Everything you do as a business or leader tells a story, and when it comes to your visual brand, maintaining consistency is important for more than surface reasons. If you think of brand consistency like a story with words, straying from your brand visuals is like giving your audience a copy of Charlotte’s Web but the inside pages are To Kill a Mockingbird – it’s unexpected and confusing. Each move away from your brand standards, no matter how small, can erode the message you’re sending.
Maintaining Brand Standards
I have the opportunity to interact with a large number of brands in my role. In doing so, I’m often tasked with coming alongside other teams to create a seamless transition in visual branding. While it can be tempting to continually change up your brand’s visuals in an effort to get more creative, continuous changes send a mixed message to your audience.
Think of an established brand like Target and the things you associate with that company: red and white colors and the bullseye logo. If Target started using blue or green in their advertisements or on social media, it would be confusing for customers and they’d be missing out on the immediate brand recognition they’ve built. It also wouldn’t match up with what you see in stores, which feels inconsistent and unnatural.
There is room for creativity within brand standards. On the surface, they may seem limiting. However, they provide a structure that allows for a different kind of creativity. An added bonus is that by maintaining brand standards, we are able to continue creating deeper brand recognition.
Internal and External Branding
Internal branding is as important as external branding. We tell clients to assume any internal message could be made external. The same goes for internal branding. Give your team the tools to succeed and make sure documents are on brand even if they never leave the organization. Fonts, brand colors, logos, letterhead and templates are important to help your team maintain brand standards at all times.
If your team starts from a good place internally, it’s less likely off-brand documents will find their way to your client’s inbox. Along the same lines, keep internal presentations and signage inside your business on-brand, assuming clients and customers will visit your office and photos of signage or presentations could be posted on social media.
The Role of Executive Branding
The executives of your company have their own brand but it should serve as an extension of the company’s brand. This is especially important on social media – what you are seeing and reading on their social media accounts should align with the company’s visuals and messaging.
While you want an executive’s branding to stand out, you don’t want to lose consistency with the overall company brand. An executive can maximize a brand’s recognition by using the company’s fonts, colors and other brand assets while still having a unique look and feel.
Building Credibility
Consistency in your visual brand reinforces the professionalism and care you bring to your clients. When done well, it will set you apart in your industry, tell a consistent visual story and build credibility and recognition. The brands that do this best instill little points of confidence with their audience with each visual interaction. It’s those brands that earn our trust and loyalty.
At the end of the day, each touch point with your visual branding is an opportunity to build or break down confidence in your product or service. Choose wisely!