What signs show that the brand is misaligned?

A misaligned brand is not the same as a brand that needs to change direction. In that case (which we saw in how to know if your brand needs repositioning), the message has stopped serving. Here, the message may be right, but it is said in different ways, and the customer does not realise it is all from the same company.

Eight signs

1. The tone changes from channel to channel. Formal on the website, playful on social media, dry in emails. Each seems to come from a different person.
2. The look varies. Slightly different colours, different typefaces, stretched logos or logos on wrong backgrounds.
3. The team describes the company in different ways. Each person says something else to whoever asks.
4. The promise does not match the experience. The website says "reply the same day", and the customer waits two.
5. The price does not match the image. A very polished image with very low prices, or the reverse, creates doubt.
6. Old materials are in circulation. Proposals, cards or profiles with information, colours or services that no longer exist.
7. Customers are surprised. "I thought you did something else" is a sentence that keeps coming up.
8. Each supplier does it their own way. Whoever makes the website, whoever does social media and whoever makes the printed materials do not coordinate.

The desk audit, in ten minutes

1. Gather ten recent materials: the website, two posts, a proposal, a card, an email signature, an invoice, a profile, a leaflet and a reply message.
2. Put them side by side, on screen or on a table.
3. Mark what varies: colour, typeface, logo size, tone, names of services, how the customer is addressed.
4. Ask an outsider: "does this look like the same company?".

Each difference marked is a rule waiting to be written. If you have already done the audit we talked about in what happens without brand guidelines, this is the quick version.

How to correct it, in order

1. The brand sentence. If the team describes the company in different ways, write one sentence for everyone to use.
2. The tone. Define four traits and examples. See how to define the tone of voice.
3. The look. Fix the colours, typefaces and logo versions, and share the files.
4. The promise and the experience. Either adjust what you say to what you can deliver, or adjust what you do to what you promise.
5. Old materials. Withdraw what is out of date and replace it with the current.
6. Suppliers. Give everyone the same sheet of rules.

What is not misalignment

Adapting the register to the channel is normal: a proposal is more careful than a post. The core, clarity and honesty stay. The problem is when the difference in register makes it look like another company. In Brand Strategy, alignment comes after the message is clear.

The question to someone who does not know the company

Show someone who has never heard of the company three materials in a row (for example, the website, a post and a proposal) without saying whose they are. Ask: "do you think these come from the same company?" and "what do you think it does?". If they say no, or describe different things, you have the proof of misalignment. Note what the person noticed: was it the colour? The tone? The logo? That note is the start of the list of rules to write. Repeat with another person to confirm it was not one isolated view.

In short

• Misalignment is not changing direction: it is saying the same thing in different ways.
• Eight signs: tone, look, team, promise, price, old materials, surprised customers and suppliers.
• A ten-minute desk audit shows what varies.
• Correct in order: sentence, tone, look, promise, old materials and suppliers.

Quick questions

Is changing the register by channel misalignment?

No. Adapting the register is normal. It is misalignment when the difference makes it look like another company.

How long does it take to align a brand?

Deciding the rules is quick. Replacing old materials takes longer, and is done in order of importance.

Do I need to hire someone for this?

Not always. Many companies solve the essentials with a desk audit and a sheet of rules. When the problem goes deeper, an outsider helps.