Putting Process at the Heart of Brand Management

Without process, brand guidelines are breached, messages become muddled, efforts are duplicated, and campaigns collide. We share our top tops for effective brand asset management, putting process at its heart.

  1. chevron left iconPutting Process at the Heart of Brand Management
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Morag Cuddeford-JonesMarch 13, 2023
  • Digital Asset Management
  • Content Management

Process is a very definitive, structured word. It is a word that would seem to be the very antithesis of creativity and emotional engagement, two central pillars of marketing. Process seems like an attempt to constrain when all creativity wants is freedom.

But perhaps we should think of process in another way. How prolific would the painter be if they could never find the right brush, or the paint was always in the wrong colored container? If the composer wanted to record an award winning album, but could never arrange for the music, musicians or instruments to come together at the right place at the right time? Creativity needs process.

In a marketing context, process is more of a lifeline than a tether. Without it, brand guidelines are breached, messages become muddled, efforts are duplicated, and campaigns collide. And if you add the ever increasing number of digital channels to the mix, without process your marketing strategy becomes something of a runaway train, except trains at least have the advantage of being on rails.

It is a well established fact that a consistent brand experience can substantially increase revenue. The flip side of that of course, is that inconsistencies in these experiences can damage revenues. Customers may become confused - perhaps they have not purchased the most up-to-date version of a product? Or worse, have they been sold a fake? Such questions or doubts in the consumer minds can damage brand trust beyond repair, not to mention the fact that this leads to a loss of sales.

Making sure you can deliver a consistent brand experience is not complicated, but it can be intensely time consuming if you do have the right supporting technology and processes in place.

Here are censhare’s 10 top tips to brand management heaven:

1. Set rules - Develop a set of rules that brand and content must adhere to, covering everything from the precise pantone reference of the logo color to editorial tone of voice. Make sure to house the information in a single document that is updated regularly and accessible to all.

2. Get employees on board - Emphasize the importance of adhering to brand guidelines with a clearly explained rationale. Encourage them to be proud of the brand’s image, its story, and the design elements which support it, making sure that the guidelines are clear and easy to both understand and stick to.

3. Involve third parties - Few organizations today complete all brand activities inhouse. In the same way that you onboard employees, engaging vendors and suppliers in training exercises can ensure that they understand and stick to your guidelines – and even to help to appropriately develop them, where relevant and approved.

4. Make it easy - Clear workflows stop employees ‘treading on each other’s toes’, minimizing time and asset wastage and removes frustrations.

5. Centralize - whether in the office or working remotely, being able to access a single, central asset library means employees know for sure they always have access to approved, up-to-date resources.

6. Localize - centralized assets make it easier to work with and adapt to regional marketing needs. It becomes easier and quicker to localize the brand while keeping it within brand guidelines.

7. Encourage collaboration - censhare research has revealed that leading organizations involve every department in content creation and brand development, and this means creating an effective culture of collaboration.

8. Connect customer experience with your brand – How your brand resonates with customers and the level of their experience are inextricably linked. Teams closely involved with one should always have visibility and input into the other.

9. Grow - Eliminating wastage releases funds and time to invest in growing the business. It is important to build systems and processes that have the capacity to change and grow as the business evolves.

10. Review, revisit, revive - Brand management should also be thought of in terms of brand development. Trends and customers change over time, and brands have to evolve alongside to stay relevant.

For more insight into how to meet the challenges of omnichannel brand marketing in a global marketplace, download our whitepaper Brand Management in the Digital Age. Read about the role of the Chief Brand Officer (CBO), how to select and implement a Brand Content Management System, and how centralizing brand asset management can set your organization up as a future proof, highly efficient and competitive brand.

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Morag Cuddeford-Jones
Morag Cuddeford-Jones is a writer, editor and broadcaster. She has been working in marketing, business, and the SaaS space for more than 20 years. With experience interviewing C-Suite executives and working in tech, Morag has gained a unique insight into both the evolving martech landscape and the impact digital transformation has on consumer and B2B brands.

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