BRAND GUIDE YOUR ORDER S UP!

Transcription

1 BRAND GUIDE YOUR ORDER S UP! This Brand Guide contains the foundational elements for your brand. The great part is that the ideas came directly from you so by using this guide, all of your content will feel like you.

2 2 BRAND GUIDE WHAT S INSIDE DEFINITIONS TERMS WE USE BRAND GUIDE WHAT YOU TOLD US ELEVATOR PITCH BRAND STORY PERSONALITY + BEHAVIOR HOW YOU SPEAK HOW YOU LOOK

3 3 DEFINITIONS TERMS WE USE BRAND GUIDE ELEVATOR PITCH BRAND STORY A foundational tool that drives marketing execution and ensures communications are telling one singular story. The shortest, most concise way to describe the category of what you are selling, and the one thing that makes it unique. Three sentences that clarify what, how and why you do what you do. It ensures everyone who communicates about you is saying the same thing. WHAT YOU DO HOW YOU DO IT WHY YOU DO IT What your product or service is and does. How you deliver what you do. Why you matter to your target audience. PERSONALITY + BEHAVIOR HOW YOU SPEAK HOW YOU LOOK The traits that communicate who you are to the world, and how you act. Direction and inspiration for the writers responsible for crafting verbal tonality and style in all communications. Direction and inspiration for the designers responsible for expressing how you look in all communications.

4 4 BRAND GUIDE WHAT YOU TOLD US YOUR WORDS Reliable Intelligent Insightful Optimistic Powerful Inventive Disruptive YOUR IMAGES WHAT THEY MEAN TOGETHER Conversation changers A little rock and roll Bold but smooth Reading between lines Seeing the bright side Finding clarity Replenishing and fueling These are the words and images you chose. Together, they begin to tell a story.

5 5 BRAND GUIDE ELEVATOR PITCH BRAND ELEVATOR PITCH CATEGORY POINT OF DIFFERENCE Drive-Thru Branding provides on-demand brand kits for startups and small businesses. Many start ups and small businesses are breaking new ground and often have a hard time articulating what they do. Your elevator pitch should be clearly understood in one sentence. Using a familiar category reference is essential to explaining your business quickly. If people are tracking with your category, they can focus on how you re different within that category.

6 6 BRAND GUIDE BRAND STORY BRAND STORY WHAT YOU DO We build brand stories to activate and drive business communications. HOW YOU DO IT We create simple, innovative brand tools that ensure smart and efficient marketing. WHY YOU DO IT We do this because we believe that a singular brand story is the essential catalyst for compelling and consistent marketing. Your brand story is the foundation for articulating your brand s best self - in clear, concise language. Your story acts as an internal script so that everyone is communicating the same ideas about your brand and business. Your Brand Story language can be used directly as-is, or massaged for specific communications. It s here to help ensure consistency in everything you do, say, create.

7 7 BRAND GUIDE PERSONALITY + BEHAVIOR BECAUSE YOU ARE CLARIFYING Insightful, shaman, all-seeing YOU ACT IN THIS WAY FIND THE DIAMONDS We reach between the lines, crystalizing information into clear and precious jewels INVIGORATING Electric, enlivening, empowering SPARK THE CURRENT We light a fire and provide fuel to keep it going FORWARD THINKING Pioneering, innovative, inventive REINVENT THE WHEEL We pioneer new ways to do old things As people, our personality and behavior transmit who we are to the world. The same is true for brands. These personality ideas were crafted for you based on what you told us. The specific words we ve chosen are less important than the ideas behind those words. Feel free to change out any of the primary words with the alternatives listed below. Whatever you decide to change, just make sure to stay true to the big ideas.

8 8 BRAND GUIDE HOW TO SPEAK BEHAVIORS FIND THE DIAMONDS SPARK THE CURRENT REINVENT THE WHEEL TONE OF VOICE We go deep to connect directly and personally We speak with clarity and a natural melody We use familiar terms to explain our ideas WRITING STYLE Directly familiar We know our clients and reference their business directly Thanks! Your exercises get us moving; supporting women entrepreneurs is something we can get behind... We have a clear rhythm and beat when we iterate, like a catchy tune Lets you keep on keeping on... or The fuel to keep driving... We don t get weighted down with lots of words; we use analogs and borrow meaning that exists to explain what we do We re like you - a start-up just starting out... BEFORE + AFTER website copy before NONE website copy after We Give You Clarity We know it s hard to tell a good, concise story, particularly when it s about your own company. That s where we come in. We crystalize your best self into a singular story worth telling. Explain what is happening in the new blurb that makes it different from the old blurb and references the direction above. Tone of voice is a guide to help ensure you write and speak with consistency. If you remember one thing here, remember Tone Style. It s your rudder. For super-important communications, we highly recommend hiring a writer if you don t have one on staff.

9 9 BRAND GUIDE HOW YOU LOOK BEHAVIORS EXPRESSION FIND THE DIAMONDS SPARK THE CURRENT COLOR Because we dig deep for diamonds, our color palette is rich and grounded in earth. Deep, saturated blues, greens, browns, reds and golds are a color weight-family vs. a singular color. IMAGERY Because we reinvent the wheel, we use just enough context to set a stage: we capture, we snapshot, we freeze-the-frame for clarity in-motion; we alter perspective to give context new light. GRAPHICS Because we spark the current and keep it going, graphics suggest linear repetition (movement). When we pause, it s encapsulated in circular focus points (clarity). All color has meaning. But there s a difference between universal meaning and personal meaning. The right color for your brand is not about personal like or dislike - it s about what works to communicate who you are. AND MORE This collage was created for designers. It acts as inspiration and direction to ensure they translate your brand cohesively and consistently across whatever medium they are designing for. NOTE These images are ONLY for your internal purposes. You do not have any commercial rights to use these images for external or promotional purposes. TYPOGRAPHY Because we spark the current, we use sans-serif typefaces with slim lines and elongated vertical strokes that suggest movement. We can use fine, cursive typefaces that also show motion, but the writing must be clear. TEXTURES/PATTERNS IMAGERY PHOTOGRAPHY REINVENT THE WHEEL TYPOGRAPHY