Is Your Brand Off-Brand?
Insights by Thom Murtagh
Let’s be honest, as marketing professionals and business owners, we’ve all found ourselves in a situation at least once that might feel oddly familiar, where you’re looking at the various touchpoints housing your branded content or a client’s content, and you suddenly realize something’s off or doesn’t add up. For me, the feeling is like listening to my voice on a recording and thinking, “Do I really sound like that?”
You’re not alone. After more than a decade working with hundreds of clients across a wide range of industries and markets, I’ve learned that even the most marketing-savvy organizations can inadvertently drift off-brand without knowing it. This “off-brand drifting” typically begins subtly, and more often than not, it impacts businesses growing faster than expected. This growth means bringing on new team members and leads to different departments creating their own materials to meet immediate needs, all while the product or service continues to iterate and the customer journey matures. All too often, as the company evolves, the branding and messaging fail to keep pace.
I’ve worked with numerous companies that've faced this exact situation and have seen this story play out time and again. Below, let’s take a look at how to spot if your brand has wandered off course and how to get back on track after off-brand drifting.
What We Mean By "Off-Brand" (And Why It Matters)
Think of your brand as your company's personality. When everything your company does, says, and creates aligns like it's coming from the same distinctive personality, you're in alignment. When it doesn't... well, that's when you're off-brand. When your marketing materials, website, social accounts, sales presentations, and customer service all feel like different companies, you're starting fresh with customers at every interaction. They never get that comfortable familiarity that builds trust and brand loyalty. This scenario is similar to meeting someone with a completely different personality every time you see them, which can be a bit unsettling, right?
Here's what might surprise you: nearly all companies (about 95%) have some sort of brand guidelines, but barely 10% actually stay consistent across all their customer touchpoints. That's a huge gap! And it costs real money.
That disconnect could be happening to your potential customers. Nearly three-quarters of B2B customers check out products online before making an offline purchase. That might not be too surprising, but these customers have become significantly more sophisticated in their channel usage, and now average 10 digital interactions in their buying journey, compared to just five in 2016. However, merely offering multiple channels isn't sufficient to meet customer expectations. More than half of B2B customers want a true omnichannel experience, one in which they can seamlessly transition between platforms and channels — and brand consistency is crucial to maintain a true omnichannel experience.
Taking a Good, Hard Look at Your Brand
Let's do something that might feel uncomfortable but is super revealing. Gather examples of your brand in the wild — we’re talking your website, social posts, packaging, sales materials, everything you can find — and then spread them out on a conference table. Step back and honestly ask: "If I removed the logo from all of these, would anyone know they came from the same company?"
I remember doing this exercise with a tech company CEO who convinced himself the company’s branding was rock-solid. When we laid out the marketing materials in front of him and pointed out the inconsistencies, he was stunned. "These look like they're from six different companies," he admitted (also the sign of a real leader). That moment of clarity was the turning point for the company’s rebrand.
Now, let's get more specific with your brand check-up:
First, peek at your foundation. Do you have brand guidelines that cover all the basics, including but not limited to the logo, colors, fonts, imagery style, voice, and messaging? Can everyone who creates content for your company easily access these guidelines? You'd be surprised how often we find guidelines buried in some forgotten shared drive or, worse, only existing in the head of the marketing director.
Next, see who's minding the brand store. Is someone clearly in charge of maintaining brand consistency? Do people know who to ask when they have brand questions? One client told me they discovered their social and product teams were using completely different style guides because nobody had designated a "keeper of the brand."
Then, check how your actual brand looks and sounds across channels. Do your social channels have a completely different vibe from your website? Do your emails convey the same tone as your sales presentations? These disconnects confuse customers and dilute your brand impact.
Signs You Might Be Due for a Brand Refresh
Sometimes during this process, you'll realize your brand needs more than just consistency – it needs an update. Here are some tell-tale signs we often see:
Your brand feels stuck in a different era. Design trends and language evolve, and sometimes brands don't keep pace. If your brand looks or sounds dated compared to competitors, it may be time for a refresh.
Your team can't consistently describe what makes you unique. If you ask five employees what your company stands for and get five different answers, your brand foundation needs work.
You've outgrown your original brand. Many companies begin with branding that fits their initial product or service, but as they expand, that branding often feels limiting. I worked with a company that started off selling specialty craft vodka but expanded into a canning facility and a national brand – its original locally distilled messaging no longer fully captured its identity.
Your business strategy has evolved, but your brand hasn't caught up. If you've moved upmarket, expanded internationally, or shifted your business model, then your brand needs to reflect these changes.
Building a Brand Foundation (Especially for Growing Companies)
If you lead a startup or a growing company, you might think, "We don't even have a formal brand to be off of!" That's totally fine, and you can leverage that to your company’s advantage. You get to build it right from the start.
Start with the basics: Why does your company exist beyond making money? What values guide your decisions? Who are you trying to reach, and what makes you meaningfully different? What personality traits would describe your company if it were a person at a dinner party?
Essentially: What story are you trying to tell with your business?
These fundamentals will guide everything else. One founder I worked with said defining these elements was like finally getting prescription glasses after years of blurry vision, and suddenly, all their marketing decisions became clearer and easier.
From there, create simple guidelines for your visual identity (logo, colors, fonts, image style) and your verbal identity (voice, key messages, terminology). These don't need to be a 100-page brand bible, just a comprehensive document that provides your team and subcontractors with the guidance they need.
Keeping Your Brand on Track (Without Becoming the Brand Police)
Nobody likes the "brand police" — the people who seem only to exist to say "no" to creative ideas. But you do need some guardrails to keep everyone and everything aligned. Here's how to do it without driving everyone crazy:
Make it easy to do the right thing. Create templates, build a digital asset library, and provide examples of on-brand work. When it's easier to stay on-brand than go off-brand, people will naturally follow guidelines.
Explain the "why" behind brand rules. When people understand that consistent branding actually makes their job easier (by building on existing brand recognition rather than starting from scratch), they're more likely to embrace guidelines.
Designate brand champions across departments. Having someone on each team who understands and advocates for brand consistency spreads responsibility and knowledge throughout your organization.
Celebrate great examples of on-brand work. Positive reinforcement works wonders – when someone nails your brand voice or visual style, share it company-wide as an example.
Measuring How You're Doing
You know the business saying: "What gets measured gets managed." The same applies to your brand consistency. Some practical ways to track your progress:
Conduct regular brand audits, ideally quarterly but at least twice annually, to gather recent materials and verify consistency. One retail client has a "brand wall" in their office where they post recent marketing materials, packaging, and communications to visually spot inconsistencies.
Survey customers about brand perceptions. Ask questions like: "What three words would you use to describe our company?" You're on the right track if they're using words aligned with your intended brand.
Track business metrics that brand consistency influences, like customer acquisition costs, campaign conversion rates, and customer retention. One B2B client found their sales cycle shortened by nearly 20% after a year of more consistent branding, as prospects entered sales conversations with more explicit expectations.
Ready to Bring Your Brand Back into Alignment?
Whether you're just starting to build your brand or realizing it’s drifted off course, Brayer Marketing is here to help you reconnect the dots. We’ve helped businesses across industries regain clarity, consistency, and confidence in how they show up across every touchpoint.
Let’s take a look at your brand together—and make sure every message, design, and experience is unmistakably yours.
Reach out today for a brand audit or consultation.
Your brand deserves to be as aligned and powerful as the business behind it.