Spring Clean your Brand

Still curious about branding? In collaboration with Twin Fish Creative, brand strategist Stephen Abbott outlines some of the aspects of a brand that can get overlooked, and how a little “house cleaning” can make a big difference in your customers’ experience, and ultimately, how they feel about your company.

Ah, spring. For some reason when the sun comes out and the trees begin to blossom, people get the urge to clean up the mess that has been collecting all winter. It’s refreshing, and for many of us, necessary.

Brands need spring cleaning, too. A brand isn’t a static element and needs constant attention. It grows and evolves constantly with internal changes and market influences. The challenge is that good ideas, no matter how good, eventually get stale and dusty, so it’s important to periodically step back and look at the whole picture again.

With a clear and open mind, try to see your brand through the eyes of your customer. Does everything still make sense and look current? Do your colours, fonts and logo match from piece to piece or has your brand begun to look like an interpretive exercise? Are your brochures getting a little long in the tooth?

Maybe your signage is looking worn and weathered. Does your sales presentation contain great examples of what your company did 5 years ago? When’s the last time you changed your voicemail greeting? When you live with these brand touchpoints everyday it’s easy not to notice how dated they may have become.

What do you notice when you look objectively at the winter clutter of your own brand? Now is the perfect time to let go of the old, and bring in something fresh. Remember, some people need professional help when it comes to spring cleaning — does your brand need some outside help, too?

Stephen Abbott, Senior Brand Strategist, partners with Twin Fish Creative for Brand Strategy and Identity Projects, and is the founder of A Million Monkeys: Strategic Brand Thinking, a branding think tank in Vancouver, BC.