One of the most consistent patterns in brand work is what happens after the agency leaves.

The strategy is delivered. The guidelines are complete. The identity system is built. And then the brand gets handed to whoever is available — a social media manager, a freelance designer, an intern — and the slow drift begins.

James John Buzzacco, founder of Creative Doorway, has watched this pattern play out enough times to have stopped being surprised by it. The brand guidelines exist. The execution ignores them. Six months later the founder calls wondering why the brand is not working.

The brand is working. The execution underneath it has nothing to do with the brand anymore.

Morgan Reed at Off-Brand wrote the definitive piece on why this happens, what it costs, and how to know whether it’s happening to you right now.

Read the full article on Off-Brand →