McCombs

KTG Webinar

Thursday, June 18
Brand Guidelines

Presented by
Renae Donus
Spur Consulting LLC
 About Me
 McCombs 2000 alumna
 Consulting & Marketing background
 Accenture Senior Consultant
 Kraft Foods Brand Management
 Started Spur Consulting in 2012
 Marketing consulting firm specializing in Customer
Definition, Marketing Strategy, Branding, Marketing
Collateral & Communication
 Focused on helping start-ups and small companies
 McCombs MBA+ Coach
 What are Brand Guidelines?

 Brand Guidelines are the written and visual

declaration of how you want your company and
brand to be presented to the world.

 They should include more than logos, colors,

and font.

 Think of them as a bio for your brand. What do

you want people to really know or think about
your company and your brand?
 Why Brand Guidelines?

 Consistency
 Establish rules for everything (logo, visuals, copy) in
an effort to create a unified look and feel for
everything you produce and share.
 Remember, you’re building a brand – think long-term.

 Inspiration
 Inspire any partner to embrace the brand and what it
stands for.
 Who uses them?
 Employees (training / on-boarding)
 Creates a culture of consistency and opportunity
 Develops brand advocates internally
 Communicates the vision / mission of the company
verbally and visually
 External partners and vendors (RFP, training)
 Fosters accountability and consistency
 Inspires creativity and personal investment
 Influences word of mouth
 BOD / Investors
 Effectively communicates the marketing strategy
 Achieves buy-in, WOM
 Brand Guideline Components
 Company Background
 Product & Positioning
 Customer
 Brand Principles
 Visuals
 Voice
 Rules
Silvercar Example
 Company Background
 Your Story
 How the magic happened…
 Your Vision
 Bigger idea for what could be
 Optimal goal + reason for existence
 “Making cancer history”
 Your Mission
 Day-to-day who you are, what you stand for
 Tagline
Silvercar
Silvercar Vision
 The Product
 Overview / Key Features
 Value Propositions
 Positioning v. Competition / Perceptual Map
Silvercar
Silvercar
 The Customer
 Demographics
 Age, gender, HH income, etc.
 Psychographics
 Values, opinions, and attitudes
 Qualitative research is key
 Lifestyle / Behaviors
 Hobbies, interests, purchase behaviors
 Highlights possible partnership opportunities,
meaningful ways to engage
Silvercar
Silvercar
 Brand Principles
 Defines your brand’s unique personality
 Determine 3-5 key brand attributes
 Consider short-term and long-term
 Consider customer needs/wants first
 Brainstorm a long list, then prioritize
 Principles need to be differentiated
 Explanation needs to be clear and meaningful
 Employees and agencies need to internalize
 Should be culture-defining
Silvercar
 Visuals
 Visual Brand Identity
 Photography or illustration (or both)?
 Define 3-5 visual attributes / style guidelines
 Use examples to demonstrate
 If subtleties need to be emphasized, consider
“Why this / Not that” comparisons
 Keep in mind that this is the most critical
component of your brand. Your website, app,
digital ads, collateral, print, signage should all
embrace this section of the guidelines
 Details matter!
Silvercar
Silvercar
 Brand Voice
 Copy and Tone
 Define 3-5 mandatory copy attributes
 Create and include examples from:
 Email marketing
 Print / OOH / Other advertising
 Social media / blogs
 Consider including “off-limits” words/phrases
 Note any nuances
 Again, details matter!
 The Rules
 What most Brand Guides are based around
 Logo / Usage / Spacing
 Colors
 RGB / HEX / PMS
 Typography
 Headings / Sub-text
 Brand Assets
 Any objects / items which can be associated and
used with your logo
Spotify
 Plan of Action
 Collect data!
 Conduct customer research
 Know your competitors
 Define customer demographics
 Engage leadership team and employees
 Collect examples of good/bad visual imagery
 Collect examples of good/bad copy
 Refine company priorities (mission/vision)
 Brainstorm brand attributes
 Hire a graphic designer to make it a reality
 Summary
 Defining your brand on paper matters!
 Brand Guidelines are a working document
 Revisit 1-2x per year
 Tackling Brand Guidelines sheds light on other
elements of your company
 Use Brand Guidelines for training/marketing:
 Employees
 Partners / Vendors
 Investors
 Keep customer research as a priority to extend
the life of your brand
 Thank You!
 Questions / Comments?
 Email me at renae@spur-consulting.com
 Call me at (512) 850-8021

 The recording of today’s presentation, along with the

PowerPoint slides, will be available on our Career
Resources web page by early next week:

location: https://meeting.austin.utexas.edu/ktgwebinar/