Brand Centers are the Interactive Core of
How Modern Brands Operate
Whether you call it a Brand Center, Brand Portal, Brand Hub, or something else, the
names describe essentially the same thing:
A central location for the authoritative guidelines, logos, images, templates,
examples, and other resources to support employees and partners who share
and implement your brand.
Many companies use cloud technology platforms like Solve’s as the foundation of
their Brand Center. Intranet solutions often don’t allow external vendors and agencies
to access internal resources. That means the most important players on your brand
team may not get the most important materials.
A good secure Brand Center platform allows seamless SSO employee access
alongside external user accounts. Everyone can have uniquely configurable
permissions to different materials, based on their roles.
Today’s best Brand Centers are more than just folders, libraries, or reference
shelves of materials and policies.
Some companies have a Digital Asset Management (DAM) platform they call a brand
portal, but they operate more like a digital file cabinet. They have the right assets
and resources, but they can lack education or explanation of how to correctly use
them. Offering easy access to assets without training opens the door to inconsistent
brand use at scale. (Some systems claim education or guidelines, but sometimes it
just means including a Guidelines PDF as one of the assets in the system.)
Beyond storage and delivery of rules, assets, and policies, a modern Brand Center
employs a cycle of listening, learning, and adapting. This approach better serves the
people who use the brand every day, and refines how a brand appears in various
markets and channels.
The most effective Brand Centers establish a community where brand awareness
among employees and partners is built around their feedback on the designs, and
on the brand system itself. Their input is managed through a continuous
engagement process.
Brands today can’t live and grow staying entirely within more traditional (and typically
rigid) standards and policies. Especially when those rules are locked in a PDF that’s hard to
update, and difficult to distribute to users who have a legacy version.
Guardrails are always needed for things like disclaimers, offers, and regulated content. Policies
for these materials should be clear, and any creative developed should be carefully audited
and monitored, as errors can be costly.
However, the pace and spirit of communication today, between consumers, brands,
partners, and the media, demands an ability to respond and adapt quickly. Even a monthly
cycle can be an eon in terms of how brands react to market events, trends, and opportunities.
A Brand Center Makes Consistency the Path of Least Resistance