Brand Tune-Up: How to Help a Squeaky Brand Run Smoothly

By Kelly Goto

Is your brand running like a mint-condition '65 T-Bird or more like a rusty '89 Corolla? Haven't checked recently and don't even know? Creating a lasting brand involves all aspects of a company- beginning with the company's logo and extending into every touch point a company has with their customer or audience, online and off. Here are some initial steps that can be taken to tune up your brand identity and to keep it running smoothly for years to come. And if you get these things right, your might even pick up a few extra customers along the way.

A classic method of identifying the brand personality of your company is to ask: "If you were a car, what kind of car would you be?" Would you be a VW Bug - fun and friendly, or would you be a Mercedes Benz, sleek and elegant? Identify the type of car your company is and what characteristics best represent that model. Key company decision makers should agree on terms such as "classic, timeless, quality-oriented and reliable" (Jaguar) or "modern, innovative, durable and bold" (Audi) or "fun, unique, and fashion-oriented" (Mini Cooper).

The company's vision or brand promise is often found in the tagline, or initial messaging on a web site. "The Ultimate Driving Experience" (BMW), "What Moves You" (Scion) contrasted with "Like Nothing Else" (Hummer) all say something about how a person should feel when interacting with a company's web site, brick and mortar store, or through customer service. Have a clear promise and fulfill it with every click, call or impression. There should not be a wide disparity between your company's values and the way the brand is expressed in marketing and company materials. Here are a few things you can do to keep your brand vision running smoothly:

Perform a Visual Inspection - the Brand Audit

Start with a Logo Consistency Check and a simplified Brand Audit. Determine how your company's internal and external materials hold up against methodical scrutiny, and how consistently the logo is used online and off.

In contrast to an all-encompassing brand audit that could take weeks to conduct and analyze, a simplified brand audit can be conducted by merely collecting company materials, laying them out, and reviewing the use of logo, color, imagery and messaging to see if they project a consistent voice and image. From the marketing and PR side, gather examples of all printed materials, collateral, ads or press kits online and off. From the sales side, gather examples of PowerPoint presentations, sales kits and leave-behind materials. Don't forget to include electronic word documents, fax sheets, notepads and even company promotional items such as hats and tee-shirts. Warner Bros. polices the use of the corporate logo so stringently that when Warner Bros. Online was launched and an unauthorized logo for the new division was embroidered onto baseball hats for the team, the hats were confiscated and replaced by authorized brand-standard versions of the logo.

A corporate logo (usually a combination of a logotype and logomark together) helps to create a visual representation of a company's brand values. Many companies mistake the creation of a logo with the branding of a company itself, and while the visual mark is a part of the brand building process, it is only a part of the larger picture. A successful logo carries strength through consistency and repetition. A child learns a word after being exposed to it visually and verbally hundreds of times. Maintaining the gestalt of a brand and the value it represents takes commitment and consistency from the highest level.

If your company has a broad reach online, try searching for your company's logo in Google's image browser. An example would be searching for "image: apple logo" in Google. You will come up with a visual display of logos for your company and will be able to quickly ascertain if the logo is being used with consistency when redistributed online.

Above, Apple's logo has changed over time, but it's usage and style is consistent across product advertising online and off.

Consult Your Manual: Create a Brand Spectrum

For a great visualization tool, especially for key stakeholders, create a Brand Spectrum Chart to highlight where your company's brand is situated compared to other competitors or similar company's conveying similar principals.

Some companies have a difficult time when it comes to understanding their brand attributes and how their company fits into its industry landscape. Often, when questioned, companies would like to fulfill ALL promises to ALL people. This approach is often limited, and as a strategy, lacking in targeted vision. In order to gain insight into the company's brand positioning, a brand spectrum chart organizes characteristics of competitive logos or key stakeholders desired attributes. Here is one that we created for a client recently:

Keep it Running Smoothly: Brand Standards Site

Finally, once you have buy-in and a bit of budget, create a Brand Standards Site, accessible internally for employees and externally for sales, marketing and promotion. In the initial stages of growth, a company has an excellent once-in-a-lifetime chance to set their brand standards and demand consistency in usage. Once packaging, products and marketing vendors have a chance to modify the logo in any manner, the battle for consistency is already lost. As a company grows and resources are decentralized, having a repository for brand standards becomes critical.

Set up a site with downloadable versions of EPS logo files - in color, black and white, stacked and vertical versions. Identify what PMS colors should be used in printed materials. Allow access to web standards for logo GIF files, HEX colors and tagline usage and placement. Also include an area showing the do's and don'ts of your corporate logo usage. For internal staff and new members of the team, an area for downloading electronic templates for word documents, fax sheets, letterhead and mailing labels is very valuable. For sales staff, create a password protected area for PowerPoint templates, sales sheets, company FAQ's and other documentation. Some companies like AT&T take pride in the history of their brand image and also allow public access to their corporate standards.

An example of a Brand Standards Guide.

Charge Your Engine!

It takes ongoing maintenance and care to keep a company's brand running smoothly. The web is the most easily accessible, readily updatable tool your company has to reach its internal employees, external sales team and the outside world. Following these tips will keep your brand tuned up and ready for the road.