5 ways a brand partner can help your business

The term client defines a person or business paying a professional for services, which is what designers do, sell services for money. What this term lacks is the mutually beneficial relationship and trust that working with a professional brings.

The term partner, however, depicts a mutually beneficial relationship designed to continuously improve, shape and grow a business together. This is how we approach a new working relationship. Instead of suppliers and clients, we are both partners. Striving for the same goal: to grow your business.

→ So what’s a brand partner?

Your brand is your business reputation and has to be managed, cultivated and cared for consistently. It’s because of these reasons that many businesses feel they need a ‘refresh’ and that their brand isn’t representing who they are.

Enter… the brand partner. Usually a small team of designers with a specialism in branding that becomes an extension of your team to guide decisions, design marketing materials and keep your brand consistent over time. Here are 5 ways a brand partner could help your business.

→ A fresh set of (expertly trained) eyes.

It might seem obvious but more often than not, businesses don’t realise where their branding is falling short. Branding is about the big picture. It takes consistency in messaging and visual execution across all marketing collateral to build a cohesive brand. Often, marketing teams will have all of the tools at their disposal (brand assets, guidelines, messaging etc.) yet design each touchpoint in isolation.

Branding only works when it’s consistent. Your actions, your voice and your visual identity need to influence each other, everywhere, all of the time.

Bringing in a fresh set of eyes can help to detect these inconsistencies and create a system to solve them. It can also be beneficial to simply get a second opinion from a trained brand designer who understands how brand touchpoints influence each other and the steps to take to improve them.

→ A designer, manager and strategist rolled into one.

A brand partner is more than just a graphic designer on retainer. Visual identity is a complex, multi-purpose system than needs to be kept under control and your company’s wider brand needs to resonate with customers across numerous platforms and disciplines.

Traditionally, a business would hire a graphic designer, a brand manager and a creative director (or a full-service design agency) to address these elements of marketing. The cost and complexity of this method far outweigh its benefits. Hiring a brand partner brings brand strategy, management and design direction into one, cohesive offering.

→ Multi-disciplined designers, a Slack message away.

Branding has transformed over the last few decades from a physical, print-focused discipline to an almost entirely digital one. A good designer understands the tendencies of both and can design based on purpose and situation. It’s also key that design isn’t outsourced to the most affordable designer around as this can muddy the consistency of your brand identity.

A brand partner has the ability to work on retainer, based on hours or days rather than quoting projects individually. This can dramatically improve workflow for your marketing team, knowing that they have a reliable and consistent design resource available without juggling budgets and external freelancers.

→ Access to trusted, creative industry freelancers.

It takes a village to raise a brand. Videographers, photographers, illustrators, developers, copywriters, PR specialists, typographers, interior designers, printers, the list goes on.

An established brand partner will have a network of trusted professionals to call upon for specialist requirements. Ideally, a brand partner will have worked with their recommended freelancers before and have an efficient and seamless working relationship.

→ Value-led branding. Mission-led design.

A brand without values is a brand without transparency. Design without a mission is design without purpose. Keeping your brand visually consistent starts with making sure you know why your business exists and how it helps your customers.

With a brand partner on board, you can ensure your branding has honest values and a shared, purposeful mission. This will empower your marketing strategy, guide design decisions and keep your touchpoints on-brand with the right message.

For more information about brand partners get in touch today.

Written by Tom Woollam
Creative Director & Founder