Good brand owners set their watches an hour ahead. Time gets zapped working out ways to rise above the noise, respond to audience demand and navigate trends.
Consistency is probably on your mind, but it can get lost in the chaos of brand management. When brand standards slip, the immediate thought is often ‘we need a rebrand’.
Hold that thought.
If there hasn’t been a business shift or you’re not trying to alter perceptions, the best place to start is to build brand consistency across all touchpoints — from URL to IRL.
In this guide we want to make the case for spending some of that extra hour on making sure your brand identity is indisputably ‘you’.
Marq calculated that branding consistently can drive a 10-20% increase in revenue. Sounds dull, but it’s worth it.
Brand consistency means presenting your brand in a way that’s undeniably ‘you’ — at every touchpoint, on every surface. A unified brand experience — digital and physical. These are the visual and verbal tools that help people recognise and remember your brand.
Meeting expectations head-on.
Humans like familiarity. It doesn’t take much to throw us.
If you walked into one of your favourite shops to pick up a ‘click and collect’ order and the shop branding was entirely different — you’d probably walk back out again scratching your head.
Consistent branding helps people recognise, trust and remember your brand. Over time, this repetition helps your audiences associate certain visual cues and messaging with your company. You build credibility. Your marketing lands better.
Customers know what a consistent experience looks like. A fragmented CX can send them your competitors’ way.
How are you doing?
Do you use the same visual elements on every format? Does your voice come through each channel? Is your messaging consistent, regardless of the platform?
Your online brand should match its offline counterpart. Websites, social media profiles, ads, newsletters, etc., must work alongside your physical touchpoints like print, posters, packaging, launch materials, signage, experiential and exhibition materials.
From URL to IRL. Literally.
How to build the trust factor.
Gen-AI has caused a head rush of possibilities. The ease and low cost of deploying the technology means that just over half (51%) of the 1,000 marketers surveyed by Salesforce are already using or experimenting with it.
But do people actually want it? Accenture Life Trends 2025 found that it’s having a counter-effect. The signal was always there, but it’s definitely getting stronger.
Gen-AI is a ground-breaking tool for both bad actors and well-intended brands.
The shape and role it’ll play isn’t clear. Right now, it’s raising concern and seeding confusion. Accenture also found that ‘hesitation is becoming a reflex as people
can no longer automatically trust product images, reviews, marketing campaigns and content they’re served online’. Let that sink in for a moment.
People are questioning what they see and what they believe.
The number of people heading to shops and physical locations is on the rise. This isn’t an ‘either, or’ choice that people are making. It’s about finding the right balance. But the numbers are noteworthy.
Almost half of shoppers (42.4%) are buying in physical retail more than they did a year before. 41.9% said their most enjoyable experience in the previous week was a physical one, while only 15.3% said it was digital.
Trust has to be a priority, and there are a whole raft of measures you can take to win back weary customers. This could include symbols of trust to authenticate content. Learn more here. Brand consistency is also a powerful way to signal that you are an authentic, trusted brand — online and offline.
Consistency starts with insight
- Start with an audit — the fastest way to uncover a clear, unbiased view of brand, product and service consistency is to bring in external help. Learn more here.
- Fine-turn your visuals — is your visual identity (your logo, design system, icons, photography, colour palette, textures, typography, animation, etc.) consistent and effective?
- Control your voice — think about your voice and tone. Are you consistent everywhere, from your web content to your videos to your recruitment ads to sales materials and everything in between? Mailchimp is a good example of a brand that’s nailed its voice (which doesn’t change much) and tone (which is tailored to the emotional state of the recipient.
- Tighten your messaging — does your messaging still communicate why you exist, what you stand for and what you offer? Have your mission, purpose or values changed?
Example: Stripe
A brand designed to ‘Get People Talking’.
When working with Stripe to realign their brand identity, purpose and materials, we knew the answer would revolve around authenticity. From every interaction, the Stripe brand looks to build trust and drive human engagement. The brand isn’t about clicks or vanity metrics — it’s about interaction. If you’re on their website or in their offices, the aura is undeniably Stripe. When speaking with colleagues, suppliers or clients, their messaging and values shine through.
Here’s how the brand evolved
- We audited the industry — the media and PR landscape moves quickly. We spent the best part of a year learning about the sector and what makes it tick. We identified areas that needed sharpening and put a plan in place to make sure no touchpoint was left untouched.
- An identity that embodies ‘conversation’ — we built a visual language that centres around a two-way conversation. Text travels in both directions to show a balanced exchange. This runs through everything Stripe says and does.
- Talking with authority — in an industry built on dialogue, it’s easy to say too much. The new brand is quietly confident and chooses its words carefully. What they say matters. And when they speak, people listen.
- Communicating values — their guiding purpose of ‘We Get People Talking’ is articulated through all materials, regardless of format or platform.
