Brand strategies are now increasingly complex and sophisticated. A sophistication equal to the challenges of globalisation where brands are the standard-bearers. Indeed, the brand conveys the vision of the company and its top management team. It expresses the competitive difference which will lead to its success in the local markets where it must operate. But this strategic dimension often fails in its implementation.
A brand book which is not consistently applied. Brand messages which are not clear to non-English native speakers or are no longer adapted to business ambitions. A graphic chart which allows flexibility in application – but so much that the brand becomes a different one. Plenty of information on the logo and free space around it but nothing on the brand’s tone of voice. Brand instructions that are so detailed and complex that no-one (apart from the expert in Communications who produced them) can use them. Brand guidelines for print – but hardly anything for digital. A strict top-down implementation of the brand « rules » which does not authorise any local adaptation to local needs and messages.
