Do you know your Rogue Rules?

Every brand guideline is tailored for a specific, current ecosystem. But when new technologies, products, or media arrive, teams must adapt "on the fly" due to time or budget constraints.

These unrecorded adaptations become your 'rogue rules'.

The problem isn't static guidelines—it's the absence of governance when those guidelines are inevitably broken.

The danger is the cost of silence. It creates a massive problem for brand continuity. When the original team moves on, the essential knowledge about why the rules were broken is permanently lost. New teams are forced to guess, leading to inconsistency, brand dilution, and damaged value proposition.

The Fix: Formalise the Rogue Rules.

Brand management needs to include capturing essential adaptations and integrating them into a dynamic system. Your guidelines must become living documents.

Three Steps to Brand Continuity:

1. Audit and Formalise all existing unwritten 'rogue rules' and adaptations in use across all applications.

2. Rationalise and Integrate those adaptations into a core, Flexible Brand System that empowers precise execution across all mediums.

3. Develop Governance Processes to capture any further adaptions as they emerge. This will concentrate your brand image and maintain your value proposition.

   
   

What's the most essential 'unwritten rule' your team follows that make your brand work? Share your story below.