Making room for creativity within established brand guidelines

Brand guidelines play a central role in making sure content teams stay consistent with an organization’s message. But they also present an opportunity to get creative teams thinking outside of the box while staying on brand. Here are three insider tips on how to stay in the correct lane and make creative leaps.

Make brand style guidelines accessible

A guideline encompasses the look and feel of an entire organization and communicates a brand’s message. Spread the good word to your freelancers and any agencies you may use for future campaigns. An established brand voice and feel helps set you aside from the competition.

An established brand style guide helps teams get expressive and draw within the lines. Funny or smart, formal or informal, it’s up to you. Put your team on the same page to craft the perfect message with a voice that hits the right note and compliments striking visuals.

Create a collaborative environment

To keep things fresh it’s good to mix it up in a busy marketing department. While consistency should never be overlooked when shaping brand identity, a collaborative environment between writers and designers can lead to unique creative discoveries. Develop brainstorming sessions and let teammates lead design sprints for a fresh look as they flex creative muscles. Templates, briefs and a structured approach to the process will help give order to original creative requests.

Value user-generated content (UGC)

In the digital age, it’s impossible to escape user participation. Your customers can become advocates and play a big role in a campaign. User-generated content is only growing in popularity and provides an opportunity to turn potential customers into product advocates. Embracing your audience has excellent sales potential.

Why not spread the good word across social platforms and run competitions that reward winners with free products and services that further promote your brand. Whether a hashtag campaign on Twitter or video competition via Tik Tok, invite your audience to participate in the evolution of your brand and reap the benefits of an inspired team.

Having a standardized brand style guide for your entire marketing department leads to creative breakthroughs. Make brand experts out of your colleagues in creative environments that produce compelling content.