What do you do if your copywriting clashes with brand guidelines?

Just calm down, it happens. 1st you need to assess the mismatch. Sometimes just minor tweaks might fix it. For bigger issues, you need to rewrite. Remember, brand guidelines ensure consistency, and are key for trust. Explain your approach and listen to their perspective. Prioritize core brand values while injecting your creativity. You need to be balanced! Embrace the challenge! Adapt your writing creatively within the guidelines. It's not just fixing a problem, it's honing your skills! Finally, learn from each clash. Reflect on what worked and what didn't to improve your future writing. Growth comes from navigating these challenges and letting your creativity shine within brand consistency.

Copywriting and Brand Guidelines need to be coherent in one way or two, because on the other side it will not fetch results, There are 3 steps you can use to fit your copywriting and Brand Guidelines -merge your tone with their vision -curate a set of focus points with the goals -try to adapt their cause and refine along the way

It begins with evaluating whether it's dismissible being hygiene posting, or is something at a larger scale such as a campaign. According to the extent of the severity, you need to make changes to match the brand guidelines better, matching the complexity of the situation!

If your copywriting doesn't match the brand guidelines, you should make changes. Look at the brand guidelines and rewrite the copy to fit the rules about tone, style, and voice. Check if your writing uses the right words and phrases for the brand. Ask someone who knows the brand well to review your work and give feedback.

First, evaluate the severity of the clash. Determine if the copywriting fundamentally contradicts brand values or is simply a matter of tone or style.

It's important that the company let clear what it wants and also you, you have to tell what you are able to do and how your job works, so it'll be easier to adjust the perspectives.

Initiate a constructive conversation with stakeholders. Present your rationale behind the copy and listen to their concerns. Respectful communication fosters understanding and paves the way for compromise.

Staying on-brand is key for people to remember and trust you. That said, your brand elements may need modification as your audience and competition evolve. The right answers can come from anyone, and is usually the sum of insights from customers, investos, employees, management, etc. It's good to do an annual or bi-annual branding exercise with the key stakeholders. This open dialogue not only informs better copywriting, but sharpens the campaigns direction and results as a whole.

One thing I've found helpful is approaching the conversation with a collaborative mindset, focusing on finding common ground and shared objectives. Actually, I disagree with the idea that all deviations from brand guidelines should prompt immediate dialogue; sometimes, minor adjustments can be made independently while still maintaining brand integrity. An example I've seen is a copywriter who initiated a discussion with brand stakeholders to propose alternative messaging that better resonated with the target audience, resulting in an update to the guidelines that allowed for more creative expression while still aligning with brand values.

Communicating with the client about the guidelines to understand the “why” can help you find a middle ground where you are both happy. It’s also important to have this dialogue open from the very beginning to avoid conflict once you’re nearing deadlines.

When your copywriting clashes with brand guidelines, wise compromise is key. Focus on the brand’s core values and adjust your copy to align with them while keeping your creativity intact. Strive for a balance that honors the brand’s legacy and resonates with its audience. Your ultimate goal is to uphold the brand’s culture while effectively engaging its customers.

Seek solutions that honor both the brand guidelines and the essence of the copy. This might involve refining the language, adjusting the messaging, or finding creative workarounds.

Also, if it's a brand you'll have to work with a lot and you're making the same errors, make a little brand cheat sheet. Let's say they don't put a full stop at the end of their bullet points or use the Oxford comma and you're always missing that, put a sticky note on your desktop and refer to it when you're writing until it comes naturally.

Rewriting is the only way one gets better at developing a skill so tough. It doesn't come to you overnight. It only demands more and more practice. Adapting also comes at the later stages when copywriters start killing their work which is not good enough before an ACD or a CD disapproves of it. Embracing constructive feedback fosters a positive work environment and strengthens relationships with senior colleagues, who are invested in helping individuals hone their craft. It's essential to remain open to suggestions while maintaining a healthy level of curiosity, unafraid to question and seek clarification on the reasoning behind decisions.

Compromise doesn't mean conclusion There is still a chance for you, You just need a few tweaks. → Understand what guidelines are you neglecting → Question how they're hampering your messaging → Try alternate ways of saying the same message Usually, adaptability solves the problem Because the guidelines are often reasonable. And if you are still not able to put it across, Try a different message. Often, the Slickk brand won't accept "Snickers and Sneakers - The GenZ style" But will be open to "The GenZ Slickk Sneakers". Their branding is gold to them, As a copywriter, you have to mold that gold.

Convincing stakeholders the importance of brand guidelines can be hard: but it's easy if you use this technique: Show them ads and visuals of a leading brand, but with the name removed. Sometimes I even with different colours. For example, make the apple logo pink. Or, show a picture of the Parle-G girl. Ask them to guess the brand and they will. Then ask them if they think people will recognise their brand the same way. They will see that people remember something only when they see the same message, visual, sound over and over consistently. They'll see that you can achieve that over time only if you stick to brand guidelines with discipline. When creative ideation meets product innovation, it's a winning formula.

Copywriting begins not with mere writing, but with a process of keen observation and insightful reflection drawn from everyday experiences and failures. Delving into the essence of a brand involves grasping its purpose and origin story. This understanding must be approached from the perspective of the target audience, which necessitates engaging in conversations across diverse demographics. These individuals represent the true consumers of the brand. For instance, if a particular segment of consumers favours an affordable ethnic-wear brand that offers a wide range of products, an agency should leverage this insight to craft campaign concepts tailored to customer behavior, rather than burdening the client with high campaign costs.

Before I write copy, I note down the topic and the objective of the content piece. When I finish writing, I ask myself "has this copy achieved that objective?" This helps with: - staying on point - staying on brand It's a simple reflective exercise. At times no matter how hard I try, it's not possible to meet the objective 100%. That's normal and I've learned not to beat myself up about it. This exercise sharpens my brain on the nuances of copywriting. Till today, it helps me produce a consistently good output. It also saves me time because now I hit the mark in just 1-2 attempts.

Empecemos por las bases. Antes de empezar a escribir, debemos revisar las pautas de comunicación de la marca, por ejemplo, su manual de identidad verbal en donde deberían estar su voz, tonos, arquetipos, etc. Después de analizarlos y entenderlos, sabremos si esta información realmente hace match con la marca y sus valores o lo que desean transmitir. Ese es el momento para darnos cuenta si lo que quieren decir no está alineado con lo que "deben" decir según su propio manual. Y en ese momento se toman los correctivos necesarios. Si se trata de una marca que no tiene manual de identidad verbal, sugiero hacer una investigación profunda directamente con los tomadores de decisiones sobre la comunicación y, a partir de ahí, proponer ideas.

Grammarly has the ability to add brand guidelines for voice and tone so you can use the software to double-check your work. It takes a little bit of work to train the system, but it pays off in the long run.