At Go East, I have a reputation for being willing to stretch guidelines. Perhaps it’s because I became a designer in the early 80s and the coolest thing going at the time was the introduction of MTV and its willingness to morph and animate its logo during commercial breaks. In contrast to the lockdown identity practices of the 70s, using a brand mark as the primary vehicle of the brand’s creative expression was a refreshing, innovative and brilliant strategy. Even today, decades later, they encourage everyone to creatively interpret their logo.

Don’t get me wrong, I neither recommend nor encourage designers to muck around with identities just for the heck of it. Building equity in a logo is hard enough these days, even with some standards in place, especially for global brands.

My concern is when brands seek consistency at the cost of differentiation and impact. Guidelines are meant to clarify  the foundational elements of an identity or trade dress for designers. They are not meant to take the place of creativity nor should they be implemented in an effort to eliminate designers from creating marketing or promotional strategies.

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Is there an expiration date or a steadfast rule as to when brand guidelines should be updated? In the strict sense no, but as your brand grows, so should your brand guidelines. In fact, while there isn’t a specific timeframe that determines when this document should be updated, there are circumstances that will demand updates.

Think of the brand guidelines document as a fluid, flexible road map for your brand. As people begin working with your brand guidelines, new communication needs will arise and new tactics will be created. To accommodate them, your brand guidelines will need to expand.  The following are a few more examples of situations that would warrant an update:

• New brand positioning
• New design elements, e.g. stationery, literature, promotional items
• Rapid business expansion that causes your business model to change
• Change in your target market or audience
• Corporate mergers or acquisitions
• Product or channel diversification

For example, consider FedEx and Kinko’s. These two companies merged a few years ago, forming FedEx Kinko’s. As the two companies merged, a new brand guidelines document was needed to clearly and concisely guide communications for the newly formed brand. Most recently, FedEx Kinko’s has become FedEx Office. This brand transformation again necessitated an update to the brand guidelines document. 

When these types of changes happen in an organization, deadlines loom and it is easy to loose track of critical brand details. So while guidelines don’t come with explicit expiration dates, it is essential that someone in your organization is dedicated to keeping up with your brand as it grows, making sure your brand’s guidelines reflect this growth.

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In our quick one-question poll, 44 percent of those polled indicated that “inconsistent use” was their biggest challenge when it came to brand guidelines. Below are six considerations that may help address this problem: 

1. Make sure the guideline document is distributed to appropriate audiences — not only  to the agency that helped create the guidelines, but also to other agency partners, including your PR firm. In addition, make sure appropriate personnel INTERNALLY have easy access to it.
2. Speaking of easy access, consider a dynamic location for the guidelines, such as a mini sitelet. This will allow you to update the guidelines easily and your partners to easily access the most recent information. The bonus of a sitelet is that you’ll be able to include downloadable assets (logos, imagery, templates, etc.). The easier you make it for your teams to access the guidelines, the more likely they are to follow them.
3. Instead of tossing the guidelines up on your Web site and sending out a global e-mail announcing that they are there, consider presenting them with an impactful presentation. It will not only get everyone in the know, but also gives you the opportunity to unveil new logos, etc. and talk both about the strategy that went into developing the guidelines as well as the importance of using guidelines. In essence, it lets your teams see your excitement and puts a face to the work — so they buy into the guidelines and they know whom to approach with questions.
4. Many times we find that a brand’s own worst enemy is the person closest to the guidelines! If you break the guidelines, why should others follow them? Make sure everything you do is in compliance! And share examples of completed work so your team can start to see actual implementations.
5. On the subject of compliance: Consider how literally you want your guidelines to be interpreted. For example, if your guidelines call for the brand mark to be placed vertically on the left side of the page, what should a person do when there is a very horizontal tactic? Isn’t the most important thing to make sure the brand mark is highest in priority on the page? Would it make sense to use the brand mark horizontally and larger rather than vertical and small? Sometimes the answer is yes — and sometimes it’s no.
6. That said, make sure you have reasonable expectations about how the guidelines should be used. For example, it’s more valuable to include key messages for a brand or product than specific “approved” copy points. It’s just not possible to predict all the tactics your brand will create. Providing guidance with key messages helps a marketer or agency work within the guidelines to create the best solution for the specific need.

Let’s face it, a guideline document is just that — a guideline. The important thing to remember is they exist to maintain the integrity of the brand. Communicating your passion for the brand and creating strong guidelines will help you build equity and recognition — and that’s what is all about, right?

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There are a range of brand guidelines. Some are meant as “guides” to be used loosely, while others are “rules” that must be followed exactly.

Packaging guidelines are good examples of when you must say yes to the most stringent use of guidelines. Yes to an exact size of the logo. Yes to the same style and placement of photography. Yes to the distance between information.

Following these rules can be challenging at times, especially when the size of the packaging changes. However, when there’s consistency, it’s easier for consumers to find what they are looking for on the shelf.

The following examples show that, even with color changes, the products clearly belong together. Without guidelines or “rules” I’m afraid to know how inconsistant and unshoppable these products would be. Would consumers know that a specific product comes in multiple flavors or with different options? They might simply buy the first product they see or recognize — a missed opportunity either way — or even skip over that brand altogether if they couldn’t easily find what they wanted.

Guidelines or “rules” and the consistencies they offer can directly affect a brand’s ability to sell multiple products to the same consumer. Who knew that a set of rules could hold so much power?

Clorox image courtesy of McLean Design
Lays and Tostitos images courtesy of Landor Associates

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Identity standards are an essential guide and reference that establish the details for creating and upholding an effective brand presence. The term “guidelines” is most commonly used, but, to me, it implies only parameters; I prefer the word “standards.”

The presentation of a brand must constantly convey a coordinated, cohesive and consistent appearance; the term “standards” not only refers to these aspects, but also nods to the caliber of work that is expected.

Although there should be several items that are absolute and unquestionable, the complete package shouldn’t be severely rigid; that is not the intent. Flexibility is integral to all standards.

Yet leaving considerable territory uncharted leaves the landscape ambiguous and open for interpretation. This ambiguity allows opportunities to dilute and compromise a unified presence. Details concerning the brand platform, personality, values, promise, logo/brand mark, typography, color palette, imagery, copy/tone of voice and overall style must be addressed. Outlining these items (and potentially others) will greatly aid the harmonious existence between all communications tactics that are produced. 

Identity/brand standards are developed to provide assistance in maintaining cohesion in the presentation of the qualities that make a brand unique. They need to be designed in a way that allows application across a wide range of tactics, while also allowing for originality, creativity and impact.

Clearly defining the aforementioned aspects will greatly reduce the potential for confusion or uncertainty — not only for those who develop the communications, but also for the intended audience. Any tactic that is inconsistent can compromise the integrity and overall image, message and/or presence of a brand/identity.

A positive and lasting impression can only be created through proper compliance to the established rules and qualities that are outlined in identity/brand standards. The key message in standards manuals is consistency: consistency builds cohesion; consistency builds loyalty; consistency builds equity. Consistency builds brands.

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I was recently asked about packaging differentiation at the shelf. I thought I’d post my two cents on our blog. When we are asked about differentiation at the shelf there are two kinds to consider and each has its own considerations.

They are:

1. Differentiation between brands
2. Differentiation between product variations (SKUs) within a product line

Differentiation between brands requires a clear understanding of the consumer and the marketplace. I always think research money is best spent on gaining insights here rather than on focus groups that only tell me if six people in a room like a package’s design. The better the consumer research, the better we can create packaging with impact at the shelf, packaging that gets the consumer to pick it up. If a consumer will just pick up a package, the likelyhood of purchase skyrockets. Of course, we’d want a strong brand platform and position to work from. If the products are innovative or new, our work is pretty easy. If it is a “me-too” product, then we need to appeal to the consumer’s desires, making it an emotional sell.  An intellectual/analytical purchase decision is more likely with a one-of-a-kind product, since the reason to buy is so much more straightforward: “I need X and this is the only X there is.” 

Differentiation amongst SKUs is a harder problem to solve and is almost always a design/messaging exercise that needs to consider the entire line. We need to build a system that teaches the consumer “where to look” and “for what” on a package. It is a communication and information hierarchy puzzle, with the strength of the brand playing a major influence. Doing the upfront work here means clearly understanding how consumers shop the particular space. I’d do qualitative research, design, then POG and work with the retailer. Major issue here: too many elements on the front of the package leads to clutter.

Questions about differentiation aren’t easy to answer, because of the many nuances necessary at the shelf. At Go East, we will always recommend a high-level differentiation strategy that takes in every perspective. It’s not quick, nor is it easy, but it has been successful. And a promise with the likelihood of success, in today’s climate, seems like a no brainer to me.

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I bet that YOU know the importance of brand guidelines and the benefits of following them, but do you think your colleagues do? 

Business theater may be extreme, but I’ve seen success in a dramatic unveiling of a brand platform to key corporate leadership players. Why not capitalize on the type of excitement that can be generated in a real, live, face-to-face setting? It’s sure to be much more impactful and memorable than e-mailing the team a note that says, “The guidelines are finally done and everyone must follow them … see attached pdf.”

Yawn.

Take charge of the moment … indeed, of your hard work … and get people excited. Help them understand the strategy behind the guidelines and the importance of using them, because it’s important to remember that while you’ve likely been immersed in the guidelines project for months, your colleagueas may only be tangently aware, if at all, that you were even working on the project.

So, while you can recite your brand platform by heart, your collegues may not even know what a brand platform is. Fun, personable materials can be created and distributed at a launch party to help everyone understand  what is at stake.  Don’t be afraid to show your enthusiasm for the brand! Talk about why guidelines are important and what each person’s role in following them entails.

Then, have a cookie and a drink. You did good.

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Launching a new or updated identity is exciting for any company. It can also be complex, especially for large companies with many communications tactics.

Guidelines are an integral part of launching an identity because they help to ensure that key players, both internal and external, are implementing the identity correctly and consistently. But when exactly is the best time to create guidelines?  The answer is two-fold: not too soon, and definitely not too late. 

Too soon

It is nearly impossible to create effective guidelines before substantial thought has been given to how the identity will be treated over multiple communications tactics. The best thing to do is to plan early for guidelines to be a part of your identity project. Then work with your design studio to identify key elements of the identity system to be included in the concept phase of the project. These elements often include a logo, stationery, literature, advertising, signage and the look and feel of your website. The elements will vary depending on what is most relevant to your type of business. 

It is often thought that once a concept is chosen, the identity is ready to roll and guidelines can be created. On the contrary, it is at this time that at least some of the communication tactics should be refined and developed to the point of completion. This will enable the design studio to properly work through the design strategy over a variety of communications vehicles, ensuring cohesion amongst them. Once the pieces have been refined and developed, guidelines can be created to ensure consistent implementation of the identity over additional communication tactics.

Attempting to develop guidelines too soon in the process may result in the need to revise the guidelines after they have been distributed to key players. Redistributing guidelines can be very difficult and often results in confusion and incorrect implementation of the identity.

Too late

In this day and age, the reality is that businesses usually have to move at the speed of light to react to changes within the company or within the market. It can be tempting to start launching a new identity before guidelines have been created. Perhaps there is an immediate need for stationery because the supplies are low. Or perhaps an upcoming trade show would be a perfect opportunity to distribute a new informational brochure. Maybe there is an ad deadline approaching and it would be great to run an ad with the new “look.” There are probably a million reasons why it would be tempting or seemingly necessary to involve multiple players in the implementation of a new identity before guidelines have been created, but there is only one reason why you shouldn’t — failure. 

If projects are handed over to key players before a comprehensive, well-conceived set of guidelines has been developed, too much will be left open to personal interpretation, and the result inconsistencies may lead to a weakened brand presence. After investing time and money in a new or updated identity, the last thing you want to do is hinder its impact right out of the gate. 

If you’re considering a new identity, plan to include guidelines from the very beginning. The best time to create guidelines will differ a little bit for every company depending on specific needs and time constraints. The best thing to do is to work with your design studio to determine an appropriate launch plan for your identity and the guidelines which will most definitely help ensure a successful implementation.

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