“Brand Police” – A nuisance or necessity?

Corporate brand marketers often are labeled internally as the “brand police.”  With years of first-hand experience at almost every place I have worked, it is evident that most colleagues don’t come with much brand or marketing experience and do not understand the importance of strong branding and consistency.  So, just like the laws of the land are published and upheld, we must also do so with brands through clear guidelines and friendly “brand police” activity. The approach is often seen  by others as a nuisance. Because it is also a necessity, think about ways to create advocacy around it versus just adherence.

Internal brand experts must educate, remind and build awareness around the important fundamental of maintaining a consistent brand identity and experience for customers. This is how we drive awareness, familiarity, repeat business, and trust – all team members have a shared responsibility in this.  Ultimately, strong, consistent branding can help build positive rapport with customers.  Interestingly, there are recent published studies that point to double digit increases in revenue for those that make brand consistency a priority!

As a marketer, it is easy to get frustrated when there is a struggle with the adoption of branding guidelines across the company.  Resistance to adopting and deploying brand standards and the “why” behind them needs attention, extra care and potentially increased communications from “brand police”.  Come in too hot, and team members may scatter and hide. Make sure you police with the perfect blend of understanding that each person’s brand and marketing acumen is different, and continuously educating on the brand strategy and importance of consistency across all cross-functional content and collateral.   

Do it right and you will deputize hundreds of brand advocates to do the same.