The Importance of Brand Ownership
All eyes are on company branding. Consumers are basing their buying decisions on brand values and presentation, and job seekers are selecting their next work environment based on the purpose and vision of the company. But for brands to succeed, they need to be consistent across all touchpoints, which requires collaboration and shared brand ownership across creative teams.
Given the importance of shared brand ownership, we were curious: how co-creative is the brand development and management process for companies? To answer the question, we surveyed 750+ professionals from brand, marketing, design, UX, and devs teams. For a full analysis of what our professionals had to say, download our State of Brand Ownership Report. Below are a few highlights.
Who Currently Owns the Company Brand?
Branding should flow throughout an entire organization and its community. As a result, sharing responsibility and communicating clearly is important. Unfortunately, it isn’t often the case that brand ownership is shared equally throughout a company. Our report confirms this. 69% of respondents say they desire more ownership in the development and management of their brand, while 67% are making up for lack of ownership by creating their own sets of guidelines. When teams are siloed away from the company guidelines, internal collaboration declines and brand integrity weakens.
A Universal Need for Co-Ownership
In addition to a desire for more ownership, our survey uncovered a universal need for co-ownership. For instance, 85% of respondents say their companies would benefit from having all of their separate brand / creation guidelines in one centralized place. Furthermore, 85% say their company’s customer experience would be better if brand creation teams (Brand, Marketing, Design, UX, and Devs) were better connected. That’s why a co-creative approach to branding is vital. Otherwise, if you restrict brand ownership to a select few, it can force employees to build their own rules and guidelines, which can lead to confusion, misalignment, and inconsistencies.
Top Branding Trends
While branding trends are often flashy and bold, many opportunities available to businesses right now are more evergreen than trendy. In fact, some of the best branding investments revolve around democratizing brand management and development. According to our survey, respondents believe companies can become more brand-driven by investing in the following three areas:
- Centrally communicated brand information
- Brand training for employees
- More accessible brand material
In other words, the biggest improvements can be made internally – by making the brand more accessible to employees and making processes for brand management more transparent.
Looking Ahead
The future is bright for organizations that invest in their brand. But that investment doesn’t have to be massive to yield a positive ROI. By giving brand ownership to more stakeholders, creating shared guidelines, and involving different teams in the strategy and development process, you can future-proof your brand and set it up for long-term growth. To read the full analysis from our in-depth report, including how to build bridges between teams, download the State of Brand Ownership Report.