We’ve all heard brand builders bang on about being consistent – that’s how you create brand visibility, trust and equity. Building good brands is all about consistency right? And this is certainly advice I subscribed to and handed out aplenty. But lately I’ve been thinking that this doesn’t quite work anymore. Consistency is not fit for purpose in this crazy new world order.
I’ll tell you what is though. Alignment.
The more brands we work with – from creation to campaigns with global masterbrands, the more I am convinced that brands that stand the test of time are brave enough to BUILD IN freedom to experiment, interpet and innovate into the brand expression. It’s how ideas stay fresh, how the visual identity stays relevant and the brand keeps track of culture and continues to make impact.
Living brands are where it’s at – and what does it take to live? Adaptation and evolution. Every organism on earth has had to learn how to do it. And so if culture and technology are moving at speed, how can we ignore how our brands will realistically respond. And no, that doesn’t mean you should rebrand every 3 years. No one wants that, not even us.
Any modern brand has a myriad of spaces, places and platforms to traverse; messages to send, audiences to connect with. Agencies are no longer the gate keepers of the visual identity with Canva democratising creative outputs. And so – we must consider how the brand and identity will realistically be used and plan accordingly.
