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Many factors contribute to the strength and success of a brand. While a strong brand is built only in part by excellent creative, poorly designed collateral can certainly undermine the other work that has gone into building the brand. It’s important to know how your marketing company approaches designing your brand’s marketing materials because of the materials’ potential to affect success.

Catalyst’s Approach to Branding

Strong creative always stays on-brand and changes only enough to support the offers that are driving current marketing initiatives. While good branding requires a more in-depth knowledge of design principles, on the surface, the three main components for staying on-brand are:

  • Colors
  • Fonts
  • Photography/Art Elements

Catalyst works with each of our clients to create a recognizable and established brand with a consistent look and feel each time new work is released into the marketplace. We reference existing branded pieces and use fonts and colors that are on-brand. We also select imagery that portrays the offer and use supporting imagery that portrays the property in ways that appeal to college students and their parents. To accomplish this, we use carefully selected stock photography and avoid images that may dilute the perceived quality of the brand.

Brand Recognition

Brand recognition takes time to develop. It comes from consistency over time in the use of color, fonts, and imagery in various marketing pieces. Gaining brand recognition requires patience and discipline in adhering to brand guidelines.

Brand recognition builds trust in the marketplace, creating a sense of stability within the community of existing and potential residents.

In the end, brand recognition results in faster, more predictable lease-up timelines.

Tools for Staying on-Brand

We understand that sometimes clients prefer to develop their own creative. To help each client stay on-brand, Catalyst distributes brand sheets that serve as guides for property staff when developing creative pieces. We deliver these free of charge, as a thank-you for working with us!

We recommend printing and displaying these brand guides in the office of each staff member who develops creative to help the employees stay on-brand when creating new pieces. The message will be stronger and you will avoid inadvertently undermining the work done to create brand recognition in the market. 

University Crossing Branding Guide

Potential Effects of Off-brand Creative

If brand guidelines are not followed, the brand can be exposed to several risks and could lose money. For property brands, marketing that is off-brand can cheapen the overall image of the property and attract prospects who want cheaper leases. Off-brand creative leads to distrust and confusion in the marketplace, making lease-up more difficult. Even retention rates can be affected when current residents are embarrassed and feel that their social status among friends may not be respected as a result of where they live.

Think of some of your favorite brands and how they continually use the same colors, fonts, imagery, etc., to create brand consistency. If their brand identity suddenly changed, would you be as inclined to purchase from the company? Would you be confused as to why the brand doesn’t look the same anymore? Consider these items when promoting your own brand to make sure you are staying consistent.

 

If you are a Catalyst client, be on the lookout for brand sheets coming your way soon!