Create clear brand guidelines. Ensure all messaging aligns with core values, tone, and visuals. Use templates and pre-approved content. Train your team on consistency. Implement a review process before launching changes.

With strong foundations for your brand, any last minute marketing changes needn't be totally disruptive. As long as your tone of voice, mission, vision and values are all kept in mind, last minute marketing changes will no longer cause problems and in fact will allow you to be more agile and accept short lead opportunities that may arise.

To maintain consistency in our brand message despite last-minute marketing changes, we've developed a robust strategy that leverages our 30 years of global branding experience. Our approach involves creating a comprehensive brand style guide that outlines the key elements of our brand, including tone, visuals, and messaging. This guide serves as a reference point for all team members, ensuring that everyone is on the same page and working towards a unified brand identity. In addition to the brand style guide, we've implemented a review process that allows for last-minute changes to be thoroughly vetted by key stakeholders.

I've discovered that having open lines of communication with both your client and your team members is beneficial. We should make it very obvious to clients that last-minute adjustments are not permitted because they will ruin the entire plan and goal. Instead, we ask that they provide us all the changes at once, and we make sure to deliver them before the deadline. Second, I think we should know how to sell our ideas with this. After all, it is our specialty, therefore we are better at it. Therefore, instead of taking everything from the client end without question, we should offer them a logical option that fulfills their goals and makes them feel heard. Lastly, always keep the team informed and give them all the information at once.

A well-structured brand guideline reference guide ensures that everyone from internal teams to external partners stays aligned with the refreshed identity. We also ensured easy access to updated templates, logos, and messaging for consistency across all platforms.