Why a Brand Center belongs in your rebranding RFP

March 30, 2022 By BEAM

Research, brand strategy, architecture, naming, visual identity… As you think about what to include in your RFP (Request for Proposal) for your future rebrand or (increasingly common) brand refresh, these are all pieces you’re probably already scoping.

A rebrand or refresh is no small undertaking, and given the work that goes into it, it’s imperative that the brand drives value and resonates with your internal teams for the long haul. To achieve this sustainability, brand teams increasingly rely on technology that can serve as an enabler for all brand content. To get ahead of the curve, savvy brand teams are compiling their RFP requirements with a powerful technology included: Brand Centers.

Historically, brand centers have been used as an online platform/DAM (Digital Asset Management system) to house your PDF brand guidelines and assets in a decentralized location for your teams and partners to access. However, brand centers have evolved to become more than that.

Learn More: The Future of Brand Guidelines

Gone are the days of static (and often ignored) PDFs on a website. Modern brand teams are craving ways to engage and educate their audiences in a dynamic way. When better to do that than when the brand is being updated? We’ve seen the demand for brand centers soar, aligning with the movement to brand technology ecosystems.

Learn More: Unlocking Value through Brand Ecosystems

These brand centers need to include:

• Demonstrations of how the brand can be applied as a way to educate others around the proper usage of the brand
• Reporting features to better understand both who internally accesses the brand and how your brand refresh permeates through your decentralized team
• Segmentation of user access so the right teams have access to the assets they need
• Creating a feedback loop for users of the brand to submit and view best-practice usage through a brand showcase
• Intuitive CMS (content management system) features allowing internal teams to easily update their systems on their own

None of this means that you unquestionably need a new brand center. But at a minimum, if you are planning a rebrand or refresh, you should ask potential brand firms to provide an assessment of your current brand center and overall ecosystem (especially if it is a home-grown or not fit-for-purpose such as Sharepoint), and ask for their recommendations for platforms (some even have partnerships and Monigle has our own brand center platform called BEAM).

Learn More: Explore BEAM

As you embark on your next brand project, consider if it’s also time to elevate your existing brand center and brand technology ecosystem. Doing so will help you sustain the momentum beyond your launch and protect your investment in the long run.

Interested in more best practices on how to sustain brand momentum with a brand center? Reach out to us  we’d love to chat!