Brand Autopsy | How Rigid Should a Brand Style Guide Be?
How Rigid Should a Brand Style Guide Be?
The answer depends on the culture of the company.
A Brand Style Guide is essentially an internal communication compass. It provides guidance on how a business should communicate the Identity, Personality, and Authenticity of a brand.
The rigidness to which a business should follow its communication compass depends upon the culture of the company.
Some company cultures are very rigid with specific do’s and don’ts on communicating the brand. When I was at Starbucks Coffee, the company culture was VERY rigid in this manner.
Other company cultures are less rigid.
Whole Foods Market gives tremendous autonomy to its regions to design and deliver marketing programs. Which means, inconsistencies exist in how the Whole Foods brand looks and feels in the Mid-Atlantic region versus the Southwest region.
My marketing advice is to be 100% rigid with the visual Identity of the brand. No matter where the brand’s logo and tagline appear, it should be 100% consistent with the direction provided in the style guide.
I think the rules are less rigid and more up to interpretation as it relates to the Personality of a brand. The emotional identity of brand should be understood by all marketers but ultimately, a company’s CEO, CMO or Marketing VP should be the arbiter of what’s on-brand and off-brand.
A brand’s visual identity should be 100% consistent. Its personality should be very consistent. And a brand’s authenticity should never be compromised.
#11 | What are Key Components to Include in a Brand Style Guide?
#12 | How Rigid Should a Brand Style Guide Be?