Wilson Miller - Technology Marketing. Inspired.

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Brandslide - don't let it damage your identity

Brand work is often treated as a discrete activity, undertaken at fixed intervals and with outcomes designed to tick the boxes and then move on to some ‘real’ marketing. So what’s the potential downside?

The sheer commitment and resource involved in a new brand identity programme often leads to a collective sigh of relief on completion. But fast-forward 12 months and the CEO is pondering the meaning of “Moving IT forward” and the significance of images of green bicycles - it’s time for brand audit panic. The decision is made to refresh and reinvigorate, and the whole process begins again.

So what happens between the excitement of launch and the decision to press the refresh button? The answer is Brandslide. Symptoms can include logo mutation, messages distorted to fit in with the latest advertising campaign, internal confusion and a growing lack of belief in the value and purpose of the exercise.
The challenge to any marketer responsible for an existing or new brand, is to avoid the slide. That doesn’t mean calling In the ‘brand police’. In fact, their role can often take the life out of a brand and prevent a positive evolution. However, the brand team should remember why they developed architectures, identity guidelines, feedback mechanisms and so on - in order to avert Brandslide - with a consistent and strong representation of the brand in all its elements.

It’s vital to keep to the core and then look at the elements that can, and should, evolve. Perhaps it’s time to enhance the image bank. Or consider how the messages can work harder in different sectors. But avoid complacency and remember what all the brand assets are there for.

It’s also wise to take action before Brandslide has a negative impact – marketing campaigns can lose effectiveness, sales figures can tumble, partners can misrepresent your business and dilute the brand value.

Consider your brand project not as a project, but an underpinning of everything that happens in marketing. Look at every aspect of internal and external communication and ensure that it’s living and breathing the brand as you want it to be. And if it’s not – work out why, and what needs to be done. If you notice that the logo has changed colour to blend into a new ad treatment, demand an explanation – someone may see it as a trivial issue but your customers may not even recognise you. This small problem may be start of the slip that can lead to full scale avalanche. Talk to all the people who need to be involved and make sure that their understanding is correct – even the action of talking shows the importance of the brand – but if they really don’t get it, then something has moved from the initial standpoints.

Working on brands is one of the most exciting aspects of a marketer’s job. A well executed brand programme has power and momentum. Managing the momentum means constant vigilance if you want to avoid being caught up in Brandslide.

‘Brandslide’ is part of the Braincell series of insights published by Wilson Miller, the marketing agency dedicated to the technology sector.