Print brand alignment and the art of keeping it simple
Keep it simple. It sounds so easy, yet in an age where the face of business shows over many mediums, it is much easier said than done.
Your brand is the face of your business and, ultimately, it is important that whenever your brand is seen, a connection is made between the style and the name. This is essentially the theory, but how do you put this into practice?
Well, the first thing to do is take a look at your brand as a whole, find a piece of advertising (print, web banners and, for some, television), copies of your stationery, a screen-grab from your website, a company brochure or leaflet, email signatures, physical banners such as exhibition or large format print and any other branded media you have (like pens, mouse mats, etc.), basically, anything with your logo on, grab a copy and collate it all together. Now, when this material is in front of you and in one place, the important thing is to think objectively, perhaps even involve a third-party not connected to your business or unfamiliar with it altogether. Look at all of these things in the one place and ask yourself whether any of it looks disjointed. Does any of it look out of place? Does it all sit together comfortably? Are there common elements the tie it all together? The answers to these questions will tell you if your brand is properly aligned or not, the reason I mention involving a third party is that sometimes these things may not be obvious to you, especially as you will inevitably spend most of your working days around this material.
Certainly from my experience, I have found that it is not that uncommon to find that the web and digital side of your brand to appear very different to the offline/print material, I feel this is simply down to the speed in which technology has progressed and what is achievable that was not 5-10 years ago. A lot of time and resource has been put into keeping up with technology and digital trends, that it stands to reason that the areas of branding offline have been left behind to an extent, but none the less, aligning these elements is just as important to the overall brand. So, if you do find that there is a definite divide in you online and offline brand, don't be disheartened at all, it is easily rectified and can be done over time, rather than in one fell swoop and indeed at great expense. The thing to remember when doing this is be clear on what you are following, is your online presence the blueprint for your brand? Or does your offline material reflect your brand style more effectively? Pick something and follow it through, it's as simple as that.
If you are unsure of how this is done, or you need an idea what an aligned brand looks like, then look no further than the big brands and in particular, the brands of the large supermarkets. I use this as an example as these brands must align themselves so meticulously, as there are so many elements to their businesses, the brands are conveyed over their literature, television and web & print adverts, over their websites, through their stores and on their vehicle livery etc. There really are a myriad of elements to these brands, yet if I pick up a leaflet and hold it up to a point of sale stand in-store, a delivery lorry, their website, a piece of external signage or perhaps even a carrier bag, there is a correlation between them all, there are common elements that make these appear part of a family and this is what you must strive to achieve when aligning a brand.
As well as knowing what to do, it is also important to understand why this is crucial for any business, no matter how big or small, and the reasons are simple matters of human nature and psychology. In a nutshell, it is all down to how we recognise each other as people, you will pretty much always associate a face with a name and a voice, people may change appearance, but the common elements remain unchanged and this familiarity and association is a big part of our lives. To put this into perspective, imagine how strange things would be if people swapped names and voices, not only would it be massively confusing, but you'd barely recognise anyone, as recognition is a complete package, you see the face, hear the voice and the name springs to mind. Essentially, this recognition is what all of the major brands strive to achieve and indeed why brand alignment and continuity is of paramount importance to any company or brand.
So, in conclusion, remember the steps, scrutinise, be objective and seek a third-party opinion. Use an element or your most consistent style as a foundation and use this as your guide, think of the material you produce as a family when undertaking the process and, most importantly, don’t lose sight of the importance of brand alignment.
This blog post was written by Tim
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