Your brand is not just your logo. I’m always shocked at how often that is misunderstood. Your brand is not what you say it is. It’s what other people say it is, and if you want to make sure the right message is out there, you must communicate it as clearly and consistently as you possible.
Sure, your CEO’s sister’s son is taking some marketing classes and can help with some brochures. But without strict rules about how your brand is portrayed, how will he get it right? Trust me, there is A LOT that can go wrong. We see it all the time, and it hurts business.
What is a brand book exactly?
In short, it is your marketing guideline bible. Think about it as if you were building a house. You might have a plot of land, a loan from the bank and a bunch of bricks you like…but you wouldn’t start stacking them without a plan, right? No, that’s crazy. You would hire an architect, a contractor, and possibly an interior designer before you broke ground. Just like a house is more than bricks and mortar, a brand is more than a logo and a tagline.
So what is in a brand book?
To break it down simply, it includes four major sections: Discovery, Brand Positioning, Visual Identity and Brand Applications.
Discovery lays out the findings of your brand workshop and market research that examines similar companies in your industry. Brand positioning is all about your messaging and how you present your brand across all marketing channels. Visual Identity is the logo, colors, typography, art direction. These last two sections lay down the strict rules on what to do and what not to do. Finally, the Brand Applications SHOWS how everything comes together in practice with mockups, signage, collateral examples, etc.
If you want to see what a full brand book looks like, click here to request one.
How do I get one?
It starts with a workshop. It’s actually a lot of fun, and our clients learn a lot about how they are presenting their brand well and how they can improve it in the process. Through a series of interviews and design thinking exercises, we develop a clear understanding of your brand, its audience, its unique attributes.
We’ll spent time with you collecting all the assets and information we can get from you about your brand now. We Kon-Mari method out anything that isn’t serving you (possibly that crappy brochure your CEO’s nephew “whipped up”), and evaluate the most impactful and unique strengths of your brand.
From there, we take a deep dive into your design preferences to understand your aesthetic vision for the brand. We then present you with a moodboard, our discovery findings, your user persona profiles, and your brand positioning statements. Once that is nailed down, the magic of creative takes over and your brand book comes to life.
With your brand book in hand, you now have a clear guide on how to present it across every marketing effort you encounter – from your Facebook page to your customer interactions. Want to see some of our best work? Click around below. Do they have incredible brand books? You bet they do.
Wonders. A strong brand will help you get your name out there. It will substantiate your leads. It will make your company something that someone remembers and wants to be a part of. It attracts the audience you want. If you think your company is awesome (and you should), but your audience isn’t quite getting it, there is something wrong. Let us help you grow your business with the right message, the right look, and the right platforms to ensure your target audience not only sees your work, but truly connects with it.
