A brand is like a jewel – it needs to be protected and valued and placed at the best vantage points. It is what keeps you recognized, relevant and real.
Part of what helps to establish a brand is creating a simple and easily understood logo coupled with effective advertising and marketing. After this, however, your company needs to go further. Someone should take charge keeping that brand consistent.
Your brand’s keeper, be it an ad agency or in-house marketing person, is there to ensure the brand remains true to its origin. It doesn’t stray from the thing it ought to be; it doesn’t compromise, and despite product changes and upgrades, remains true to what gave it its fame. Its longevity could transcend months, years, decades or centuries but the brand must remain relevant and always be the link between your company’s name and its products. So in retaining this revered image the keeper of the brand must also bear the responsibility of making certain that the continuity of the brand remains the same through all mediums.
It’s a strategy that should also be reinforced and utilized at all levels of the company; everyone needs to learn the common vocabulary and refer to this vocabulary every time an employee is engaged with the public.
Above all, clear, concise repetition is key. Every single time a prospective or repeat customer sees your brand he/she should easily identify that image with your products and become used to the language through which you are communicating. Nike’s brand is so well known that people have used its “Just Do It” as a rallying cry for everything from getting out of bed to launching a life-changing project.
Idea. Brand. Purpose. It all comes together through a cohesive strategy. Your brand can never stray from what it stands for. And what it stands for can never change.