Style Guides for Brand Consistency - Do you Have One?

When developing a brand, one of the most fun and important aspects, often overlooked, is creating a style guide. Consistent branding across all marketing channels from the bottle label, website, and other marketing collateral is an integral part of your brand’s framework. From the style of font you use to your logo positioning, and color schemes, all of these should be mapped out accordingly to keep your business “on brand.” With a sustainable business, having the guide alleviates unforeseen branding costs and lays the groundwork for a lasting, iconic brand.

Nina Leschinsky, Brand Manager at Perinet, explains the importance of creating a style guide, “Having a brand style guide creates a set of standards that ensures your brand is represented the way you intended it to be and helps strengthens your brand story,” she continues, “The guide helps develop collateral outside of your organization on things like shelf-talkers and on-premise sales collateral where it’s imperative that your brand be able to hold its own.”

Leschinsky also points out that having a documented branding framework mitigates any confusion should staff turnover take place, “It’s not uncommon to have new marketing staff and having a style guide creates consistency. No matter who is doing the brand management, they understand the parameters and you avoid things like a drastic font change or a logo disruption.”

In addition to using your brand style guide internally, it is also useful to have it available on your website for outside sales. Tolosa Winery includes style direction and logo usage suggestions on their website in an easy-to-navigate fashion. Also having images available safeguards your brand from visual misrepresentation.

SIP Certified keeps a “Member Resources” tab on the website to make their logos, marketing collateral, and other member-related branding information available including a code for website programmers to use. For certified brands, including these resources in your brand’s style guide enhances your marketing team’s pool of assets when creating communication pieces. 

Add a Sustainable Label to Your Wine 

Did you know you can put the SIP logo directly on your labels? Once your wine is on a shelf or out into the world without your ability to talk about it, the label serves as the mouthpiece for your brand, ethos, and practices. Affixing the logo to your label helps your brand stand out from the rest as well as provides a conversation piece when consumers share your wines amongst friends and family.

How it Works

• Certify any wine made with at least 85% SIP Certified fruit (estate or purchased).
• Wines can be certified at any time during the year.
• Inspector reviews block to bottle documentation for 20% of the applied-for wines.
• Email Beth at beth@vineyardteam.org to get started today.