Guidance for Marketing Coordinators
While your message is a central part of your brand, message alone cannot make a great brand. How many times have you encountered a product or service that didn’t live up to its messaging? Don’t let that disconnect be your brand.
From voice and visuals to vision and values, check these marketing communications to ensure they accurately reflect your brand.
Photography. Often overlooked, photography is one of the best ways to communicate your brand. If you are known as a premiere architectural firm who designs high-end commercial office spaces, you’ll be unlikely to include snapshots taken from your smartphone on your website or in your proposals. On the other hand, if you are known as a reasonably-priced, no-frills engineering firm, those same snapshots might communicate well to your audience.
Resumes. Do your resumes accurately reflect your vision and values? Both the photography of firm professionals and the length of resumes speak volumes. If you are a design firm, are your resumes designed in a manner that communicates skill? Are headshots professional and consistent?
Project Pages. Project pages should align with the firm’s branded look and feel. In addition, the content on those pages should represent the “experience” of working with the firm. Take time to learn how you can portray the challenges faced and the solutions provided by your project team. Emphasize how those solutions are part of the experience of hiring anyone within the firm.
Proposals. Do your proposals reflect your values? If you are a sustainably oriented company, it is likely you print only on recycled paper. Are you a firm that prides itself on being concise and to the point when working on a project? If so, your proposed approach and response to the selection criteria should showcase this attribute. A proposal is one of the first impressions made to a selection committee member; make sure to instill your branded message throughout.
Marketing coordinators, you may sometimes feel like the “Brand Police.” Wear that badge proudly! There are so many other areas where you can assist and enhance your firm’s branded message. Consider your website, job signs, company vehicles, corporate events, swag, conference sponsorships, etc. Reference your brand guidelines often and help others to understand the importance of consistency.
