In Part 1, we covered how to achieve effective brand management with consistency. There are 5 key considerations to keep in mind when building brand consistency:

1. Know your brand vision & voice
2. Document your brand style
3. Bundle creative for integrated campaigns
4. Use templates to make it easy
5. Consistently communicate through your channels 

In Part 2, the second aspect of brand management is growth.

Your Brand Evolves as You Grow

Brands do not stand still. They grow, evolve and change. That’s a good thing. Growth means profits (hopefully). And since markets and user needs change, your brand must evolve too.

Many startups come out of the gate with a minimal brand identity. This typically includes a logo and just enough supporting elements to create a pitch deck, with minimum viable product and website. Companies that survive beyond this initial stage often face a period where a brand refresh is in order. Logo, color, and a basic website may not be enough to work from when it comes to developing a full library of lead generating assets and sales collateral that address a range of buyer personas at different stages in the buyer’s journey. So, what now?

To facilitate that next stage of growth the business will want to allow the brand to adapt with an expanded library of brand elements like secondary and tertiary color palettes, patterns, textures, photo libraries, icon libraries, and templates for sales decks, webinars, document types, and more. This heavy-lifting creative development is all part of what can go into a brand refresh.

There are also some cases when the brand refresh is not the right solution – the company may require a full rebrand. This might be precipitated by a change in company direction or product positioning. Or it might be due to a company merger or acquisition. Whatever the reason, a full rebrand is more like starting from scratch than just allowing room for the initial brand to evolve.

Full rebrands aside, most companies can benefit from a brand refresh every 3-5 years and should not shy away from it as they continue to progress. Outside consultants and agencies can help manage a brand refresh effort that uses the best of what the brand represents, while building on the library of assets that will make it even stronger and more versatile. And when implementing an effective brand refresh, the same tools, and strategies previously discussed to achieve and maintain brand consistency are employed anew – especially the use of style guides, templates, and consistent communication!

Brand Management is At-Hand

Brand consistency doesn’t have to be challenging. And managing your evolving brand shouldn’t be overwhelming. Even if your in-house team is limited (or non-existent) Altima Creative is here to help.

We’ve managed dozens of brand refresh projects of various scopes and sizes. By auditing your brand materials, you’ll know exactly what needs to be updated (and by how much). Then we’ll work with you to amend and modernize your collateral, website, and document templates to adhere to your newly established brand style. And we’ll catalog and document it all for you with a new Brand Style Guide that will continue to guide and mature with you.]

At Altima Creative, we take pride in being an extension of your team. Our designers, copywriters, videographers, and media creatives can extend your creative capacity to manage and transform your brand with consistency, efficiency and creativity. For more on “Why hire an agency?” – read the post: 5 Benefits to Hiring a Creative Agency

Whatever stage of growth you find your company, our design and brand experts are here to help you with whatever you need, whenever you need it. We’ll work with your internal designers or directly with your marketing team, to bring your visions to life, and help you make the most of your brand.