Do you know what your brand is?
🏛️ Do you have a solid brand platform that governs everything you do as a brand? Are you sure...?
Because I talk to brand teams all the time where not everyone (or in some cases, no one) on the team really knows what it means to be on brand.
I recently developed a test method so you can know for sure.
📝 Set up a quiz where each team member must respond individually (not as a group) to a series of pieces of content or copy. There are only two responses: ON BRAND or OFF BRAND
😀 Let them know they cannot FAIL this quiz. You're evaluating brand foundations, not their performance.
✔️ Start super easy and show them totally off-brand social posts, ads or headlines. Or show them familiar things they've seen your brand put out in the world.
✔️ Then, move on to copy and content your competitors have run, as well as brands from outside your industry that you take cues from. Make sure the off-brand examples have one feature that does not jibe with your brand story.
✔️ Make the examples more nuanced and difficult to discern as the quiz progresses. 8-10 examples is sufficient.
If everyone on your team can't get at least 80% correct, you don't have a solid brand platform, or they're not educated enough on its importance.
💯 Iconic brands are clear on what they're about. Everyone on their team knows what it means to be on brand—not just the Founder, CEO and VPs.