Featured Blogger Today: Gretchen Bruno, 341 Principal, Managing Partner

Collect all five! Keep the following elements consistent throughout your marketing materials to create a strong, cohesive company brand:

Logo – your logo is the most versatile element of your company’s profile and should always appear on all the marketing materials. Consistency is key—it is essential that your logo appear on every brochure, business card, mailer, webpage, e-mail blast, or any other marketing materials used to communicate with your target audience.

Tagline – the tagline should be concise, yet meaningful, and summarize your company’s position. It underscores the tone communicated to the target audience. Exclusive or general? Friendly or formal? Use the same “voice” on all your marketing materials.

Fonts – as with colors and graphics, fonts should be chosen precisely to convey your company’s position to the target audience and consistently translate onto various marketing materials. Sans-serif is ideal for headlines and small text, while serif should be reserved for descriptive paragraphs.

Color – color is an essential element to brand identity as it plays a large role in memory retrieval. Colors help consumers recognize your company faster and at a distance. Think fence signs and mailers!

Graphics – graphics are a great way to associate a symbol with your company. They should be strong and distinctive, and support the chosen colors in conveying your company’s message. An edgy hair salon might use dark, angular shapes for bullets or black and white photographs, while a wellness center would use softer, more organic shapes and colors.