep, that’s right, you have just begun. There are so many things involved when you build your brand, colors, font style, design style, voice, defining your message for consumer, b2b, … it goes on and on.
Make sure you take the time to get your brand right, because once you decide on it, it should last you a very long time.
CAUTION: This is where a lot of people fall off the tracks and give up. Don’t start with one piece like your website…and build your brand off of that. NO, MAYDAY, MAYDAY….STOP! You don’t put your tie on before the shirt, right? So, start off with the undergarments, that is your essence of who you are. If you skip this part, you will be sorry at the end.
What Should My Brand Do For Me?
Over time, your brand should become the ambassador for your business and should at minimum deliver:
- Trust – The brand always delivers on its promise.
- Recognition – The brand makes a consumer think of the industry or product immediately.
- Uniqueness – The brand stands out amongst similar competition.
- Clarity – The brand clearly communicates what it does.
Remember, if you stay true to your brand, it should work to build a loyal base and help recruit potential customers.
How Often Should I Adjust (refresh) My Brand?
Every month!! This way, agencies can get rich and make up for the clients that are too cheap to spend the time and money on regular jobs. “Did I just type that out loud?”
Seriously, your brand should be touched as little as possible, but there are companies out there that are masters of refreshing their brand. Nothing crazy, subtle changes just to tweak the look, connect with a new demographic, and sometimes it’s just because someone felt like it. A refresh doesn’t change your message, if anything it should reinforce it. A rebrand is used to completely overhaul your message and your image. Here are some reasons you should refresh your brand or completely rebrand altogether.
Change in Business Model:
Some businesses change along the way. If you are a plumbing business and you decide you’re going to start serving HVAC, electrical, and other home services… maybe the logo with the plunger isn’t your best representation. Or your mascot of a talking toilet bowl may need to change. Time to rebrand or do a massive refresh.
Business Take Over:
If you are taking over an existing business that may have great resources and opportunities, but not a great reputation, it’s definitely a good time to rebrand, or at least make a big deal about the new ownership.
Change in Clientele:
If you’re an Adults-Only hotel and business drops because the destination has shifted to being family-oriented, maybe it’s time to refocus your efforts on the family market and rebrand…or push your newly found niche market of being the only adults-only hotel around…you have to shift.
As Time Passes:
Some people say you should refresh your brand every 3-5 years. I don’t think “actual” time has anything to do with it, but your business has everything to do with it.
If your business has been consistent for 10 years and things are still going good, I would probably recommend you make only slight changes just to make sure you still fit in the same decade. However, if that same business sees a steady drop in business YOY, I would first do a business check-up to see if what your offering is outdated, and then plan a refresh across the board.
When You Feel Like It:
Sometimes you just get a feeling that you aren’t branded like you should be, or you feel like you need a fresh start. This often happens after you’ve been run over the coals and you think a fresh start will raise morale. Sometimes, you just need fresh eyes to look at what you have and present it in a different way. This tends to be the case more often than you think.
The Importance of Consistency
The key to executing your brand with consistency is to keep the message clear—if you put all of your marketing materials out on a conference table, could someone tell that each piece is the same company? Can someone tell that the creative, content, and messaging was created by the same source? Can they get an idea of what the business does by the images and headings?
Brand consistency begins by developing a style that sets the rules for your tagline, mission statement, logo usage, fonts, color breakdowns, etc. All of these choices are made for a reason; it reflects key characteristics of your brand. The color of the blue could be the difference between the Caribbean and the Pacific, the font style being bold or script could be the difference between a loud, fun place and an elegant, laidback place. It all fits into the grand scheme of things and makes your brand what it is.
Once you establish the rules for using your brand, make sure anyone who works with your brand, from vendors to staff, understand the importance and are issued a Brand Guideline so that all of your team members become brand police for you. And if things do get updated, it’s ok, just make sure it gets communicated so everyone is on the same page.
Transform Your Brand into a Living Entity
Remember, your brand is a living entity in your company. Even the best marketing materials can’t make up for products, services, or employees that aren’t aligned with your branding. Your brand should start from within and work its way outward if you want customers to believe your message.
If you are thinking of rebranding or refreshing your brand, you have to be ready to go back to the beginning and ask those hard questions again. Are we still providing what we promise and giving our customers what they deserve? If not, you need to start with reorganizing your business model, analyzing your people and then move to the brand. If you end up rebranding and your service is bad, or your product is bad, you will only taint the new brand, so get things in order first.
Figment Design is a full-service advertising agency that has been developing client branding and strategies for over 23 years. Are you struggling with defining your brand and keeping it consistent? Figment Design has the expertise to help define who you are, interpret that into a message, and DRESS it up like new suit. Not sure if your business meets the criteria of your brand? The professionals at Figment Design can give your business a “check-up” and see if your current brand meets the test.
Because our agency is full-service, we can coordinate all elements of your online and offline presence to achieve maximum consistency.
Jeffrey Pankey is the president of Figment Design and has honed his craft over 23 years working with a broad range of clients. This experience helps him lead a staff of truly creative professionals with a drive to perform and impress.
