This week I want to talk about brand consistency.

Is it important?

You bet your bottom dollar.

Imagine if the owner of a McDonalds franchise started messing about with the golden arches. S/he thought another shade of yellow might be nice. Or to see what it looked like if the curves were straightened out a little.

Might sound like nothing but if up and down the country you had McDonalds with different Ms outside, their marketing would suffer. One brand, one look.

Same with the Nike tick. Instantly recognisable. It's the same in the UK as it is in India. A normal 'tick' or 'check' is just a symbol used by teachers a lot. But the Nike tick is familiar to 99% of the population. There may be a hermit in Ulan Bator who doesn't recognise it but that's about it.

Here in Shrewsbury

So how does this relate to small to medium sized businesses in Shrewsbury?

I've recently seen a few businesses whose advert in the paper looks nothing like their website when I've gone to have a nose at it. Green ad, red website. Different fonts and everything. They look like two completely different companies bar the name.

A brand needs to be consistent no matter the size. Stationery, websites, advertising... it should all look the same so that the company is instantly recognisable. You see the Nike tick, you don't even have to see the name to think Nike.

thebestof

Our own bestof network has the same two shades of blue everywhere. One dark blue, one light blue. Those colours are present in every aspect of our marketing. Someone could show those two colours at either of the Shrewsbury business networking groups I attend and most people would say, 'Ah, that's thebestof.'

If ever you're getting something designed, have a note somewhere with the exact colour code references. Pantone numbers and so on. Use the same font wherever you can. That's why Arial is usually a winner because it's easy to find. A weird one may stand out but if designers can't easily get their hands on it, it may be a pain for you.

Logo

Some smaller businesses don't have a logo, just a name. I do feel they are missing a trick. To have the same logo everywhere, on your vehicles, and stuff just makes marketing prettier, more noticeable and, frankly, easier.

And easy's good, no? Or am I just lazy?!

If you'd like us to take a look at your marketing materials for you, we'd be happy to give our honest and experienced view. Just drop us a line first.