
24 Aug Building Your Brand (Book)
No matter the size, every brand needs a book; not just to doodle notes (obviously) but as a document that becomes the guide to all marketing & advertising activity.
What is a brand book?
Consider it an overview, a set of guidelines, standards, rules, or even as a “style guide” – for all aspects of your brand and how it works.
You might think that you have already defined every aspect of the brand – but is it clearly defined in your customers mind?
Customers relate to, and are more likely to be loyal to, a strong brand that knows who they are & what they stand for.
In order to achieve this strong image & identity, it’s quite simple: consistency and synergy!
From your reception area to email newsletters, your website and pretty much anything else relating to your business/brand that your customers come in to contact with – the message needs to look, feel, and sound the same!
It is then able to become a handbook for your entire company to follow – ensuring consistency.
So what exactly do you need to cover in a brand book?
Well, it’s actually pretty simple!
Just answer the below questions as throughly as you can, and you’ll have a good foundation to start with.
If your brand was a person – who would they be?
– Try write a biography, as if they were an actual person (based on your target market) and be as specific & detailed as possible. What’s their name? How old are they? Where do they live? What do they enjoy? What are their dreams/goals? You get the point.
What is your brand’s voice?
– What type of language do they use? What type of conversations do they have? Do they speak more than one language? Do they use slang? Try provide examples here, such as, instead of saying “Good morning/afternoon, you are speaking to _______.” perhaps your brand would say “Hey, ______!” and greet the person by their first name, in a more colloquial manner.
What are your brand’s key characteristics?
– Here you should purely describe the personality of your brand, as if they were a person. For example, are they funny or serious? Youthful, or more mature? Purely about business or more casual? Fun-loving or more focused?
We also need to look at the design/imagery of your brand!
– This needs to be as strict as possible; you don’t want to keep changing without some sort of standardisation. How can you become recognisable if you keep changing your logo, colour palette, etc?
Visual aspects to define:
– Logo
– Tagline
– Colour Palette
– Type of photography
– Type of textures
– Type of backgrounds
– Font type/typography
– Any legally required logos (duh, we’re not criminals here…)
Now, if you can define these aspects as specifically as possible – you will no doubt be on the right road to building a bigger, stronger & ultimately more profitable brand! (I mean, it is all about money at the end of the day, isn’t it?)