As marketing communications professionals, we've often been accused by colleagues as being anal and OCD --


-- always so obsessed with proper standards, spelling, formatting, etc. In larger organizations, those communications standards manuals we create for employees may sit and collect dust. It's just another chore for staff to think about, isn't it?
But, consistency is such an important part of branding. It sets the tone for the look and feel of a brand. It builds credibility and professionalism. Yet I'm always surprised by how many national organizations overlook it and allow their remote office locations to do their own thing, or the remote locations do their own thing because the national office didn't respond to a request in a timely fashion.
I've seen regional and local communications pieces that look very amateurish compared with the collateral produced by their national offices. And I've heard stories from employees of major corporations that their head office marketing departments just can't keep up with staff requests from across the country, so they produce their own material.
From low-budget to high-end, it seems that many companies and organizations are experiencing challenges in this area. What does your organization or company do to ensure brand consistency? What are you doing right, and what do you think they should be doing to improve? Let's talk!