The LOOP Six-Step Strategy - 5. Governance

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Ed Vickers

February 14, 2025

In-housing

Process

Creative Operations

Design Operations

How In-housing Strengthens Brand Governance and Consistency

Keeping your brand consistent isn’t just about looks—it’s about trust. If you work in a regulated industry, you know how important it is to follow strict rules while keeping your brand strong. Bringing the management of your brand in-house can help you stay in control while keeping things simple and efficient. With the right tools, like Frontify, and a dedicated team living and breathing the delivery of your brand every day, you can manage your brand without the usual headaches.

Why Brand Consistency Is Hard in Regulated Industries

Brand consistency is a challenge for any business, but it’s even tougher in regulated industries. Strict rules, shifting regulations, and complex approval processes make it difficult to ensure your messaging is always correct. It’s sometimes difficult with multiple PDF versions of your brand across multiple teams, suppliers and agencies, to retain control over how your brand is presented. Without a clear governance strategy, you might face:

Mixed messages across different platforms.
Agencies not fully understanding compliance rules.
Slow responses to brand updates, and regulation changes.

An inconsistent brand doesn’t just confuse customers—it can lead to compliance risks and even legal issues. That’s why having a structured approach to brand management is critical.

Why In-housing Works

Bringing the governance of your brand in-house gives you more control. Your team understands your company’s values, objectives, and regulatory needs better than anyone. This leads to greater consistency and a more reliable brand identity. Key benefits of in-housing include:

One Clear Voice – When your team controls branding, messaging and visuals stay consistent.
Faster Changes – You can adjust branding and marketing campaigns quickly when rules change.
Lower Costs – Over time, you’ll save money by reducing reliance on outside agencies updating your guidelines.
Better Brand Knowledge – Your team understands the brand inside out, making your brand more consistent through the line across all your touchpoints.

But of course, this doesn’t mean cutting ties with agencies altogether. Instead, it allows you to manage critical branding elements in-house while bringing in external high level brand support when needed.

How Technology Can Help

Having an in-house team is only part of the equation. You also need the right tools to keep everything organised and accessible. That’s where brand platforms like Frontify come in. These tools help streamline brand governance and ensure that teams stay aligned. With the right platform, you can:

Keep Brand Guidelines in One Place – Everyone can access the latest rules and assets.
Stay Compliant – Set up approvals to make sure marketing follows regulations.
Work Better Together – Teams across departments can access the same brand resources.
Avoid Mistakes – A single source of truth stops outdated branding from slipping through.

Technology doesn’t replace human expertise, but it makes it easier to manage branding across large organisations. With digital tools, you reduce errors, speed up processes, and ensure everyone stays on the same page.

The Future of Brand Management

The need for strong brand governance isn’t going away. As regulations evolve, businesses must stay flexible while maintaining consistency. In-housing, combined with the right brand technology, gives companies greater control and efficiency.

If you want to future-proof your brand, now is the time to act. By bringing key branding functions in-house and investing in the right tools, you can cut costs, improve compliance, and build a stronger, more trusted brand.