The Brand Guide

At Brand Strides, we emphasize brand consistency and creating a well-known brand identity. An easy way to do this is through a brand guide document and presentation. The brand guide is a supporting marketing piece that outlines the brand consistencies you want to convey. At the end of this article, we have attached a high level overview of what to include in a Brand Guide as well as a glossary for terms to include. Let’s examine why a brand guide is important for your company.

What is a Brand Guide?

A brand guide outlines how you want to convey information from a brand standpoint. This document will be a reference point when making other documents, such as articles, flyers, and social media posts. This document is a template for the style, colors, fonts, and ways to write out certain things, such as addresses and contact information.

Why is a Brand Guide Important?

A brand guide is critical to maintaining a consistent brand image; using the same fonts, colors, and themes can convey your information to consumers. Keeping your content and imaging with the brand-specific theme is vital for visibility and readability. A guide can help you achieve this goal by having all the brand-specific theme information in one place. By documenting this information, you can eliminate confusion and provide your employees, creative agency, and/or contractors with a one-stop shop for all things relating to your brand communications.

Elements of a Brand Guide

Brand Origin Story

This section is where you will include your brand mission, brand vision, WHY statement, and your values. This will convey the meaning behind your brand to your customers. Be authentic and passionate in these sections as these are the things that you will build your brand around. Be sure to think about what messages you want to convey to your consumer and the ideals you want your company to be centered around.

Brand Positioning Story

This section is where you include your themes, brand promise, brand positioning, and key differentiators. Focus on what sets you a part from competitors and what you want to demonstrate to your target audience. You can also include a brand outline that shows your brand voice, positioning, personality, purpose, perceptions, headlines, hashtags, proof points, and tone of voice. This outline can serve as a guide for internal communications and a reminder as to how you should be communicated to your audience.

Brand Identity

This section includes logos, brand colors and psychology, typography, brand assets, and brand imagery. Choose colors that convey the message you are trying to show. For example, if you want a happy, bright, positive aspect, you can choose a shade of yellow. Whatever colors you choose, ensure they align with your values and the way you want to position yourselves. Also, be sure to include examples of your work and images to show how much you have accomplished. This can go a long way in convincing someone of your brand. 

Overall

Below we have attached an outline for a brand guide to help your company organize each element. Use your brand colors and select a dedicated brand font throughout your communications. Keep consistent formatting and brand-specific themes throughout your document to demonstrate it should translate into your marketing efforts. Include your company logo throughout the brand guide to ensure you are staying consistent. 

However you decide to use a brand guide, ensure it stays consistent across all your marketing platforms, internal and external to your company. A brand guide should be a template for conveying your message to your target audience. Ensure this is regularly maintained and updated for your company and its goals.