Taking brand books seriously

Most CEOs step into the role with a mandate to deliver change. This will inevitably involve taking a long, hard look internally and externally at what the brand is, what it isn’t, what works and what doesn’t. That scrutiny demands an unambiguous sense of what the brand stands for, what should be protected, and what needs to evolve. Without that clarity, change can easily become directionless.

 

A brand book can provide that clarity. At its simplest, a brand book is a carefully researched document that articulates the essence of a brand: what it stands for, why it matters, and where it is going next. It distils the past, present and future of a brand into a single, coherent story, informed by the people closest to it. Unlike a slide deck or a campaign narrative, it doesn’t shift with every decision; it becomes a tangible cornerstone to point at when uncertainty arises.

 

As brands grow, they accumulate more people, more partners and more interpretations. Without alignment, they drift. Brand books prevent that from happening. Approached in the right way, they become strategic tools helping organisations evolve without discarding their legacy. For example, when the International Olympic Committee begins a conversation with a potential new partner or sponsor, it gives them its brand book. The brand book gives those potential sponsors and partners a very clear idea of what they are aligning with, right from the outset.

 

Yet it’s rare they’re seen that way. Too often, one of a number of misconceptions gets in the way. It’s time for CEOs to understand these misconceptions and start viewing brand books as the vital strategic tools they can be.

 

 

Brand books are old-fashioned

Brand books are still mistakenly seen as symbols of conventional thinking at a time when organisations want to appear brave and unconventional. For years, the mantra that “print is dead” shaped behaviour, but that mantra is now dead itself. In the rush to be digital, we forgot that not everything has to be instant. A brand book demands longer-form reading and, therefore, delivers longer-term value. The reality is that a well-made brand book has weight - literally and metaphorically. It gives a CEO a point of focus and a way to communicate serious intent.

 

 

Brand books are just a marketing exercise

They’re often dismissed as something for the design team to worry about – colour palettes, logos and corporate identity guidelines. In fact, they are a strategic tool. They articulate the truthful version of the brand at a moment of change. The most effective brand books are those led by the C-suite. Commissioning at the highest level ensures buy-in and gives the creative team permission to speak to anyone and gather 360-degree viewpoints. This aligns everyone behind it rather than debating it afterwards.  

 

 

They’re style over substance

There is an idea that they’re just a nice-to-have or to look at, but brand books should be designed to be used. They need to fit into hand luggage, be read on a train or a plane, or leafed through before a meeting. Premium, yes. Ostentatious, no. A great example of how format can reinforce spirit is The Book of Birkenstock, created as a long, continuous timeline condensed into a practical, highly tactile object. It embodies the playful, democratic nature of the brand in a way designed to be held and looked at. 

 

 

They restrict creativity

A brand book isn’t a set of rules; it’s a benchmark that keeps decisions anchored and prevents political or subjective interpretation. The assumption is that they enforce rules, but the best ones take the 80/20 approach: 80% clarity and consistency, 20% experimentation around the edges. They encourage creativity rather than police it.

 

One of the best examples is First Direct’s Black & White: A Conversation, which used the form of dialogue to embody its tone of voice. Renault’s Renault = Présent is another. It was printed entirely on thin silver aluminium pages, physically communicating the engineering spirit of the brand.

 

 

It’s difficult to get right

Yes, it requires effort and leadership: creating a brand book is investigative work. You need a researcher and a writer working as a team. It calls for writers who can forage for information and then structure it into a narrative. Within every organisation, there are the brand storytellers, the people who remember the important moments, who understand the emotional pull of the brand and why it matters. Finding those people is vital. It’s often organic: one conversation points you to another, and before long, the real picture forms.

 

For example, when we worked on the Olympic brand book, one of the most valuable contributors turned out to be the Director of the Athletes’ Department, responsible for athlete liaison. He connected us to people and stories we would never have found otherwise. Those individuals are worth their weight in gold.

 

Bring in an agency to do the heavy lifting, but treat it as a creative collaboration. There’s a lot you know, and there’s a lot you don’t. The point of bringing in external expertise is to see the brand from the outside in, not through internal politics or territorial ownership. Be wary of people trying to ringfence ideas or guard parts of the story. This process is about the best version of the truth, not protecting individual agendas.

 

In periods of transition, ambiguity is expensive. A brand book removes it. It isn’t simply a record of what has been; it’s a tool to support what comes next.

 

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Paul Blackburn is the Founder of Studio Blackburn

 

Main image courtesy of iStockPhoto.com and narvo vexar