A typical buyer will need to be exposed to at least 17 impressions of a company before considering doing business with it. At least that’s the statistic used by Jay Levinson of Guerilla Marketing fame.

So doesn’t it stand to reason that those impressions had better be associated with the company in a consistent manner?  With all the impressions from so many sources, people can get overwhelmed, or more likely, people will ignore messages as best they can.

So to make those 17 required impressions impactful they must be consistent as well as attention-getting and relevant.

Without consistency in every brand element – name, brand story, tagline, logo, type fonts, art treatment, voice, palette, icons, music and sounds – your advertising and promotional efforts aren’t being as productive as they might. And with limited budgets, a company might never accumulate the required impressions before purchase.

To get the most from a promotional effort, the message, the “look”, the tone, the terminology, and the offer should be consistent. As ad media like to voice it, repetition rules.

In branding, consistency can, and probably should, come from a brand standards guide so everyone, including the maverick running the Omaha branch, will be able to execute the brand consistently.

The manual should address intent of the brand as well as instructions on using the brand elements – name, logo, tagline, color palette, type styles, sizes, textures, terminology and any other attributes considered central to the brand.

This “Brand Bible” is vital to consistency and to the brand, even in a four-person business.

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