Whether you're well-versed in the ways of brand compliance or you're just starting to learn the ins and outs of compliant content, iFrog Marketing Solutions is your go-to source for discovering the importance of brand compliance and what it can do for your company. From content to social media and design, compliance plays a huge role in your business. iFrog was Born in a Dealership®, so we know to ensure your automotive brand stays consistent and compliant. Not sure what compliance means for your business? Let us tell you!
Driving Your Brand
If the brand or business is your own, then sticking to the brand you've created should be easy. Just remember to have some set rules to keep things consistent across the board. In the automotive industry, every vehicle brand, from Ford and Chevrolet to Mazda and Nissan, has specific brand and style guides to keep a consistent image throughout all the dealerships across the nation. There's a reason you've never seen a red Ford emblem: it's compliance! Regarding marketing for automotive brands, compliance with these style guidelines goes far beyond a half-hearted, go-with-the-flow attitude. There's money involved.
Co-Op and You: The Start Of A Beautiful Friendship
I thought that would get your attention. Yes, being compliant with the OEM brand could be beneficial for your dealership, but how? Automotive co-op advertising is when dealerships run ads with the specific mention of the manufacturer. The dealership can then get paid back or given credit for all or part of the advertising costs. Pretty good deal, right? It is! However, the ad must be compliant. What does that mean exactly?
Send a Message
Though our company is heavily based in our automotive roots, we also have non-automotive clients, and brand compliance for these businesses is just as substantial. When you think of your brand, what kind of message do you want to get across? Is your brand clean and sophisticated? Colorful and fun? Vibrant and outgoing? Whatever message you want to get across, brand compliance can help! How you decide to get that message across, whether it's a color, logo, catchphrase, or more, is up to you, but after you decide on your message, it's essential to stick with it. Creating a consistent brand for your business can help raise awareness of your brand and, more importantly, can help with brand recall from clients. Staying consistent — or compliant — with your brand's message will help customers think of your business when they are ready to buy.
Consistency is Key
As discussed earlier, compliance is about maintaining a brand's overall image, vibe, or message. Every automotive manufacturer has rules to ensure dealerships remain consistent with the image they are trying to portray. To be consistent, everything must abide by these guidelines, including SEO-driven content, social media, ad copy, and images. This is where iFrog comes in. We are familiar with many automotive brands and the particular compliance needs that go with them. That means that every piece of content, copy, or design that comes from our marketing agency will be compliant. It’s also important to remember that when it comes to compliance and co-op, we’re typically only referring to new vehicle advertising. Take a closer look at what we can do for you:
Content
iFrog provides our clients with search-engine-optimized content that helps bring potential buyers to the website. In all of our content, including vehicle research, blogs, and more, we ensure that the content within is not only accurate but also compliant! We avoid disparaging language the brand may not like and ensure the correct formatting and placement of vehicle names, product names, and legal symbols. We also provide legal disclaimers on things like awards and gas mileage. This guarantees the consumer is never misled and has all the information they need.
Copy
We specialize in many forms of short-form copy at iFrog, including ad copy, social media, emails, and more. From the banners that go on your website to the ads that we run on your Facebook, you can be confident knowing that they are compliant and ready to go.
Design
One of the biggest pieces of the compliance puzzle is design. It goes into just about everything we create at iFrog. Virtually all our content pieces, social media posts, and Facebook ads have a design associated with them. Our design team creates standout creative to grab the consumer's attention, but they also design compliant images according to each manufacturer. This includes providing the correct vehicle photo, ensuring images are clear with no graphics obstructing the vehicle, and providing the correct color scheme and overall vibe of the brand.
Bringing It All Together
Did you know that all assets from iFrog are quality-checked to ensure they comply with their specific brand guidelines? Every piece of content, copy, and design is looked over for brand consistency. This not only guarantees that the dealership will be able to receive co-op for ads that they have run, but it also creates a consistent brand image across all platforms, including your dealership's website, social media, and all external marketing materials. Some brands — such as Mazda, Nissan, Hyundai, Genesis, Honda, Toyota, and Lincoln — require materials to be sent in and approved. This extra process completed by the team at iFrog gives added confidence to our partners that we are putting out the best — and the most consistent — product.
It's your business and your brand, and we're here to ensure everyone knows about it! For a marketing company that cares about your brand's compliance, consistency, and image, contact us or email our team for a consultation at sales@ifrog.com.
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