{Ask the #Techxperts} Branding for Business with @DoubleDutch

This series is dedicated to learning from event experts on various topics. We cover event technology, meeting design, and much, more more! Today, we are pleased to interview JUSTIN GONZALEZ, Marketing Awesomeness at DoubleDutch.

First of all, please tell us a little about yourself. What do you love to do?

When I’m not sleeping or at work I love running, wine and pickles (preferably all in one night). I spend a lot of my day working and thinking about technology, so in my free time I try to disconnect as much as possible.

I did a webinar with you a few weeks ago and one of the things that I LOVED was that you took my info and put together slides for me – all to keep in line with the DoubleDutch brand. Can you tell us a bit more about how you help make sure the brand at DoubleDutch is consistent across the board?

Our marketing and design team is really quite something at DoubleDutch. We’ve put a lot of time and thought into who we are and how we differentiate ourselves from our competition. A lot of that starts with our brand and messaging guidelines. From color and logo usage to the overall feeling something gives, our team thinks through each piece of content and collateral to align it with core brand principles.

We have several people who work on content and collateral at DoubleDutch – from webinars to white papers and beyond. Each one passes through the hands of our Marketing Director for final sign-off before making its public appearance. This helps to ensure that our content stays on-brand and that we are delivering a consistent experience.

What could brands be doing better to create a consistent brand for themselves?

If you’re looking for ways to maintain brand consistency across your organization, the first thing you should do is create brand guideline documentation. Of course colors and logo usage are important, but don’t forget about look and feel either. Any time there’s a dispute the brand guideline should be capable of settling it.

What are the biggest branding mistakes people make?

Organizations often overlook the importance of brand consistency across social media. Because it’s such a new medium for marketers, I think we often forget to think of it as a complete brand experience just like our website and other marketing channels. Everything on social media should reflect your same brand in tone and look and feel from the photos you share to the way in which you respond.

I also think some organizations have a tendency to just fit in. It’s okay to be polarizing.

What is your favorite app?

I love Foursquare. I’ve been an active user for a few years and I’ve really enjoyed seeing their growth and how they’ve continued to reimagine their product.

Liz King Caruso

Liz King Caruso is an Event Strategist, Consultant and Speaker. As CEO of Liz King Events and techsytalk, she has helped countless thought leaders grow their audience and sell their products through in-person, virtual & hybrid events. Liz is a big-picture person – passionate about tying events into an overall sales and marketing strategy and being efficient at every point of the process. Technology is her niche and she’s obsessed with helping organizations of every size leverage technology to produce more engaging and seamless event experiences. In addition to her client work, Liz connects & educates her industry colleagues through platforms she has built – techsytalk GLOBAL, the techsytalk community & IGNITE Consulting program. Liz has been featured as Eventex’s 50 Most Innovative Virtual Meeting Planners, Successful Meetings list of 25 Most Influential People in the Meetings Industry, Top 5 Women in Event Tech, amongst other awards.