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Written by
Teun Joosen
Building a strong brand requires time, energy, and attention. Often, a (re)branding process is the starting point, focusing on brand strategy and external positioning. It's no wonder consistency, authenticity, and distinctiveness are key elements in this process. How do you ensure your brand is recognizable? Is it used consistently, communicating differently than your competitors? A brand book answers all these questions, provides guidance, and offers direction.
First things first! What exactly is a brandbook? A brandbook translates the brand identity, visual identity and verbal identity into a clear overview file. Other words for a brandbook are brand guide, style guide, brand bible and corporate identity manual. A brandbook tells the story of your brand from A to Z and describes the brand in words and images. The power of a strong brandbook is that it creates clarity, provides direction, offers meaning and inspires.Lucky for you, this is something we know a thing or two about! The answer lies in changing how we approach consumers and interact with them as human beings. The digital landscape is not really about technology. No, it's about relationships. And we're not talking about the “single, married or it's damaged” kind of relationships either.
When building a strong brand, it's crucial to ensure that every communication and touchpoint contributes to—and aligns with—the brand image you want to project. A brand book is the common thread running through all the choices you make and all the resources you deploy as a company. Think of the brand book as a guideline for all your strategic and creative choices and applications. It forms the foundation for all your marketing and communication efforts, shaping the consistency, authenticity, and distinctiveness of your brand.
A brand book not only provides external guidance but also ensures that employees are aligned internally and communicate and act based on a common thread. We therefore always recommend sharing a brand book internally, giving employees the opportunity to "live" the brand and act accordingly.
Hopefully, we don't need to convince you of the importance of a brand book. So, it's time to put our money where our mouth is and actually create one. What elements does a brand book contain? The content of a brand book is divided into a brand identity, visual identity, and verbal identity. The brand identity addresses, among other things, the mission, vision, core values, and target audience. The goal of the brand identity in the brand book is to create support within the company and provide a logical explanation of why you do the things you do. Why did you start in the first place, and what are the driving forces behind it?
In addition to the brand identity, the brand book also describes the visual identity. This section of the brand book focuses more on the corporate identity. The corporate identity is what customers recognize your brand by. Customers have a specific association with your corporate identity. For example, the colors blue and yellow are inextricably linked to IKEA. Other elements related to the visual identity include the logo, the font, the shape and use of form, and the style of photography and images. When we talk about the visual identity, it can be divided into visual elements and textual elements.
It's important to realize that developing a brand book involves a whole process. At Brandbits, we call this process brand strategy. This encompasses brand identity, visual identity, and the communication concept. Only after all these steps have been completed will our designer, brand marketer, and marketing strategist develop a brand book. A blueprint of who you are and how you express that. Trust us; the brand book contains exactly the energy and support your brand needs.
Want to get started with a brand book? Or maybe you're not ready yet and would prefer to work on a solid, creative brand strategy first? We're happy to help and work with you to build a strong brand. Not quickly and haphazardly, but piece by piece. Feel free to contact us.
