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We always talk about how your brand rules or brand guidelines are the identity of your business. That makes it a little scary to steer away from, but if you stick to it too rigidly, your brand can become stale. So today, we are going to break some rules. We bet you never thought we would say that!
But here’s the deal… ‘Tis the season.
Why it’s okay to break the rules sometimes
Yes, brand consistency is important. You don’t want to water down your brand or confuse your target audience about who you are as a company. But sticking too rigidly to brand rules can also stifle creativity and limit opportunities for engagement, especially during festive or seasonal periods.
Seasonal content can create excitement, connect with your audience on a more personal level, and even attract new customers who resonate with the seasonal themes. You should feel free to take advantage of holidays, trends, or fads!
It might feel a little uncomfortable at first, especially if you’re very established in your brand identity. If you’re a little scared that you’re moving too far away from your brand, take this brand test before posting anything!
A few guidelines for breaking brand rules
While we encourage you to explore creativity within your brand, there are still some brand rules you shouldn’t break. So, here are some guidelines to consider when you’re playing with your brand.
Never mess with your brand’s core values.
This is the foundation, the essence, of who you are as a company. Your values should never change. You can still have fun with your brand, but do it in a way that aligns with your core values.
It’s okay to tweak your brand voice.
Your brand voice and tone are how you speak to your audience. Even if you are usually more serious, being more playful and fun during the holidays is okay.
Know your platform.
The platform you choose to break the brand rules on is important. Social media is a pretty easy place to have more fun and break the rules versus others.
Listen to your audience.
If your audience isn’t liking it, pull back. Remember, the point of breaking brand rules is to connect with your audience further. If they aren’t vibing with what you’re putting out, change your strategy or go back to what was working before.
Brand Rules that can be broken
So what brand rules are okay to break (every once in a while)?
Color Palette
Exploring additional colors to your brand color palette to help reflect that season is okay. And maybe even a little bit encouraged. Adding a splash of orange and black to a graphic for Halloween isn’t going to break your brand. This can also apply to Christmas, Fourth of July, Easter, the Olympics, etc. (We’ve clearly done this a lot lol)
Playful Graphics Elements
Adding playful elements like icons or submarks to celebrate a season or highlight an event is often seen with brands. Don’t be afraid to lean into those fun graphical elements if they help tell a story and still resonate with your content/audience. We do this all the time when it comes to seasonal content. We have a ton of fun creating it because we’re breaking out of our “rules” a bit.
Trends
Another fun thing to do is watch for trends and create a fun twist. If you see a trend and love it but are worried it won’t fit within your brand (we’re talking visually here) don’t let that stop you from doing it.
When we saw the Little Miss trend a few years ago, we had a haaaard time trying to figure out how to make it “match” our brand. Even though it kind of stood out like a sore thumb on our grid, everyone loved it! Breaking the rules (and your grid) is worth it sometimes.
Social Media
This is such a fun space to break some brand rules. Think patterns, icons, illustrations, secondary brand colors—get a little crazy in this space. It’s meant to be a fun, visual space for your audience to engage with you on a more personal level. Showing up authentically and a little less perfect is okay for this space, so break those rules and have fun with it.
Now Let’s Brainstorm!
Whenever we’ve played with our brand, we have always loved the change-up! And so does our audience. So here are a few examples of things we’ve done on the blog and podcast to change things up!
Marketing Tricks and Treats
In episode #81, we did a Halloween-themed episode sharing some common marketing tricks in the industry and our new digital marketing treats (AKA tips) freebie.
Small Business Saturday + Black Owned Businesses
We have done a few posts on these topics. We highlighted our favorite small businesses to shop for Small Business Saturday and black-owned businesses in Minnesota. Even though it’s not something we talk about often, it aligns with our brand value of community.
Our Favorite Small Businesses to Shop For Small Business Saturday And Beyond
4 Black-Owned Small Businesses in Minnesota
5 Black Owned Businesses in the Twin Cities to Support This Holiday Season
More Black-Owned Businesses and Brands to Support
Beverages
Beverages are always a part of our brand so it isn’t unusual for us to throw in a recipe here or there. It’s always in our Tips and Sips newsletter and we have multiple different kinds of drinks in our hands in our brand photos.
Experiment with Breaking Brand Rules!
Now it’s your turn! Incorporate some fun elements into your brand as the holidays come up. Brainstorm some ideas at your next annual business planning meeting 😉 Don’t be afraid to experiment as long as it aligns with who you are as a brand.
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Abbey Oslin and Courtney Petersen are Minnesota-based marketing experts, educators, and co-founders of boutique marketing agency Duo Collective, which specializes in SEO, social media strategy, and branding for small business owners and creative entrepreneurs. To learn more about Duo Collective, or to inquire about working with our team, head over to www.duocollective.com.
To inquire about being a guest on Duo On Air, please fill out this application form.
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