Brand guidelines - what is it?
Brand guidelines are a set of design and content guidelines that ensure a consistent corporate identity. They include:
- our corporate identity
- our corporate design
- our corporate language
These need to be defined to ensure the success of the business. At the heart of this are two factors:
- the company itself, with its values, aspirations and guiding principles
- the target audience that the brand strategy is intended to reach.
Normally, the development of a brand strategy falls within the realm of customer-focused marketing. Increasingly, however, it has an impact on other departments and pursues other objectives.
Why brand guidelines are also important for internal communications
It is particularly important for potential customers to be able to recognise a company immediately so that they can choose it. With an effective brand policy, we make it easier for our customers to choose us.
But there is another important area where a brand policy is needed: employer branding. If you want to position your company as a strong employer brand, you need guidelines just as much as you do for traditional marketing. And here are the reasons why:
1. Your business looks professional with consistent brand positioning
A user-friendly, consistent design appeals to people and conveys competence and security. This is exactly what you want to achieve with your internal communications. On the one hand, you want to show your current employees that your company is successful and stable. On the other hand, to have a representative figurehead for interested applicants. The message behind it: You are not working for just any company, you are working for a reputable company with a reputation.
2. A consistent brand identity shows personality
If logos are constantly changing, colours are not adhered to or the tone of voice is constantly changing, this is not exactly a sign of corporate self-confidence. A consistent brand identity, on the other hand, allows you to show personality and stand out from the crowd. It shows that you know who you are - and that you don’t bend over backwards for every little thing. This is authentic and inspires not only customers, but also employees and potential employees.
3. Reach your target audience with a cohesive brand
When your branding works, it works for you as a business and for the people you want to persuade. This is always related to positioning: If you choose a certain design, it will appeal to certain people - and not others. The same goes for tonality and, of course, corporate identity in general. The moment I create a brand, I automatically position myself. And that means that I may not reach everyone, but I reach my actual target group much more. In recruiting, but also in internal communication, this is worth its weight in gold. After all, you want the people who work with you to share your values and purpose. A well-founded brand guideline provides the best basis for this.
4. Brand guidelines support corporate culture
People are particularly motivated when they see themselves as part of a community. That’s why political parties have emblems, sports clubs have flags and whole countries have languages. They are all symbols. And when we share them, we feel a sense of belonging. The same is true of companies and their brands. Companies create a common framework for all employees through a uniform appearance in design and wording, but also through consistently represented values. Without this, there is essentially no corporate culture. And without a corporate culture, there can be no success.
5. Brand guidelines make work easier for HR staff
It’s not just marketing that needs brand guidelines to avoid having to start from scratch every day. If you have a strong guideline for your employee communication, you make it easier for your HR managers - and the quality of your HR measures increases.
How to create brand guidelines?
A brand policy defines in a few sentences or keywords what makes your brand unique. The best way to do this is by branding areas:
1. Identity
This includes key questions about you and your corporate personality:
- Who are you?
- What makes you special?
- What are your values? How are they reflected in your actions?
- What is your reason for being?
- How would you like to be perceived?
2. Design
If you have already defined design guidelines for your marketing, you can use them as a starting point and adapt them for your employee communications, e.g:
- Logo guidelines
- Colours & colour balance
- House font & text guidelines
- Images & image style
- Graphics & icons
- Layout for emails, websites, PPTs etc.
3. Terminology
This is probably the most important area of your corporate communications. The way you communicate says a lot about your values and the way you want to work together. The most important aspects of wording in internal communications are
- Tone of voice, e.g. more casual, more formal, on a first-name basis or not
- Form of address
- Key messages
- English or German
- Linguistic images
Why everyone in the company should know the brand guidelines
Brand guidelines are useful for strengthening the brand internally and externally - if they are applied correctly. This only works if everyone is aware of the guidelines. After a while, for example, a tone of voice emerges from communication. As human beings, we usually respond to communication by imitation: the way someone speaks to me is the way I respond. Nevertheless, the guidelines should be proactively communicated to new employees so that they don’t have to painstakingly find out what defines your brand, but know it from the start.
Brand Guideline - a prime example of useful e-learning content
At SAPERED we are fans of digital solutions. However, this does not mean that we recommend e-learning per se to our customers. It all depends on the learning content, the target group, the environment and the learning and business objectives. A brand policy is an ideal example of content that can be delivered well through digital training. If an employee learning platform already exists, the policy can be well placed there.
The situation is different when creating brand guidelines. This requires creative collaboration and trial and error - ideally in a workshop with lots of interaction.
Sounds exciting? Then let’s talk. Whether you want your employees to understand a brand policy or any other important corporate issue, we will find the best form for your training. Register now for a free consultation, we look forward to hearing from you!
