Guides2 minute read
What goes in a brand kit, and why your ads need one
A brand kit is the short list of things that make your business look and sound like itself. With one, every ad you put out is recognisably yours.
Your colours
Most brands lean on three: a main colour, a second one and an accent for buttons and highlights. Write down the exact codes, so your blue is the same blue everywhere.
Check them against each other too. Your text has to stay readable on your main colour, on a big screen and in a small ad.
Your logo
Keep a clean copy you can place on light and dark backgrounds. If your logo disappears on a photo, give it a plain plate to sit on.
Save it at a decent size with nothing behind it. You'll use it small in a corner far more often than large.
Your fonts
Note the font your headings use and the one your body text uses. Setting your ads in the same pair is the quickest way to make them look like you.
If your fonts need a licence, check it covers your adverts as well as your site.
Your tagline
One line that says what you do and who for. If your site already has one, use it word for word.
If you have none, write down how you'd explain your business to a neighbour in one breath. That's your first draft.
Your voice
Read your own pages aloud. Are they chatty or formal, brisk or reassuring? Write down a few lines on how you talk, and hold every ad to them.
Add the words you always use and the ones you never would. Anyone writing for you, including you on a busy day, can then check a line against the list.
Why your ads need it
People rarely act the first time they see you. They act when they recognise you, and that comes from looking and sounding the same each time.
It saves you time as well. With your kit written down, you stop deciding what an ad should look like every time you make one.