McCombs KTG Webinar Thursday, June 18

Brand Guidelines Presented by Renae Donus Spur Consulting LLC

About Me  McCombs 2000 alumna  Consulting & Marketing background  Accenture Senior Consultant  Kraft Foods Brand Management  Started Spur Consulting in 2012  Marketing consulting firm specializing in Customer Definition, Marketing Strategy, Branding, Marketing Collateral & Communication  Focused on helping start-ups and small companies  McCombs MBA+ Coach

What are Brand Guidelines?  Brand Guidelines are the written and visual declaration of how you want your company and brand to be presented to the world.  They should include more than logos, colors, and font.  Think of them as a bio for your brand. What do you want people to really know or think about your company and your brand?

Why Brand Guidelines?  Consistency  Establish rules for everything (logo, visuals, copy) in an effort to create a unified look and feel for everything you produce and share.  Remember, you’re building a brand – think long-term.  Inspiration  Inspire any partner to embrace the brand and what it stands for.

Who uses them?  Employees (training / on-boarding)  Creates a culture of consistency and opportunity  Develops brand advocates internally  Communicates the vision / mission of the company verbally and visually  External partners and vendors (RFP, training)  Fosters accountability and consistency  Inspires creativity and personal investment  Influences word of mouth  BOD / Investors  Effectively communicates the marketing strategy  Achieves buy-in, WOM

Brand Guideline Components  Company Background  Product & Positioning  Customer  Brand Principles  Visuals  Voice  Rules

Silvercar Example

Company Background  Your Story  How the magic happened…  Your Vision  Bigger idea for what could be  Optimal goal + reason for existence  “Making cancer history”  Your Mission  Day-to-day who you are, what you stand for  Tagline

Silvercar

Silvercar Vision

The Product  Overview / Key Features  Value Propositions  Positioning v. Competition / Perceptual Map

Silvercar

The Customer  Demographics  Age, gender, HH income, etc.  Psychographics  Values, opinions, and attitudes  Qualitative research is key  Lifestyle / Behaviors  Hobbies, interests, purchase behaviors  Highlights possible partnership opportunities, meaningful ways to engage

Silvercar

Brand Principles  Defines your brand’s unique personality  Determine 3-5 key brand attributes  Consider short-term and long-term  Consider customer needs/wants first  Brainstorm a long list, then prioritize  Principles need to be differentiated  Explanation needs to be clear and meaningful  Employees and agencies need to internalize  Should be culture-defining

Silvercar

Visuals  Visual Brand Identity  Photography or illustration (or both)?  Define 3-5 visual attributes / style guidelines  Use examples to demonstrate  If subtleties need to be emphasized, consider “Why this / Not that” comparisons  Keep in mind that this is the most critical component of your brand. Your website, app, digital ads, collateral, print, signage should all embrace this section of the guidelines  Details matter!

Silvercar

Brand Voice  Copy and Tone  Define 3-5 mandatory copy attributes  Create and include examples from:  marketing  Print / OOH / Other advertising  Social media / blogs  Consider including “off-limits” words/phrases  Note any nuances  Again, details matter!

The Rules  What most Brand Guides are based around  Logo / Usage / Spacing  Colors  RGB / HEX / PMS  Typography  Headings / Sub-text  Brand Assets  Any objects / items which can be associated and used with your logo

Spotify

Plan of Action  Collect data!  Conduct customer research  Know your competitors  Define customer demographics  Engage leadership team and employees  Collect examples of good/bad visual imagery  Collect examples of good/bad copy  Refine company priorities (mission/vision)  Brainstorm brand attributes  Hire a graphic designer to make it a reality

Summary  Defining your brand on paper matters!  Brand Guidelines are a working document  Revisit 1-2x per year  Tackling Brand Guidelines sheds light on other elements of your company  Use Brand Guidelines for training/marketing:  Employees  Partners / Vendors  Investors  Keep customer research as a priority to extend the life of your brand

Thank You!  Questions / Comments?  me at  Call me at (512)  The recording of today’s presentation, along with the PowerPoint slides, will be available on our Career Resources web page by early next week: location: