Consistency is key to building a strong brand identity and accumulating brand equity. However, many brands struggle with maintaining a consistent tone and manner across different touchpoints. This is where communication guidelines come in, providing a set of guidelines to ensure that a brand communicates in a branded voice that aligns with the company’s values and goals. In this article, we will explore the importance of communication guidelines, how they work, and how they can help accelerate enterprise transformation.

Communication Guidelines: Definition and Purpose

Communication guidelines are a set of guidelines that define the manner that a brand communicates with its target audience on various touchpoints. They often consist of verbal and visual guidelines, which answer five key questions:

• How to show the brand image when appearing in visuals for different touchpoints?
• How does the brand talk to the target audience via different channels?
• What are the things the brand definitely will and won’t do?
• What art and copy direction should the brand follow for a campaign?
• What format should the brand follow to create a main-page or product page for e-commerce?

A good set of communication guidelines ensures that a brand communicates in a consistent manner across all touchpoints, from advertising campaigns to e-commerce pages. This consistency helps to accumulate brand equity, optimize marketing ROI and operational efficiency, and eventually accelerate enterprise transformation.

A Good Example: Apple

Apple is considered one of the most powerful brands in the world, with a consistent brand image that aligns with the company’s values and goals. Let’s take a closer look at how Apple’s communication guidelines work:

• Look & Feel: Apple’s visuals are ahead of the trend of simplicity, showing a modern aesthetic that’s tied to a certain level of hipness and affluence.
• Tone of Voice: Apple’s tone is upbeat, conversational, and confident, conveying a powerful yet playful message.
• Dos & Don’ts: Apple always strives to be imaginative, innovative, and humanistic, while avoiding anything that’s unoriginal or complicated.
• Campaign Guidelines: Apple sells emotions, not products, and everything that goes into the campaign establishes a heartfelt connection with its customers.
• E-Commerce Guidelines: Apple’s e-commerce pages focus on white space with a single focal piece, displaying information in a clear, straightforward, and organized way that follows the current aesthetic.

Why Communication Guidelines Matter for Enterprise Transformation

Communication guidelines are essential for enterprise transformation because they ensure that a brand communicates in a consistent manner throughout the journey from brand transformation to brand amplification to brand implementation. This consistency helps to build a strong brand identity, accumulate brand equity, optimize marketing ROI and operational efficiency, and eventually accelerate enterprise transformation.

Conclusion:

Consistency is key to building a strong brand identity, accumulating brand equity, and accelerating enterprise transformation. Communication guidelines provide a set of guidelines to ensure that a brand communicates in a consistent manner across all touchpoints, from advertising campaigns to e-commerce pages. By following these guidelines, brands can build a powerful brand identity that aligns with their values and goals, and ultimately drives business success.