Shadow Design, in much the same way, refers to “design created outside of the influence of brand owners.” Where the result is “inconsistent and sometimes low-quality design.” Controlling the use and proliferation of your brand, even with employees, is extremely difficult. Especially when employees are expected to get things done at a speed faster than ever and with limited resources. Internal team members are now project managers, expected to achieve more and more every day with a team of disparate workers. In fact, research conducted by the Content Marketing Institute found that 91% of B2B marketers use content marketing as part of their digital strategy. More channels, more content, and increased expectations mean there is simply more brand to protect – and much more integrity and value to customers are at risk. Design is growing in importance The appetite for content creation has a flow-on effect on the importance and need for design at scale – an agenda that results in greater chance of brand guidelines being broken and brand integrity compromised. In summary, quality of design results in consistency of brand and better business performance. In combination, these forces put your brand integrity at risk and expose your business to rogue brand representations from employees. An effective brand guardian combines technology with people power to create design consistency and access across the entire organization. Is your brand integrity at risk or have you enlisted a guardian to keep things in check?
Let me play Devil’s advocate for a moment…
I bet it’s not enough.
An inconsistent representation of your brand creates confusion and can even reduce your ability to expand your business. Research by Interbrand shows a strong correlation between the consistency of branding and the revenue a company earns.
It’s no surprise then that almost 80% of B2B marketing leaders determine branding to be a critical contributor to growth.
Why are modern brands more at risk than ever?
Here’s the thing – your brand doesn’t exist in a silo within your organization. It’s fluid and uncontrollable. Once you let your brand out of the bag, it now belongs to your customers and anyone else who is exposed to it.
In a world with short attention spans, remote working, high service expectations, and digital platforms designed to proliferate the message of average Joe and Joanne, it’s harder and more important than ever to protect the integrity of your brand.
There are 4 key drivers putting your brand integrity at risk:
1. Your employees are going rogue
In a social media world where irreparable brand damage is the snap of a photo or the click of a button away, brand guidelines and employee training are essential to maintaining your reputation.
But, unfortunately, some employees still go rogue…
The team at SketchDeck coined the phrase “Shadow Design” an adaptation of “Shadow IT,” which refers to the use of services and software outside the control and governance of the organization. Shadow Design, in much the same way, refers to “design created outside of the influence of brand owners.” Where the result is “inconsistent and sometimes low-quality design.”
Controlling the use and proliferation of your brand, even with employees, is extremely difficult. Especially when employees are expected to get things done at a speed faster than ever and with limited resources.
2. Everyone is expected to work faster
The workplace is accelerating by the day. This is especially true in a fast-moving space such as digital marketing where trends and tactics are becoming obsolete overnight with the shift of an algorithm.
This environment puts added pressure on teams to work at speed – most of the time with fewer resources and less support. Remote teams, timezone clashes, and over the top output expectations are the norm. Internal team members are now project managers, expected to achieve more and more every day with a team of disparate workers.
Given the state of growing expectations for…
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