The Importance of Visual Brand Stewardship for Brands

Now, more than ever before, brands and their visual identities are under siege. From trying to launch new and exciting product lines to staying on top of social media trends and navigating the proliferation of artificial intelligence (all while keeping a cohesive image across different countries, marketing teams, and sales channels), it can be easy for short-sighted design solutions to overpower the long-term, strategic thinking of a brand’s visual identity.

At Invok, it has become increasingly clear to us that, regardless of a brand’s industry, size, or level of maturity, there is a need for more than just an executional design firm that follows a brief with no questions asked. While we are extremely proud of the singular, unique projects that we have had the opportunity to be a part of over the past 30+ years, we also understand that for a truly fruitful relationship between agency and client, a level of brand stewardship must be implemented.

At our core, we are stewards of our client’s visual brand image, and we use that expertise to enhance the brand’s long-term equity. Whether it be some of the world’s most iconic brands, such as AB InBev, Campbell’s, Johnson & Johnson and Revlon, or some of our smaller, entrepreneurial clients like FourX Better Chocolate and The Lamb Company, helping shape these brand images and being the ongoing stewards of their visual identity is something that we believe is not only inspiring and exciting, but also vital.

What is Visual Brand Stewardship?

Put simply, visual brand stewardship is the studied supervision and implementation of a brand’s identity elements over time. This could be logo, placement, use of color, or key packaging elements, carefully considering the past, present and future of the brand. This long-term context is key because while a purchase decision is made in the present moment, it is a considered act of brand engagement filled with memories, present circumstances, and a vision of the future.

Increasingly, we are seeing that consumers are willing to spend more on brands with an appealing image – one that resonates with them on an emotive level. For brand stewardship to be successful, there are a few key considerations that should be followed:

• Recognizability – Contain a set of creative tools that have an iconic association with an image that consumers associate with the brand’s heritage.

• Relevancy – Is responsive to category evolution and competitive set.

• Current and Future State– Each form of media stakes out its unique vision of the brand’s present and future being.

Creating a toolkit isn’t enough, though. Implementing and adhering to these brand guidelines is where the real importance lies. We are often asked to help create and maintain digital asset libraries that contain key visual identity elements for a brand, including specific instructions that are attached to each asset and is available for internal and external team members. Not only do these media libraries help ensure the right assets are used, but they also provide an opportunity to streamline processes and time management for everyone involved.

Why Visual Brand Stewardship Matters

Brand value has historically been incredibly important to a client’s balance sheet, and as mentioned above, the studied evolution of visual assets plays a vital role in supporting and growing that equity.

To serve this growth, the visual brand stewardship relationship between agency and client must consider two critical elements:

• Brand Image - A cohesive look at the current visual elements that are combined in a prescribed way, normally have trademark and/or copyright protection and are representative of the brand today in various media.

• Brand Equity – The overall financial contributions, with very real balance sheet implications, that the brand has built and managed over time.

How Visual Brand Stewardship Comes to Life

It can be easy as a brand to focus on the next quarter results, latest piece of technology or category trend, but it is important to take a step back and consider what these latest endeavors mean in terms of your brand image and equity. Visual brand stewardship can help with that. While we understand that the agency/client relationship is often focused on specific projects and time-sensitive deliverables, we also believe that a new model focused on visual brand stewardship can improve these relationships and drive greater growth and sustained success.

Here's how we have helped some of our clients recently with visual brand stewardship:

Pernod Ricard – Seagram’s Gin & Vodka

Invok has worked with the iconic and global Seagram’s brand for over 20 years. We have been engaged twice in the comprehensive redesign of the brand’s retail package design. Our first project with them consisted of consumer research, a historical visual equity study, and the development of an extensive new package design strategy. Eight years later, with the Gin category witnessing a significant change in the competitive set, we were again asked to embark on an even more comprehensive look at the package design. This second effort focused on a complete reevaluation of all design elements including the bottle shape, surface texture, brand graphics, decoration techniques, and closure options. Our approach was to maintain key equities of the brand – textured bottle, colors, typography – while gently modernizing and improving the premium features of the existing packaging.

Fast forward to 2022. When helping Seagram’s Vodka launch in Vietnam, South Korea, and Indonesia, it was important to provide their team with a toolkit that would help the brand appeal to a new audience while staying true to its past. The end result was an extensive Global Brand Activation Toolkit that was broken into two critical elements. The first was the development of a creative strategy and design development of brand activations for both retail and on-premise usage, including graphics, interactive activities, POS display, and promotional materials. The second was the development of guidelines on everything from photography style to merchandising and brand activations. It brings meaning and clarity to stakeholders inside and outside of the organization, ensuring buy-in from employees and consumers.

RoC Skincare – Barrier Renew

Founded in 1957, RoC Skincare has established itself as a leader in the beauty industry with their clinically proven, efficacious skincare products. RoC’s latest launch of the Barrier Renew line expands its consumer reach to a slightly younger demographic without alienating its current audience or turning its back on the brand’s iconic equity elements. The goal was to be bold while remaining attainable.

The packaging designs we crafted for Barrier Renew embody an authentic brand that has nothing to hide. The fresh, clean, and simplistic use of white, in combination with vivid pops of color, allows the products to stand out on shelf and aids in the ease of information navigation. As a clinically proven, dermatologist-developed product line, the oversized Derm Developed type takes a prominent place on pack and is anchored by vibrant, vertical stripes, which also work to draw a consumer’s attention.

Folger’s Coffee – Canadian Adaptation

Folgers Coffee is a familiar face in the coffee aisle, a time-tested favorite with significant brand equity. Having recently undergone a brand refresh in the US market, Folgers asked us to support its package design adaptation in Canada.

For the project, it was important to harness the insights found in the consumer research along with our understanding of the brand’s marketplace equities and successfully tailor the new packaging to align with Canadian sensibilities. We are passionate about being staunch brand stewards and crafting the optimal package design solutions, and as such, we carefully leveraged Folgers’ new visual identity system to ensure a seamless, cohesive design transition into the Canadian market.

Interested in learning more about visual brand stewardship and how Invok can help your brand? Get in touch today!