30 What Is “On Brand”?

Brands are promises, and keeping promises is all about being consistent. In many cases, the promise of a brand stems from the values of an organization’s founders. The idea of keeping the brand promise needs to become institutionalized and socialized throughout the organization. But not only do the members of an organization need to understand the brand promise, essentially so do its customers.

People who have no problem identifying a person when he or she is acting out of character often struggle to describe what is in character for the same person. Likewise, identifying brand inconsistency usually comes more easily than recognizing brand consistency. That’s why corporate missteps create such public relations nightmares.

Successful brands build a personality with consistent behavior. Decisions about what is appropriate—that is to say, “in character” or “on brand”—for advertising, promotions, products, websites, selling environments, etc., all have the power to build up or erode brand identity.

Cass Art
Pentagram Angus Hyland

The Cass Art brand expression is diverse but easily identifiable.