Brand Guide. Brand Playbook. Brand Manual. Brand Essence. There’s no shortage of names for this beloved tool of brand and marketing managers across industries and sectors. They essentially are all the same and serve the same purpose; traditionally a printed document, a collection of standards, suggestions and inspo for an organization to maintain brand consistency across various channels. However, when you add “online" to the mix, it transforms these guides into a dynamic, high-value resource, making you wonder how you ever managed without one before!

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The challenge

There have been many forms of the brand guide (we’ll use this simplest term), from basic one-pagers and concise brochures to beefy and beautiful printed manuals from yesteryear. In the last several decades, the combination of the internet and perhaps fiscal constraints shifted the brand guide from paper to PDF. This saves printing and shipping costs, but still leaves you with a major challenge. Whether in print or PDF format, the brand guide remains a static document that’s not very accessible. In today’s fast-pace economy, an adaptable and responsive brand is crucial for an organization’s success.

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The solution

With digital transformation in full swing it’s surprising how many organizations have yet to adopt the web for one of the more important tools in their marketing kit. As just hinted, the online brand guide is essentially a website. Depending on the depth of your brand standards, your site can be as simple as one scrolling page, or several as required. Additionally, the ability to implement password protection ensures that your brand assets remain secure and accessible only to authorized personnel.

Without further ado, here are the 5 ways your online brand guide can save you time and money.

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1. It reduces the need for repetitive explanations and clarifications about your brand guidelines. By having a centralized and easily accessible resource, employees and outside users spend less time searching for info and more time focused on creating. This efficiency not only boosts productivity but also minimizes the potential for errors in brand implementation, saving resources that would otherwise be spent on direction and revisions.
2. An online brand guide facilitates faster onboarding and training processes for new team members. Instead of relying on extensive training sessions or one-on-one coaching to familiarize new hires about your brand, they can independently access and learn from the online guide. Brand guides are not just practical tools for creative production, they are also opportunities to tell or remind people about your brand story, articulating high level concepts such as brand positioning, vision/mission, values, etc. This self-service approach accelerates the onboarding timeline and also ensures consistency in how your brand story is expressed across the organization.
3. Its digital nature eliminates costs associated with printing and distributing traditional brand manuals. Organizations no longer need to allocate budget for producing physical copies, updating printed materials, or shipping guides to multiple locations. This cost-saving measure is particularly beneficial for large or geographically dispersed teams, as well as for organizations looking to reduce their environmental footprint by minimizing paper usage.
4. Real-time updateability ensures you are always working with the latest version of an online brand guide. This reduces the risk of outdated information causing confusion or inconsistencies in branding efforts, thereby avoiding costly rework or misalignment in marketing campaigns, product launches, or customer communications. If you’ve worked with Clear Space on a web project before, you know that we use a highly secure and robust online builder called Webflow. Basic training on Webflow is usually included in our project scope, so updating and managing your own brand guide is totally in your control.
5. A centralized, easily accessible platform for all your brand materials transforms how organizations manage their brand assets. Online brand guides allow you to consolidate storage of logos, colour palettes, typography, templates, and other critical files in one secure location. This streamlined approach ensures that users always have instant access – 24/7, 365 – to the latest versions of brand assets, reducing inconsistencies and saving valuable time.

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As a brand or marketing manager, imagine a world where you never have to email logos or template files again or repeatedly explain your brand story to new team members. Picture the efficiency gains with seamless version control and the significant long-term savings from investing in an online brand guide. With these tasks streamlined and under control, you can shift your focus from managing your brand to marketing it effectively. That’s a lot off your plate!

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If you’re interested in hearing more about how Clear Space can help you convert your brand guide into a web version, or see examples of online brand guides we’ve created for others, email us at business@clearspace.ca, or fill out our contact form.

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