brand awareness

4 Tips For Maintaining Brand Consistency

white notebook with the words branding on it on a wooden surface

Making sure your branding is consistent is key when it comes to building and maintaining an easily recognised business. Consistency solidifies the image of a brand in the mind of the public, presenting a single, unified identity and personality. This is important, as an output that has a different tone, writing style or visual style can quickly distort the perception of a business, making it seem less trustworthy and credible. Here are our top 4 tips for maintaining brand consistency:

  • Use the right tone – The tone of voice used in content is often overlooked, but it is an important part of consistent branding. Tone can reinforce ideas behind your company and products in a subtle way; if your product or service is unusual or caters to a niche market, then a humorous or unusual tone of voice may fit your business – for example, Old Spice uses a unique style to catch attention. Conversely, if your products are powerful or serious, then a strong or proud voice may be right. Think motoring brands like BMW or Harley Davidson.
  • Create branded graphics – Visual communication is very important with branding. Colour, for example, is one of the simplest elements you can use, but can be very powerful. The red and yellow of McDonalds is instantly recognisable, and the multi-coloured Google branding is commonly seen online. Fonts are also a simple yet effective way for branding to remain consistent across different content; cursive fonts give an elegant and carefree feeling, whereas blocky sans-serif text gives a more straightforward impression. Logos are another more obvious way to imprint branding into communications – when included tastefully, they provide an unambiguous identification of your brand.
  • Make the most of your slogan – Not every brand has to have a slogan, but it is a useful way to convey what the company does, as well as establish an identity in a couple of words. “Just do it” or “Every little helps” are instantly recognisable and give a good idea of a brand’s values. Slogans can also be used for individual products or lines as a way to differentiate from the competition. Finally, to really utilise that slogan why not turn it into a branded hashtag? Just make sure that there’s no hidden meanings or existing uses for your hashtag – such mishaps are more common than you think!
  • Vocalise your values – Let your audience know what you stand for! Ad campaigns aren’t exclusively for products or services, they are also a great way to show a company’s values and actions. You could draw attention to switching to recyclable packaging, or any partnerships or fundraising efforts. In recent years, some ad campaigns have seemingly deliberately featured controversial topics to draw attention, for example Gillette’s “we believe: the best men can be” ad which tackles toxic masculinity, and Nike’s ad featuring Colin Kaepernick, an American football player who has advocated against racial inequality.

We hope you’ve found this short read helpful.  If you’d like to chat through your own ideas or need any help getting them implemented, get in touch:

E: makeithappen@mbsmih.com   T: 01903 688789

5 Reasons You Need to Host An Event

A formal event venue with white and blue decorations

Want to listen instead? Click here

Exposure

Events enable your business to gain brand awareness and exposure by getting your name out there. People will hear about the event which means they will hear about your business. The more interesting the event, the more your company will be recognised.

It can also be an opportunity to get the media involved by getting a mention in the local newspaper, magazine or radio. Promoting your event in the media will ensure you have been seen, heard and noticed in the community – Don’t forget, you can splash it out all over your own Social Media too!

Promotion

What’s a better way of promoting your products/services than at an event! Make it fun, eye-catching and engaging. Everyone always loves a freebie or great offers. Or change it up and do some demonstrations of your products or services; and if you can’t do this with your particular products/services, find different, fun ways to promote what you do and draw people in.

Building Relationships

When holding an event, it’s more fun and engaging (rather than a usual day in the office); which allows your existing and potential customers to interact and engage with your business on a more personal level.

It can also be a chance to make a good impression on potential customers and ensure your business is memorable – make sure they don’t forget you!

Contacts

Events give you the opportunity to increase your network of people; and what’s better than increasing this network than at your own event! Everyone there will be relevant to your business and the industry which will build a stronger and more useful network of people.

Knowing lots of people will come in handy at some point. This is also an opportunity to grow your list of contacts if you have a newsletter or use Social Media – get more followers!

Giving Back

Events can be a nice way to thank your existing customers and supporters for their help and business. Giving away freebies, offers, holding competitions and making it a great event is an easy way to show your gratitude and make your customers and supporters feel appreciated.

Another great idea would be to raise money and awareness for a local charity. You could do something simple like a raffle and ask people to donate items for it. This brings people together and creates a positive image for your company.

Looking for ideas or need support with your event? Send us an email makeithappen@mbsmih.com, we’d love to help.