how to do a brand audit: back to school edition
There is nothing quite like the back to school vibes. It’s the time for new beginnings, fresh school supplies, and a re-assessment of your goals. Embrace this fresh start for your brand by conducting a brand audit!
I’d like you to imagine your brand as a trusty backpack, full of the supplies you need to fully show up and connect with the people who are ready to show up for you.
Perhaps this bag is filled with all of last year's assignments, old papers, and well-loved school supplies. If we want to start the year on a blank slate, it's time to clean it out, start fresh, and maybe even upgrade the bag itself.
This is the time of year to take a look at your brand and assess what's working for you and what's feeling outdated. Like the backpack in need of a clean out, we can parse out each aspect of our brand and see what feels aligned, and what needs an upgrade. So join me as we go over 8 essential elements of your brand, represented as common items found in a backpack.
Books: Your Values and knowledge
Any good brand is based upon a foundation of self-inquiry, and serves as a reflection of its founder. What is the purpose of your brand? Who are you serving? What colors, fonts, and typography speak to you? What will speak to your audience? The books in your bag represent the knowledge and values you bring to your brand. It’s your personal story, your brand narrative. You don’t come to your brand as a blank slate. What do you inject it with to make it a complete reflection of your mission and purpose?
Audit It:
Can you clearly articulate your brand story, mission, and purpose in a few sentences?
Does your story connect emotionally with your audience?
Do each of the areas of your brand feel alignment with your values?
Camera: visual identity
Your visual identity is your brand’s entire ethos distilled into a logo suite, fonts, colors, and other visual elements that speak to your audience. The camera captures your look and feel, reflecting it back to the viewer. You need to ensure that the design of your brand speaks to your target market and fully captures your mission and purpose. Your visual identity is how people can recognize you instantly. Does it match with your vision of yourself?
Audit It:
Are your visuals consistent across all platforms, or are they mismatched?
Does your current logo suite, fonts, colors, and visual direction align with your values and personality?
If someone saw brand collateral of yours (an ad, annual report, merch, social post) without your brand’s name on it, would they know it was yours?
laptop: digital Presence
The laptop represents all things online: your website, email marketing, and social media accounts. Think about how you’d like your target market to connect with you, and what methods they typically like to use. Do you have a presence wherever they’re hanging out? Make sure your website is up to date, accessible, and easy for users to navigate. The goal is for people to be able to connect with you online as easily as possible.
Audit It:
Does your website have clear copy and calls to action?
Is it easy to navigate and is it mobile friendly?
Are your social media accounts up to date and visually organized?
Highlighters: differentiation
What makes you stand out from the rest of your peers? Like the highlighters in your bag, you need to have a unique quality that sets you apart. Maybe it’s a specific value proposition, a certain type of brand voice, or a funky visual identity.
Audit it:
Can you name your top three qualities that differentiate you from others in your industry?
Do those unique qualities translate into your visuals and copy?
Can your customers/supporters easily echo back what makes you different?
Notebook: Strategy and ideas
As I mentioned earlier, your brand must be built upon a solid foundation of research and strategy. This means getting to the heart of your brand to find out your mission and values, as well as examining your target audience and determining what they want. Even once you get the basics down, you’ll need to consistently innovate and ideate to keep growing. Your notebook represents the brainstorming and dreaming involved in this exciting process!
Audit it:
Do your current offers, services, and products feel fresh? Are they resonating with your audience?
Do you have a process and place for capturing and organizing your new ideas? I love using Notion!
Are you giving yourself space to work on your business or organization, not just in your business or organization? Make sure you’re setting aside time to be creative and explore new ideas.
microphone: brand voice
It’s time to grab the mic! Your brand voice your unique way of communicating with your audience. It’s the type of language and tone you use across your website, written materials, social media, and other marketing. Your brand voice can be playful or professional or anything in between. The goal is to speak in a way that reflects your brand and gets right to the heart of your target market.
Audit It:
Do your words feel authentic and unique to you, not generic?
Does your brand voice sound the same across all of the previously mentioned platforms?
Are you speaking to your audience’s needs and values, not just your own?
water bottle: nourishment
This is a more sneaky branding essential. Every long day of school requires a trusty water bottle to replenish your energy. In order for your brand to truly thrive, you need to be consistently nourishing your business/organization. And yourself!
Audit It:
Do you have routines and systems in place to keep operations flowing smoothly? (templates, automation, backup support from team members?)
Have you crafted your brand in a way so that it doesn’t rely on you to keep running, i.e you can step away for breaks?
Do you still feel passionate about your mission, cause, and overall brand? Are there things you’d need to change to re-ignite that spark?
Cd player and headphones: audience connection
The interplay between you and your audience is what fuel’s your brand’s growth and your ability to make an impact on people and the planet. You need to make sure you’re tuning into your target market’s needs and wants, as if you were attentively listening to your favorite album.
Audit It:
Do you regularly gather feedback from your community?
Does your audience feel heard, not just marketed at?
Do you keep an eye on the issues, pain points, and wins of your people? This will inform how you speak to them, but will also help you show up as a supportive person they can rely on!
What’s in your brand backpack?
Try working through some of the questions above to see what’s working and what might need a change. The great thing about school supplies is that they can be refurbished or replaced with something that suits you better.
That old laptop, aka your website? Looks like you might need a new one... it could be time for a refresh of your site's design! The notebooks you've filled up with last year's assignments? Maybe it's time to find a new style of writing- let's update your copy in your marketing collateral!
Sometimes, you might even want to replace your backpack entirely. Maybe purple isn't your thing anymore, or the straps are worn down. Your brand might feel a bit tired or represents an older version of you. And that's okay! It's a sign that it's time for an overall brand makeover!
If you need any support with revamping your brand, from strategy to visuals, Branch & Bay Design Studio is here to help. Redesigning your visual identity can be a great way to bring your brand up to speed. And when you roll up to class on the first day, you are for sure going to be turning heads. Happy auditing!
Designing a gorgeous brand, one that is uniquely you, is a strategic decision that will elevate your sustainable mission to new heights. It’s important to remember that how you show up directly correlates with who you attract.
So let’s show up as our authentic, fullest selves so that we can communicate trust, find our ideal supporters, and keep them involved in our mission long-term. A powerful combo of aligned visuals and messaging can make you magnetic. Great branding helps your mission speak louder.
Knowing it’s time to rebrand is a sign that you’re leveling up and growing. Just like people, our organizations and businesses grow and change over time.
Ready to bring your new brand to life in a way that’s strategic, soulful, and sustainability-minded? Feel free to explore our branding services or reach out. I'd love to help you plant the seeds for a brand that grows with purpose!
Thanks for reading!
Sarah
