Branding discipline means presenting a consistent image to the public. When branding fails it can easily snowball out of control. Consider the 2018 H&M ad featuring a black child modelling a ‘coolest monkey in the jungle’ sweatshirt. The 2018 ad where a Heineken beer slides past black patrons to a lighter skinned women, captioned “sometimes, lighter is better.” And the 1987 Spanish translation of the American Dairy Association’s “Got Milk” tag line to “Are You Lactating?” Ouch.
Is it complicated? Not really. Be aware that we have brand standards regarding colours, fonts, use of the logo and pictures — and where to find them (the Brand Manual on the Toastmasters International website). The colours you’re likely familiar with: navy, burgundy, grey and yellow. The fonts include Arial, Gotham and Myriad Pro. The specific colour tones and fonts are detailed in the Brand Manual.
The logo can’t be distorted in shape or colour, or shown with other words. Pictures must be of people in a meeting or business setting – other pictures such as nature, architecture or inanimate objects are not permitted. The branding applies to all printed materials, including meeting agendas. Toastmasters helpfully provides templates — there are templates for meeting agendas, banners, email signatures and more.
A brand is more than colours, images and words though. It’s a personality and a promise. How do we, as Toastmasters, interact with the public at every touch point?
Toastmasters brand personality is encapsulated as:
……….Leader
……….Dedicated
……….Helpful
……….Empowering
Its promise:
……….Empowering individuals through personal and professional development
And its tag line:
……….Toastmasters International
……….Where leaders are made
You’ve likely heard the term elevator pitch before. Sometimes it’s used in describing table topics. In branding, an elevator pitch is a brief summary designed to hook an audience, enticing them into wanting to know more. Toastmasters’ provides a one minute, three minute and five minute elevator speech in the Brand Manual. The one minute one looks like this:
Since 1924, Toastmasters International has been recognized as the leading organization dedicated to communication and leadership skill development. Through its worldwide network of clubs, each week Toastmasters helps more than a quarter million men and women of every ethnicity, education level and profession build their competence in communication so they can gain the confidence to lead others.
As you can see, the brand is more than just colours and shapes. It’s also voice and tone. Toastmasters expects communications in its name to be:
……….Warm
……….Clear
……….Friendly
……….Member focussed
……….Professional
………..Succinct
………..Respectful
Toastmasters doesn’t allow the following with respect to:
1) Logo no-no’s:
………..Change elements
………..Change scale
……….. Colours
……….. Place on non-brand colours
……….. Use a patterned glow behind the logo
……….. Place non-brand graphics behind the logo
……….. Create your own TI logo
……….. Create your own club or district logo
2) Image no-nos:
………..Animals
………..Landscapes
………..Children
………..Food and appliances (including toast and toasters)
………..Medicine
………..Cartoons
………..Architecture
………..Other images or designs
3) Custom themes, images, pins and logos
………..Although revolving annual themes aren’t allowed, themes at the meeting and conference level are— provided they related to the educational materials being presented.
………..For those interested in creating their own materials – including logos – see the Creating Your Own Materials on the Logos, Images and Templates page – and request permission by submitting your materials via the Trademark Use Request Form.
………..Revolving annual themes are not allowed — however, conference and club specific themes that relate to the educational materials and speakers are
As always, Toastmasters International is available for clarification. Contact brand@toastmasters.org for permission or questions. Let’s work together to promote the friendly yet professional, warm yet empowering atmosphere that drew us to Toastmasters in the first place.
