How Can A Brand Bible Benefit Your Company...

Establish your brand, visual identity and communication.

Every brand, from the smallest website or startup, to corporate giants such as Nike or McDonald’s, needs a set of branding guidelines and rules to maintain their identity. This document, which can range from a couple of pages, to several hundred, is the thread that holds together what the public sees from a company.

What is the purpose of a Brand Bible?

• Help employees properly use and communicate the message of a brand.
• It outlines brand goals and the company philosophy.
• Serves as a guide for designers.
• A good brand bible outlines all of the basic design tools that are needed to create and disseminate company communications – from allowable typefaces / styles, to a color palette, to image use, text / tone, and the emotion portrayed by the brand.

Things to consider before creating a set of guidelines.

• The brand essence: How would you express the brand in one sentence in a way that makes me light up with excitement?
• The brand story: Start with the sad state of the world prior to the brand; move on to the ‘aha’ moment that led to the brand; finish with the happier state of the world today.
• Brand adjectives: What five adjectives would you use to describe the brand?
• Name, modifier, tagline: Does the name make your offering easy to ‘get’? Does it stand out and excite me? If not, how do we modify it – taking a crappy name like Boeing 747 to a great name like Boeing 747 Jumbo Jet. And what’s a single summary of your essence that can appear beneath that name?
• The unique selling proposition: What do you do better than anyone? Why’s that? And why is this superior offering important to your customers?
• The customer profile: Tell me about one person who loves what you do. No, really tell me about this person. What does he or she love and hate? How has life let him or her down? Let’s get into a few complexities. I want to see tis person materialize right here in front of us.
• Brand loves: If our brand got to hang out with three brands it admired... what brands would they be?
• Logo: No, you won’t nail it in the brainstorm. But you’ll certainly be able to gather up ideas and influences aplenty – which will then go to your designer for actualization.
• Expressing the brand: Sure, it’s only a brainstorm, but if our brand were three years older, what would be our ‘go to’ ways of getting the message out?

Vision Statement vs. Positioning Statement

Your vision statement defines where you are going tomorrow. The vision is the future of the business — and like the mission, this statement is about the internal perception of the brand. A vision statement helps teams move toward achieving a common goal together, because they know their purpose.

Typically, when you look at a consumer-facing ad, you’re seeing the brand’s tagline and/or current marketing message. Those change. What doesn’t: The brand positioning statement behind them. A positioning statement brings in some of this “why” but, again, it is more about your customer’s viewpoint. This message is less aspirational and more competitive. Why should your customer remember your brand above the rest?

Example: For the young and young-at-heart, Walt Disney World is the theme park that best delivers on an immersive and magical experience because Walt Disney World, and only Walt Disney World, connects you to the characters and worlds you most desire. (Tagline: “Where Dreams Come True”.)

Find Your North Star

North Star marketing operates on the idea that a brand can make one strong claim and own it. Yes, there are many excellent things about your brand and product. But it’s important to resist the temptation to present your brand as a panacea. The average consumer has a very short attention span and a host of brands competing for that attention. And, while you may spend most of your day thinking about your brand, your consumer likely does not. That’s why North Star marketing tactics can be so powerful.

Take a moment to think about the associations you have with some of the world’s most famous brands. If you hear the name “Enterprise,” you probably think “We’ll pick you up,” right? That’s because their North Star is customer service. Everything they do ladders up to that, and their differentiation point of picking up consumers is the personification of that brand promise.

What about Nike? “Just do it.” That’s because their North Star is empowerment. Ford is tough. Apple is sleek. Coke is happiness. Each of these brands has one key idea that they hang their hat on. Then they work to enhance that one single message with everything they do, in every facet of their brand.

Mission Statement

Your mission statement defines what you do today. The mission is the core of the business, but it is about the internal perception of the brand. A mission statement shapes a company’s culture and it is often used in hiring materials as well as the about page of a website.

Core Values

Your core brand values are the beliefs that you, as a company, stand for. They serve as the compass that guides your brand story, actions, behaviors, and decision-making process. Your brand’s core values are at the heart of what your company is and does. They help you frame your brand story in a way that resonates with your target consumers. Core values matter because they serve as a reminder that behind every brand or business is a human being. Time to give your brand a human face. What are your core values?

Here for example are the core values of Riot Games:

?Tag lines

A tagline, also called a slogan or motto, is a phrase that accompanies your brand name to quickly translate your positioning and brand statements into a few memorable words that provide an indication of your brand offerings, promise, and market position. The most important aspect of a tagline is to ensure that it is memorable. A tagline can certainly help your company stand out for all the right reasons, and if you create a tagline that is memorable, you will be able to see how much of a great impact a short phrase can create.

Target audience

Regardless of your brand mission, identifying and gaining the devotion of your target audience is the necessary means of reaching your brand objectives. You will find that knowing your target market inside and out you'll have the information that you need to achieve your brand marketing goals.

Something to keep in mind...

Over time your brand will evolve. Thus your Brand Bible will also evolve. Additionally, rules may need to be amended at times. You will find some instances where new rules need to be added or there needs to be amendments to rules. Sometimes rules can be broken… but do not do so without talking to your manager first. Some companies may be stricter than others, while others may be more flexible.

In Conclusion...

In the creation of your brand bible, think of how it will be used. This document is a reference material and guide for how the company should be portrayed to the public.

Include examples and specifics. Keep the guidelines direct and simple but also think about how restricting they can be. Guidelines that are too strict can limit creativity and new designs; guidelines that are too loose may result in multiple or disjointed brand identities.

Use your brand bible as starting point and establish a culture around it that allows designers room for creative thought while maintaining the aura of the brand in a variety of projects. Remember the ultimate goal of the book is to create a distinct and unified presence for your brand.

Feel free to let me know in the comments below how your company utilitizes their brand bible? If you interested in having me review your brand guidelines please feel free to contact me here on LinkedIn.