Weekly Blog Roundup - Friday 26th July 2013

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Digital Matters Blog
blog.act ivat e me dia.com /po st/56510749611/week
ly- blo g- ro undup- f riday- 26th- july- 2013
How to Build a Brand Bible Visual Style
Guide ht t p//designshack.net /art
icles/graphics/how- t o- build- a- brand- bible-
visual- st yle- guide/ The main focus of this
article is how a companys branding guidelines
affect its design. These guidelines should
establish a set of rules for creating a uniform
and identifiable brand presence. These rules
dictate everything brand related including the
design of the logo, how it can be used,
letterhead, the website design and personal
communications. This not only acts as a guide
for employees on how to properly use and
communicate the message of the brand but also
serves as a guide for designers. For designers
this will inform them of what typefaces they can
use, styles, colour palettes, images, text, tone
and the emotion that should be portrayed by the
brand. 4 steps to improve your Customer
Experience ht t p//www.smart insight
s.com/user- experience/cust omer- experience-
management - cxm/4- st eps- t o- improve- your-
cust omer- experience/ This article was about
the 4 steps that can be taken towards a better
customer experience in multichannel commerce. In
a nutshell these four steps were as follows Plan
for change. A successful project has frameworks
and procedures in place to manage the key
performance factors (scope, quality, time and
cost) should there be changes in the project. The
agile approach was also mentioned as a way of
planning for change. Redefine the rules of
engagement. It is becoming increasingly difficult
for retailers to compete based on pricing
architecture strategy as a result of search
behaviour. Retailers must now focus on their
standard of service in order to differentiate
from competitors. Brand personality is key.
Apply the multichannel prism framework. In the
search for consistent personality across channels
multichannel brands are putting their values at
the centre of everything. Questions like how the
brand should behave in terms of products,
price, supply chain and services are defining the
agile market leaders of today.
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The final step to be taken towards a better
customer experience in a multichannel commerce is
to move away from silos. Decide your business
case and design the service. Consistency Online
Branding Matters http//vbbadirect.com/consistenc
y- online- branding- matters/ This article
focused on businesses online presence and how
there should be continuity across all online
platforms. The three areas this posts talks about
is ensuring that branding appears uniform on each
social networking site in terms of design. Where
possible, keeping account names on these social
networking sites the same allowing people to
access them with ease. Finally this post
summarises with making the point that to build a
successful online brand campaign it take time or
money. T he Negative Impact of Inconsistent
Branding http//socialmediatoday.com/ubersocialme
dia/1574646/negative- impact- inconsistent-
branding This article focuses on the negative
impact branding inconsistency can have on a
business. If branding doesnt appear consistently
it makes it harder for people to verify the
authenticity of the brand. A lack of consistency
also appears careless and unprofessional creating
a very negative perception of the brand from the
consumers point of view. The article then goes
on to lists the positive impact consistency of a
brand can have. These were as follows. Helps
differentiate the business, standing out in the
customers mind It gives the business personality
and an identity Effectively delivers and
reinforces the businesses message Creates a sense
of trust in the brand from the customers point of
view Drives customer loyalty Tabletop Matters
Minute Branding Consistency http//www.tabletopj
ournal.com/2/post/2013/06/tabletop- matters-
minute- branding- consistency.html This short
video drives the message of consistent branding
and how this consistency creates a strong brand.
This consistency should be present across all
platforms including website, catalogues, business
cards and even as far as the people you hire to
work for the brand. Focus on Brand Consistency
to Improve Brand Recognition http//www.business2
community.com/branding/focus- on- brand-
consistency- to- improve- brand- recognition-
0542368 This article focuses on improving brand
recognition through social media. It states that
there are three key branding elements that should
be focused on. These are as follows. Voice and
tone. The style in which a brand communicates
with its customers can evoke emotion. Through
doing this a strong relationship can be built
between brand and customer. This voice and tone
should be reflective of the target market and
their culture. Logo. Again like the voice and
tone a brand conveys itself in, visually the
brand logo should be a visual representation of
your brand. Colours. There is a lot of
psychology behind colour and the chosen colours
for your brand should speak to your audience,
evoking moods and emotions. Business Branding
Why Consistency is Key http//www.entrepreneurmom
now.com/calgary/2013/business- branding- why-
consistency- is- key/ The message to be taken
away from this article is that you should be
consistent in everything you do because every
action you make sends a message. The article goes
on to make an example of how Hitler created
a personal brand for himself through his actions
and agendas. Looking at photographs of Hitler
they convey him a way
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• that made him look powerful and in control. Had a
  picture of Hitler snuggling puppies been
  publicised, this would be very inconsistent with
  his actions and agendas in turn would create
  confusion in his audience. This point just
  reiterates the fact that for a brand to be
  successful and get the recognition it needs for
  success, it can achieve this through consistently
  marketing itself.
• Branding creates trust and consistency creates
  loyalty
• http//ganaderiamexico.blogspot.mx/2012/08/brandin
  g- creates- trust- and- consistency.html
• This article focuses on the economic crises
  retailers and growers are facing and how they can
  attract consumers back to the fresh produce
  section. The post highlights the issue of
  consumers seeing the potato as a simple process
  whereas growers see it as very complex. This is a
  consumer habit which needs to be broken. Rick
  Bourne (Category Director for Asda UK) believes
  this can be done through branding to establish
  trust and consistency in this branding to create
  loyalty with the consumers.
• Make More Sales By Teaching Customers Brand
  Consistency
• http//www.business2community.com/branding/make-
  more- sales- by- teaching- customers- brand-
  consistency- 0416463
• This article again drives the messages that brand
  consistency is key for success. It also explains
  how teaching brand consistency to clients can
  ultimately turn one job worth a couple of
  thousand pounds into multiple job would could be
  worth up to tens of thousands of pounds. This can
  be done as it is inarguable that brand
  consistency is ideal for companies that make it
  an easy sell for graphic designers.
• 8 Businesses T hat Nail Social Media Brand
  Consistency
• http//blog.hubspot.com/blog/tabid/6307/bid/34231/
  8- Businesses- That- Nail- Social- Media- Brand-
  Consistency.aspx
• This article provides an insight to 8 businesses
  that have hit the nail on the head when it comes
  to brand consistency across various social media
  networks. It mentions how the experience from one
  social network to another can feel disjointed
  and how despite this how these 8 businesses have
  managed to create consistency.

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• Optimise your mobile site presence identify
  mobile adoption struggles.
• Poor mobile site optimisation means cart
  abandonment rates are still high. Keep customers
  on the mobile site relies on stripping the
  complexity from the site and therefore making it
  mobile optimised.
• Retailers Find Solace in Solid Brands
• http//www.dailyfinance.com/2013/07/17/retailers-
  find- solace- in- solid- brands/
• This article highlights the benefit of brand
  consistency and how even in todays economic
  climate the businesses that are achieving this
  are still seeing an increase in sales. The
  consistency brands such as Gap and Costco are
  conveying is comforting to consumers amongst
  economic confusion, this shows branding has never
  been as valuable as it is at present.
• Whats the language of your brand ?
• http//www.marketingweek.co.uk/trends/whats- the-
  language- of- your- brand/4007277.article
• This article again is about being consistent
  across all channels but focuses on the tone of
  voice and language used. For brands trying to
  reach out to new and existing customers, verbal
  and written language is becoming as important as
  visual identity in marketing communications. 02
  describe the right tone of voice as a weapon
  for brand building.
• Five Ways Marketing Can Manage Its Digital
  Content Assets
• http//www.marketingprofs.com/articles/2013/11206/
  five- ways- marketing- can- manage- its- digital-
  content- assets