For a company engaged in economic activity, an important component of a successful business is the availability of its own marketing plan, which includes a number of conceptual goals and symbols that distinguish it from competitors and contribute to the promotion of the brand.
Today, brand development and content is the most significant form of marketing policy pursued by the company. The basis of the trademark, as well as its constituent components, such as the slogan, logo and rules for their use contain brandbooks. Well-known companies that have succeeded due to competent marketing policy, including through the use of their own marketing guide, the mass: Apple, Nestle, Toyota, Coca-Cola ...
What is a brand book?
Brandbooks are an important part of the marketing policy of any organization, they describe all aspects of market modeling and presentation of the organization, its products, as well as its employees and property to the public.
Brandbooks, examples of which can be found in the article, generally show that this is a book containing information about the organization, logo, trademarks, describing the product or service that the company produces. The publication includes all information regarding the rules for using the logo, slogan, credo and other objects of intangible property of the company.
Simply put, the broadest definition of a brand book is the source of a company's corporate identity. Depending on the current marketing challenges, more detailed information is included in the corporate identity.
Why brandbooks are needed
The idea of creation stems from marketing considerations: the company creates a plan that is embodied in the form of a brand book and is aimed at capturing market positions and their subsequent retention. Brandbooks, examples of logos, slogans, advertising, as well as other values relating to the corporate identity of an organization, constitute its intangible property.
Given that the brand publication fulfills an economically viable mission, it is fair to consider it a valuable property of the company, which contains its "know-how" and reveals the essence of the brand.
According to the brand book, a marketing policy is expressed and implemented, expressed by the following functions:
- Product and company identification - creating a corporate identity.
- Systematization and optimization of product advertising through corporate identity.
- Optimization of future financial costs for marketing research.
- Saving money and time for the development of individual elements of the image of the product and organization.
- Establishment of rules for the use of a brand, logo and other elements of a corporate identity.
It is worth noting that the template of a brand publication can be the most diverse, and therefore the content may vary, depending on the real goals and objectives of the company.
Who needs a brand book?
The book is a description of the whole brand presented on the market, therefore it is necessary for all specialists who are responsible for promoting the product and company, public relations, advertising, etc. We can say that many need brand books. Examples of such specialties and positions:
- Leadership and managing staff: they should be ideologically motivated for all employees of the company, so the need to know and properly manage their own corporate identity is obvious.
- Marketers and advertising agents: their tasks include conducting market research and preparing targeted programs for the consumer, they use information about the rules of brand promotion.
- Employees of the public relations department: their main task is to publicly defend the interests of the organization. The primary requirement for them is loyalty, professionalism and compliance with the internal rules of the organization.
- Sales staff: for them, the main goal is to increase the effectiveness of programs aimed at selling goods. In turn, this activity requires awareness of the trademark, as well as the principles of sales.
As experience shows, brand books of well-known companies contain information that relates to almost all aspects of the organization’s internal and foreign policies: from the dress code of the staff to the appearance of the product packaging.
Principles of creating a brand book
In order for the source of corporate identity to be suitable for the performance of its functions, it is necessary to carefully consider its content. Marketers agree that it is a book about a brand that solves a large number of problems, and is also a primary condition for promoting a brand.
The brand book of the company is compiled on the basis of the following principles:
- the company’s concept must be indicated, its position on the market defined, and the strategic goals to which it aims to be given;
- information should be concise and structured into sections;
- rules for using corporate identity should be a universal parting word for solving problems in various conditions;
- information is clear and unambiguous for all users;
- The above information should be practical in nature, and not be only an addition to the image of the company.
Brandbook Content
There is no specific order in which a company’s corporate publication is filled out and drawn up, however, during the evolution of marketing, as well as with the experience of large companies, a popular template with a single fragmentation is highlighted. A brand book, the value of which is evaluated in practice (by use), should fully describe the rules for the promotion and use of corporate identity, taking into account all kinds of scenarios, and be a universal guide.
As a rule, filling takes place according to the following plan:
- Company's mission.
- The basic elements of a brand.
- Corporate Information
- Technical information about the logo, website, points of sale, etc.
- Advertising: its placement rules, templates.
This is far from complete content, but only the main sections, which can be expanded and supplemented as necessary.
Brandbooks: examples of well-known companies and their features
Companies that are well-deserved market leaders in one segment or another are distinguished by a high degree of development of corporate rules and principles. In many respects, the recognizable and catchy appearance of many trademarks of these companies is a property that provides a brand book. Logo, motto, audio and video attributes, advertising - all these elements are described in it.
You can not ignore the corporate image of Apple as one of the top brands in the world. It contains a lot of corporate information, principles for creating and selling products, and also describes the requirements for selling companies.
The Nike brand book is noteworthy. Created in 2012, it is an example of a compact but informative tool. It expresses the brand’s mission, design principles and advertising requirements - everything is simple and appropriate.
The notorious Coca-Cola is also distinguished by an original and worthy publication dedicated to its own corporate line. Its content includes a detailed description of the company's philosophy, detailed information about the logo and other visual elements of the brand, as well as advertising rules.
Examples show that successful solutions used in the brand books of these companies achieve high results. Moreover, the promotion of large brands is impossible without its use. It not only contains an ideological parting word, but also is a significant source of information for promoting a product and a company.
Where can I order and how much is a brand book
Today, the creation of a company book is an important stage in the development of the company. Its presence proves the ideological value and independence of the brand, and is also the foundation of all corporate relations.
“Brand book value” is a popular question that is asked when deciding whether to create a brand book. The average cost is from 15,000 to 20,000 rubles, and the exact value is determined depending on the requirements for the publication and its contents.
Creative agencies are involved in brand book compilation: they provide a wide range of brand development services. Specialists will prepare and present a brand book template, which will be compiled taking into account all the wishes of the client. It will contain corporate identity information and allow you to manage it.