From one-woman businesses to big businesses, every organization should have a brand kit. They define your brand identity and are essential for keeping your marketing efforts consistent, recognizable and appealing to your target audience.
Okay, but why do I need one?
Your brand identity is the images, colors, voice and overall aesthetic qualities that represent your company or organization. A kit defines that identity so that it stays consistent over time, across platforms and channels, and no matter who is creating your assets and marketing materials.
Consistency matters. When everything your organization does and publishes feels like it belongs together, you look professional and trustworthy. Customers or clients remember you more easily, which makes them more likely to work with you or buy your product.
A standardized kit also:
- Provides a central location to keep track of information about your brand identity.
- Helps your internal team and marketing/PR partners to quickly and easily create new content.
- Provides guidelines for organizations partnering with your brand—for example, a marketing team making a promo image for an event where you’ll be speaking, or an influencer announcing a collaboration with your business.
Do entrepreneurs need one for marketing or PR?
Yes! Think of it as your primary branding reference—something you and your team return to repeatedly as a resource to inform marketing materials, press releases, swag designs and more. It can serve as the basis for your press kit, too.
Of course, you can do marketing or PR without a formalized document, but beware: inconsistent, off-brand content undermines your credibility. Plus, you or your team will waste time repeatedly digging up and sending the same instructions about logos and typefaces.
What goes into one?
At minimum, your kit should include:
- Logo
- Color palette
- Typography
- Style and voice guides
- Personas
If you’re making your own kit and want more information about what to include, and how to make decisions about fonts, imagery, messaging and more, check out this DIY Brand Kit package from our sister company, Carlton PR & Marketing. It includes an in-depth branding guide with easy-to-follow instructions for how to create your own and a blank brand template for you to fill in.
But should you DIY or hire a professional?
It depends on your needs and skillset.
As an example, Carlton offers both options:
| DIY brand kit | Full-service brand kit |
| $50 | $500 (add logo creation for $1,500) |
| Requires basic graphic design skills and ability to use Canva | No design expertise required |
| Create your own brand kit using a branding essentials checklist and brand kit template | Fill out a form with your current brand information and inspirations; experienced professionals create a brand kit for you |
| Basic brand kit | Premium brand kit |
| No add-ons | Social media header, social post, and business card templates using your new branding |
| Revise your own kit as you see fit | Two rounds of revisions based on your feedback |
If you’re confident about your design skills and just need a bit of guidance, you’re well-equipped to DIY your brand kit. If a “hex code” sounds like something from a witch’s spellbook, handing it off to professionals will save you a lot of frustration and get you a more polished result.
This article was originally published by our sister site, Carlton PR & Marketing.
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