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Brand Police

Author: FASTSIGNS® of Charlotte, NC - Independence Blvd

So how is brand consistency achieved? How does a company garner that level of loyalty through brand? There are five key components:

Connection. Create emotional and personal connections with customers through humanization. Story. This careful process is composed of several elements by which humans find connection. For example, tonality of language. A spokesperson with an abrasive or loud or harsh voice interferes with connection. Messaging strategy is part of connection as well. A company needs to know to whom it’s speaking and be intentional about the message to that group. The vocabulary, language structure, etc. all impact how that message is received. Typeface represents the tone and values of the brand, just as color represents feelings and visual messages. Different categories of fonts have different meanings and therefore can portray the brand differently. Finally, the jingle of a brand can stick in a customer’s mind even more quickly than the visual. And the way in which that jingle connects with the customer, impacts the depth of connection and how that memory is written.

police cars with text saying Brand Guidelines

Brand guidelines: Now that you’ve done the hard work of creating your brand, this important symbol of the soul of your company must be protected. Documenting brand guidelines protect the strength of the brand so that it continues to drive value. It does this by explaining the importance of the brand, the carefully chosen specifics of the brand, and explains how to use the elements of that brand. It functions as a manual for anyone internal or external to the company on how to use the brand. The key goal of the guidelines is to ensure consistency of the brand over a long period of time. Having these guidelines helps protect the company by ensuring that any third party, such as an advertising firm or marketing company, maintains the core integrity of the brand.

the american red cross' brand identity

Vision and Mission. A brand is a symbolic representation of ideas. Of values. Collectively, they form the mission and vision of the company. The brand is the representation of this vision. Ensuring clarity of vision ensures that the brand remains a true north for that vision. It should never be used to represent anything that deviates from the core values, objectives, and fundamentals of that company. This also ensures that the leaders and employees, working beneath that brand umbrella, are clear about the work direction and ethos that their brand represents. It helps to maintain consistency in work alignment, as well as visual representation.

icons for vision, mission, and values

Approval Process. Your brand should be fiercely protected. It is the visual embodiment of your company and often the first connection between your company and a potential new customer. Once you’ve done the hard work of creating it and documenting the guidelines of it, ensure that you create an approval process to evaluate and protect it. Having guidelines doesn’t protect your brand; policing the use of your brand against your guidelines does.

Be Authentic. Your brand is the heart of your company. Ensure that the decisions, as well as the representatives, of the company stay authentic and true to the values of the company. Ensure that wherever the brand is placed, whatever it adorns or represents, maintain these values. Whether the branding is on a sign or the shirt of a representative, they should all be aligned with the overall mission of the company.