Does Your Brand Need a Creative Road Map?
Over the years I’ve seen brands settle into predictable rhythms and become stale in the process. It’s actually more common that you may think — and it’s especially true in B2B. There are a number of factors that can create the condition of brand autopilot inhibiting creativity along the way. Yet, one way to put some spice into a lethargic brand is to design a Creative Road Map.
Let’s look at how brands can become predictable and pedestrian in the first place:
#1 - Having Overly Restrictive Brand Standards
Although brand standards are incredibly important for more reasons that I can list in this post, they can also make it difficult to produce new and interesting creative work. Things like logos, types, colors, and templates are great for keeping teams in alignment, yet I cannot tell you how many times we’ve had to cull a great idea because it didn't quite fit in the predetermined box. ie: Logo on the left, box with type, and image of person doing something important. The result of having to adhere to every little design detail often results in repetitive work that puts audiences to sleep or never gets their attention in the first place. It’s important to recognize that different marketing channels should be different based how audiences interact with them. For example, having a unique and fun interactive demo at a trade show that is an extension of the brand is perfectly fine since prospects are there to engage in a totally different way than they do with your website.
#2 - Worrying About What Others May Think
If I had a dollar for every time someone killed an idea because they were worried about how their boss might react, I’d be able to pay for a lifetime supply of Starbucks. I get it, no one wants to get grilled by the boss, but at the same time reaching for creative excellence means pushing the envelope. When edgy work is presented is should be understood that the creative team is attempting to dazzle the customer. In my experience the higher-ups truly appreciate the effort. They may not choose the most risky creative ideas, however by presenting more interesting work on a regular basis it starts to change the culture of a company where there becomes an expectation to see more interesting concepts.
#3 - Not Understanding to What Audiences Aspire To
It’s one thing to have some neat and tidy demographics. ie: Single white male in his 30’s who goes to the gym and wants to be more efficient in his ability to unlock the potential in his data, etc… Yet, to take the brand to another level, presenting a more aspirational perspective that connects on an emotional level is the way to go. When internal teams adopt the attitude that they need to inspire their audiences with more than just functional benefits, creative teams will happily answer the call and you’ll be amazed at what they come up with.
A creative roadmap is a way to innovate, evolve, and grow your brand gradually over time.
This is a staged approach is different than complete rebrand. Major overhauls can actually be as disruptive to day-to-day marketing tasks as they can be helpful in the long term. In contrast to locking up your resources for months on end with a new website build or a brand overhaul, there’s another way to refresh up your brand; building a Creative Road Map. Here’s a high-level process to get you started:
#1 - Set Goals, Get Executive Buy-In, Communicate to Teams, and Gather Input
It may seem obvious, but it’s amazing how often teams are uninformed about changes being made to their own brand. It’s hugely important to set objectives, get leadership support, communicate timelines to teams, and get input. Letting teams know changes are coming is greatly appreciated and it gives people a chance to ask questions and participate in the process. It’s far better to field tough questions early in the process instead of reacting to issues that arise after a launch. In addition, good suggestions can come from anyone. Personally, I love talking with Sales teams to better understand their needs as opposed to making assumptions. Bonus: Reach out to customer and prospects and ask them how they perceive the company brand.
#2 - Get to Know Your Prospects & Customers Aspirations
Going beyond demographics and canned psychographics is hugely important. Every customer archetype should have an aspirational wish list that includes work related topics and can even include more personal topics as well. For example: “I hope my company can change the world by ______.” Or, “The best contribution I can personally make to society through my work is ________.” Or simply, “I aspire to _______.” You get the idea. Our customers are people, and people need to feel inspired. And, it’s that very inspiration that drives them to take action. Once profiles are created make aspirational themes part of company culture. Share them with everyone, integrate them into the brand architecture, include them in creative kickoffs, and refer back to them often.
#3 - Identify More Flexible Mediums & Creative Opportunities
Armed with consensus, input, and a clear sense of what makes your audiences’ tick, identify which parts of your brand are more flexible. Compare which parts of your brand are ridged such as the logo, type, and values and which elements are open to creative versatility. You can see how we have approach this very topic in our post, “Mapping the Brand Universe.” There are certain channels that can be highly flexible such as: events, lead-gen activities, campaigns, social posts, and presentations. When thinking about adhering to your brand guide, consider loosening the reigns a little so more creative ideas can come to the surface. The creative guardrails for social postings could be as simple as: “Be true to our brand values and core identity while speaking to customer’s aspirations.” Marketing and creative teams can then focus on specific campaign objectives and coming up with the most inspiring creative possible. Gone are the restrictions to fit everything into a restrictive template or using canned marketing speak that audiences ignore.
#4 Refresh Your Website in Stages
Every designer, web team member, and marketing person reacts with equal parts excitement and trepidation when they hear the words, “We are going to redo the website.” It’s a huge deal and takes loads of resources and often disrupts the day-to-day workflow. As an alternative to a full site redo, start by evaluating what can change on the site on a sliding scale from easy to difficult. Then prioritize and put in phases. A good creative director along with UX and web team leaders can quickly identify what elements on the site can be updated with minimal hassle. For example, updating copy, headers, navigation, footers, and key visuals can provide a nice update without overwhelming teams. Adding animation or interactive HTML elements, or updating key diagrams can all be done prior to a complete reorganizing of the site. If there are too many pages on the site, or old content, assign an evaluator and take a reasonable amount of time to adjust the content on the site.
Companies that have active blogs and videos often tuck those channels off to the side. If your company produces regular content, consider putting on the home page where it will keep the site fresh.
When it comes to site maps and UX design take your time with the process. It’s worth doing it right. It is very helpful to share the big picture of how your new website will be organized with other team members outside of marketing. If you are worried about feedback derailing your vision, then get even more feedback that you would normally. Nothing helps neutralize a squeaky wheel like making them one a multitude of opinions versus and handful.
#5 Bring it all Together
At this stage, you should have objective, executive buy-in, team feedback, and a clear idea of what mediums to tackle and in what order. Grab your best organizer and put it all in a six month to year-long project plan. By putting the plan over a longer timeline, teams will be able to still manage their day-to-day work, feel less stressed which leads to better quality work. In contrast a rushed brand redo results in loads of fixes and changes that can drag on months at a time.
Share the plan with key stakeholders, and then the entire organization. By including everyone, you will have their support that goes a long way to reinforce company culture and a feeling of inclusion.
Note: We get that one size does not fit all. Over the years, we’ve had wonderful conversations with companies about how to build their brands. Sometimes it leads to a client relationship, sometimes not. And, that’s okay, we truly enjoy chatting with folks (confidentially of course) and providing an alternative perspective. If you are so inclined you can reach us here >