Brand consistency audit: where the brand looks and sounds different, and where to start tidying up

A company rarely sees its own brand as a whole. The website, proposals, profiles, trade show stand, salespeople's emails, distributors' materials: each element was created at a different time and by a different contractor. A brand consistency audit gathers all of it in one place and shows where the brand stops being one brand.

What does a consistency audit check?

The customer does not know that a different agency made the catalogue than the website. They only know that something does not add up.

The audit looks at the brand through the eyes of a customer who meets it in different places, and checks whether they see and hear the same thing every time. It covers:

• the logo and its use: versions, proportions, clear space, the backgrounds it appears on,
• colours and typography: whether they are the same on the website, in print, in presentations and in social media,
• photos and graphics: style, quality, consistency with the brand,
• sound: message, tone, product names, ways of addressing the customer,
• partners' materials: branches, distributors, agencies, and what they do with the brand.

How do we run the audit?

1. We gather the materials. From the website, the printer, drives, profiles, salespeople and partners. Not the model ones, but the ones the company actually uses.
2. We lay them side by side. Everything on one board, by channel and market. Inconsistencies are then visible without explanation.
3. We assess and organise. We describe every inconsistency: where it is, what it consists of, how much it bothers the customer and what fixing it costs.
4. We propose an order. A list of changes starting with those that deliver the most at the lowest cost. With a recommendation of what to do in-house and where we can help.

What do you get?

• a review of all brand materials on one board,
• a description of inconsistencies with an assessment of impact and cost of fixing,
• a list of changes ordered by impact,
• a recommendation on whether tidying up is enough or a brand refresh is needed.

When is it worth doing an audit?

• when the company feels the brand has "drifted apart" but does not know where to start,
• before a brand refresh, a new website or entering a new market,
• when several agencies and partners work with the company,
• after a merger or acquisition, when two brands meet.

Frequently asked questions