Did you know that 77% of companies deal with off-brand content? That is a high number! Especially when we are told repeatedly what it takes to accomplish brand consistency. What are we doing wrong? And in what end of the scale are you? In the successful 23% or is there room for improvement?
One of the challenges of staying consistent is upholding the speed of brand deliveries, both through the channels and platforms that marketers are in control of, but also by supporting colleagues with their brand needs.
Don’t drown in brand assets
For marketers, document creation is part of the daily work. Supporting colleagues with branded marketing collateral and brand assets for a variety of reasons is a big part of this. If you’re lucky, you’re also supporting different languages, and you have your work cut out for you. Not to mention all the different formats and filetypes you must deal with. By 2025, the world will have to store 200 zettabytes of data. Rest assured, you and the company you work for will be part of these statistics.
You can’t ignore this, because it means that as a marketer you will shortly drown in document creation tasks if you don’t find a way to work smarter and more efficiently. We’re here to help you sort out your options. Let’s look at how automating document creation can help you out.
Automation = standardization and efficiency
Document automation is the process of transforming documents into intelligent templates. For marketers this translates to utilizing branded templates to ensure on brand collateral 365 days a year. This is about standardizing your brand to stay agile and efficient without falling into any off-brand traps.
When automated document creation is in place you’re establishing routines not only for your marketing team, but the entire organization. Where you previously were struggling to deliver branded collateral on demand and your colleagues got frustrated with you, you’re now leaving that responsibility in the hands of those in need. And there is no risk you’ll hurt your brand’s identity. If you need to see this in real life have a look at Holiday Pirates and how they applied design templates into their marketing processes.
Also read: How to ensure brand consistency with digital design templates
Transform your graphics to templates and automate document creation
There is no functionality in Adobe InDesign or Illustrator that allows designers to create templates for anyone. Yes, there is a template function, but to use these templates, design and software know-how and skills is required. You need something smarter. After all, if you’re going to let anyone be a designer, you need to make sure your brand is untouchable.
Converting your graphics is easier than it seems, but it requires you to invest in template technology. A tool that will revolutionize your brand management.
This is how automated documents works:
- Design your brand. Before template creation, you need to establish your brand’s identity. Whether you have in-house resources or a creative agency to lean on, the design process needs to be done. Once you’ve nailed it and you are happy with the look, move on.
- Convert your designs to templates. With the help of template technology, create online brand templates. Hopefully, at this point you have chosen a tool that is able to deliver exactly what you need.
- Determine what can and can’t be changed. The purpose of templates from a marketing perspective is to secure your brand’s output, but you also need to make sure that your templates serve its purpose for the users. E.g., If users need to apply their local office details or it is crucial that they can add a local image to the material, then you must make sure that the template allows this. Find the balance without compromising your brand.
- Make your templates available. Nothing can be put into good use if it’s not accessible. Everyone needs to know that your templates exist, and everyone needs to have access.
- Develop your brand. This is where you repeat the above steps. Your brand needs continuous nurturing. When the market changes, follow the trends, and update your brand when necessary. And this is the beauty with online brand templates. Updating your brand is easy. When new templates are available, your brand is updated instantly.
Also read: Energize your brand building with branding templates
When branded templates are in place, you have automated your document creation. Your users only need to log in, choose the desired template and start creating. With the right technology, they’ll be guided through every step, no skills required. It’s intuitive, online and simple.
Stay brand consistent
Brand control is a difficult task. Regardless of how many times you share and address the importance of following brand guidelines, there is always someone who does the opposite. The requests for delivering branded material and brand assets are also putting a strain on your brand output as you are not working fast enough and there is only a handful of people who can create such assets.
As brand consistency is an essential piece for growing your business, you can’t take this lightly. At the same time, we completely understand the difficulty of getting there. However, by automating your design processes, you decentralize the responsibility of who creates collateral and assets without risking your brand’s identity. It’s pure magic.
Also read: Why marketers need digital brand templates