The other day I decided to test our new windbreak. I’d bought it for when we have a big camping trip in the summer but wanted to put it up in the garden first to make sure I knew what I was doing. It’s the kind with fibreglass poles that folds down really tiny. Space is going to be at a premium!
It was MASSIVE. I’d not read the part on size, but it’s 5m wide and 1.5m high so it’s not exactly tiny. I was quite surprised! There was only one thing that worried me – the pegs. These were flimsy and the guy ropes kept popping off them – but that’s OK as I have many pegs so I’m just going to replace them with better ones. No big deal.
The pegs are pretty important. It does help if they are actually fit for purpose. What’s the point otherwise?
For our tent we have an assortment of pegs – three types in fact – and they’re all better than the ones that came with the windbreak.
Pegs are useful for holding down your tent if it’s windy and also to help shape your tent. Quite often I can push them into the ground with my hand or foot, but if the ground is harder, pegs need hammering in with a mallet.
What are you using to hold down your brand? To keep it safe against the wind and help keep it looking right?
The tent pegs of your brand are in your style guide and your brand insight document.
So you have a values peg, a fonts peg, a colours peg, a personality peg, a peg for your vision, another for your aims, a peg for your emotions and a peg for your ideal client, another for your logo and a peg for your brand promise. You get the idea.
With a brand style guide, you can keep your brand strong and your visuals looking their best. This is because you know the things you need to know. You have them all written down to refer to and you know how to use it.
Your brand insight contains your values, personality, ideal client, vision, goals, aims, mission statement… it’s a working document that you should keep up to date somewhere that you can access it. This is the important stuff that IS your brand, the stuff that aaaalll the parts of your business are hinged on.
When you have these two pieces..
You know which fonts you can use.
You know how to use them.
You know what your colour codes are.
You know your brand personality.
You know which imagery you have available at a glance.
You know who your ideal clients are and therefore who to talk to.
You know the look and feel that you are aiming for.
You know which logo versions you have.
You know what your values are.
You know how to be consistent.
You know what you are aiming for.
You know that you can’t lose track.
Creating a Brand Style Guide and an Insight Document are both things that you can do yourself. Spend the time working on these and you’ll have all of this information helping you to keep your tent strong, even when you are being battered in, put down, feeling tired, struggling with “life”. You can refer to it and peg your tent down just that bit more securely so that your brand doesn’t blow over.
Do you look after your pegs?
My friend laughs at me because I like to keep my tent pegs clean. I have a special cloth and wipe them all before they go in the bag or box . I don’t understand why she wouldn’t?!
With your brand pegs, I think it’s important to look after these too. So you need to get them out from time to time and give them a clean. Make sure that they are still relevant, that you’re still using them, that they still mean something and that you get rid of any that have gotten bent or rusty.
Look after your tent pegs well and your brand will stand tall and secure for as long as you need it to.
Which of your brand pegs do you need to check over?
Amy Purdie is the founder of Whiteacres (where you are now) she can help your business become irresistible to your ideal clients so that they can’t wait to work with you.
Amy has been enjoying designing logos, brand identities, illustration, print work and websites – since 2007 fuelled mainly by tea and chocolate.