Implementation and documentation. Make applying simple.
The best brand strategy is only as good as its introduction and implementation in the company. To say it more clearly: Ninety percent of the immediate and long-term brand success comes from implementation. That is our experience as a branding agency. Especially in the sub-disciplines corporate design, corporate behavior, and the associated wording, the brand image of a company can be experienced very quickly and directly by all stakeholder groups, both internally and externally.
What are the prerequisites for a strong, uniform brand identity in the sense of the brand strategy? The corporate design of the company is a central point. The uniformity of the corporate design can only be achieved, however, if all users — internally and externally alike — are open to the subject of corporate design and are convinced of the benefits. In line with the top-down principle, brand strategy and brand image must be cascaded and implemented from top management to middle managers and into every operational unit.
By building up appropriate knowledge in the operative units, by providing ongoing information and through training courses, the employees can be taught the knowledge they need in order to enable them to use correctly the technical tools provided. We support this phase intensively as a branding agency. In addition to implementation with employees at the company’s headquarters and in the decentralized units, other target groups at distribution levels may also be important.
The knowledge refers to the knowledge and active use of the corporate design manual, but also to the use of provided templates and databases. Of course, today’s electronic templates are a matter of course for everyday working life. These are mainly digital templates for typical Word and Excel applications as well as PowerPoint templates for presentations and web applications, the handling and distribution of correct logo files to third parties, etc. It is important that the use of the various digital templates is well documented. The documentation has to be simple and understandable, it has to be user-oriented, and has to provide the user with tips and tricks for quick and efficient use in everyday life.
A further aspect concerning the implementation and documentation is the questions of when and how and the scope of the implementation. There is no rule for this. This decision always depends on the situation in the company. During a market launch, there is a clear starting point at which all basic materials must be available in the new corporate design. In the case of a merger, there can be a defined point in time at which everything must be consistently exchanged. During a relaunch, there can be a defined phase in which the new phase successively replaces the old phase. The larger the organization, the more the logistical component of the point in time of the introduction has to be planned for a successful implementation.