Coca-Cola.
Nike.
Starbucks.
When reading those words, it’s likely you immediately saw their logos in your mind. The logos, fonts, associated characters, colors, and taglines are trademarked and fiercely protected through litigation and cease and desist letters.
Why?
Because these brands represent products people love. They are immediate reminders of the company’s offerings and what it stands for. The branding reminds customers to seek out their soda, sneakers, and coffee. In short, branding works.
Why Brand Compliance?
Done well, branding evokes a positive feeling associated with the organization or product. It gives people a visual, visceral reminder of who the department is and what it does.
Branding can create social proof that others are interested in and interacting with the compliance department. It can also amplify the company’s values and commitment to ethics and integrity.
What Should Be Included?
A brand can be created using several elements, for e.g.
- Logo
- Colors
- Fonts
- Tagline
You can mix and match these. More elements are usually better.
Logos
A logo is a symbol or design used to identify the compliance organization. If you’re really lucky, you may be able to use the marketing department’s talents to create a logo. If you aren’t that lucky, you can use free logo generators online, use Canva or a similar design software, or go on sights like Upwork or Fiverr to find a graphic artist paid by the project or hour.
Be aware of copyright issues if you’re using a variation of the company’s logo.
Here is an example from the Inland Empire Health Plan:
Colors
Color theory posits that colors create emotions and associations in people. For instance, according to color theory, orange evokes optimism, energy, and positivity. Some companies will require that you use their official brand colors.
At other companies, you’ll be able to break out on your own. If you’re thinking about the right colors to use to send your message, check out the wealth of information HERE.
Fonts
Like colors, fonts evoke emotions. Flowing cursive fonts evoke elegance and class, while heavy block fonts create a sense of menace and strength. Fonts speak to the viewer before they are read. Choosing fonts well can make a brand more redolent. Some fonts, like Helvetica and Arial, are often used in digital formats because they are easy to read on screen. More insight on fonts can be found HERE.
Here is an example from St. Luke’s University Health Network:
Tagline
Taglines are a fantastic way to cement your program’s brand. Spark Compliance’s tagline is “Pragmatic, proportionate, pro-business compliance and ethics solutions.” It uses alliteration with the consonant “p” to create a memorable cadence and focuses on the desired outcome.
A successful tagline will often use words from the company’s values. It may also use phrases like, “doing the right thing,” “acting with integrity,” or “committed to ethical excellence.”
Here is an example from Southwire’s Code of Conduct:
Where to Put Your Brand
Once you’ve developed your brand, you can use it all over the place. Good options include:
- In your email signature
- On PowerPoint slide presentations
- In the Code – perhaps on each page
- On the top of compliance-related policies
- In the intro to training courses and videos
- As a screensaver
- On your virtual background
- On posters relating to the speak-up hotline or policies
- On the intranet site
- On communications sent by Compliance
- On compliance-related communications sent by other leaders
- On internal social media postings
Get Started
Branding is a great way to enhance Compliance’s reputation within the company. The sooner you start developing the compliance program’s brand, the better.
As Nike would say, “just do it.”
