How to Conduct a Communications Audit

by Susan Beversluis

Brands never sleep. Electronically, in print, in person, a

brand is on display 24/7 in an ever-shifting landscape. A

company’s leaders must be constantly alert to identify

challenges and opportunities as they arise and to

ensure that appropriate action is taken.

Although monitoring the brand environment never

leaves the leader’s to-do list, conducting a formal

Communications Audit provides essential insight as to

how your brand’s current efforts are performing

relative to defined criteria and how they can be

improved moving forward. This paper takes you

through the steps of a successful Communications

Audit.

Establish Goals

As a brand leader in your organization, it is your responsibility to ensure that all communication on behalf of your

brand is as clear, as consistent and as focused as it can possibly be. Your territory covers clearly defined items --

proper display of the logo, for example -- as well as critical subjective concerns such as messaging that reflects the

qualities of the brand. [A swimming pool sign, for example, that says, “Guests Must Be at Least 36” Tall to Swim

Here” says something different from a sign that says, “No Children Allowed in Pool.” A relatively minor difference,

but reflective of very different brands.]

First, determine what you want to know:

•

How do you identify best practices? You will want to know what type of response rates, positive feedback and

complaints, FAQs, etc., your brand receives from its constituents and you will want to know how many of each.

•

How do you develop more impactful sales and marketing messaging? You will want to know why maverick

marketing pieces were created in your corporate hinterlands, how effective they are and how you can

incorporate those effective messages into brand-compliant items.

•

How do you create standards for primary and secondary signage? You will want to see everything that’s out

there, how it looks, how it’s made, what it’s made of, what it costs and what types of local sign ordinances you

will run into (and create Plan B standards for those).

•

How do you create paper/print efficiencies? You will want to know how many of each item is printed, how it’s

printed, how many are thrown away, if it’s date-sensitive and what it costs.

•

How do you evaluate the vendors being used? You will want to know what ad agencies, design groups, print

houses, web developers, etc., worked on each item and contact information from each, along with cost/item.

Whatever it is that you want to do, be sure to articulate that goal and to incorporate into the audit exactly what

you will need so you get the answers you need to fulfill it.

J. Robinson Group

www.jrobinsongroup.com

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Communications Audit vs. Brand Audit

•

A Brand Audit is a highly strategic process in

which you determine or adjust brand identity,

brand positioning, brand filters, key messages,

service promises, etc., based on changing

market conditions.

•

A Communications Audit is a process in which

you review and evaluate your success at

execution and implementation of these

already-defined brand qualities.

Review Brand Standards

Your first task is to establish a basic library of what exists today. This gives you a benchmark from which to grow

your brand, define further standards, inform your employee communications, assist your sales and marketing staff,

communicate more effectively with customers and let your shareholders know more about the brand in which

they’ve invested.

Begin with a review of your Brand Standards Manual.

Take a good look at how you’ve defined and described

your brand. You should have, at minimum:

•

Adjectives that describe your brand and define a

copy tone (a brand filter)

•

Graphic standards that show how to display your

identity (business cards and letterhead, brand

hierarchies, logos, font and image requirements)

•

Production standards that stipulate output

standards (print, video, electronic)

•

Service standards

You should also have a copy of your legal standards for

registration marks and any other specific issues on

which your legal department has given direction.

Create the Audit Package

Once you have established goals and reviewed brand standards, it is time to create your audit package. This package

consists of a list of items you want to audit, an information sheet or questionnaire for each item, a page of FAQs,

and a cover letter or memo from you or a member of the organization’s senior management requesting assistance

and compliance with the audit.

The list of items will be those you specifically want to audit at each location. Start by listing all the ways in which

your brand is referenced. A partial list, for example, could be:

External

•

Signage (storefronts, directional, sales/marketing locations, reception)

•

Vehicles

•

Stores/Sales locations (Sales script, design/decor, presentation materials, multi-media displays, greeters script,

etc.)

•

Product (packaging, directions, guarantees, menus)

•

Product brochures

•

Uniforms and name tags

•

Business cards

•

Letterhead

•

Industry trade shows (booths, giveaways, presentation materials)

•

Telephone scripts (800#s, main reception, hold messaging)

•

Direct Mail

•

DRTV, television ads, video

•

All websites (Do a search, print out home pages of everything you find. You will likely find domains of which

your legal department was unaware!)

•

Electronic communications (e-newsletters to customers and potential customers, Facebook page, Tweets, etc.)

J. Robinson Group

www.jrobinsongroup.com

2

How Often?

A formal Communications Audit is a relatively

simple and straightforward process but it often

takes much longer than you anticipate because not

only do you conduct a time-consuming audit, but

then you must follow up on everything you found

amiss and make corrections. For this reason, I

recommend that it be done every two years at a

maximum, rather than every year. Of course, if your

brand changes, if you have to rebrand, or if you have

an urgent issue that needs to be resolved (say, a

trademark dispute), exceptions may be made.

•

Merchandise with your logo (chotskies, clothing, notebooks, pens, etc.)

•

Press releases

•

Customer communications (magazines, billing notices, quality assurance letters and complaint follow-up,

partner/alliance mailings)

Internal

•

Investor materials (Don’t forget that investors are also consumers, so your consumer presence is at least as

important to them as the design of your annual report.)

•

E-mail signatures (Take a sample of everyone from CEO to front desk. Are they consistent?)

•

Trade shows for employee recruitment

•

Recruitment ads in print and on the Web

•

Employee training materials (both new employee and ongoing staff training, both in print and on the Web )

•

Employee referral program materials

•

Internal employee newsletters (print and electronic)

•

Faxes and memos (Look at the faxes that no one has yet picked up. Are the headers consistent?)

You do not have to audit every single item, but it is important to go through this exercise of listing everything you

can think of, as it will give you a feel for the breadth and depth of your brand’s presence. You can then pare it down

to the items you specifically want to review.

Note that this list applies to all the locations where you do business; not simply to your corporate office(s). If you

have hundreds of locations, you may need to audit every one of them. Or, you may want to audit only one division

or one function or a representative sample. It all depends on your goals and your resources. (Note above that I said

this is time-consuming!)

Next, prepare your questionnaire. This should be as brief as possible, yet still enable you to capture what you need

to fulfill your goals. Sample questions could include:

•

What is the purpose of this item?

•

How is it used?

•

Where is it used?

•

To whom is it given? Or, by whom is it seen?

•

How many are printed or produced?

•

If it is electronic, how many clicks or page views does it get?

•

Who are the vendors (design, print)?

•

How long has this item been in use?

Now it’s time to prepare an address list of all the departments and/or locations which you intend to audit and

determine who, at each location, will be designated as the point person. You may designate the senior person at

each location, or in each department, or you may designate an administrative leader.

For example, if your locations are retail sales offices, you could designate the manager or assistant manager; if your

locations are hotels or restaurants, you could designate the senior administrator; if your locations are sales offices,

you could designate the sales leader. Whoever is designated, it is important to identify a specific person at each

location who is responsible to collect the information and return it to you.

Next, determine how you want this information. An actual sample of the item is usually preferred, so you can touch

and feel the quality of it. Photographs (especially for signage) or Web links may also be submitted.

If your company has an Intranet, then set up a site for responses to be sent to you electronically, with physical

samples to be sent separately via regular mail. If your company does not have such resources, it is perfectly fine to

conduct the audit completely via regular mail, although you may ask that digital images (of signage, apparel, etc.) be

sent to you via e-mail.

Write a page of FAQs in which you explain the goals of the audit, estimate the amount of time it will take away

from the normal workflow in each location or department, specify a hard deadline (taking into account business

deadlines, staff resources and holidays) and give a phone number to call for any questions.

J. Robinson Group

www.jrobinsongroup.com

3

Finally, write a short, strong cover memo, requesting assistance and compliance. The CEO or CMO should sign it.

The memo might say that the audit will allow you to identify opportunities, benchmark best practices and reduce

cost, or achieve any other of a number of goals. Reiterate that it is important to send the complete information and

to send it by the deadline indicated.

Conduct Location Audits

A Location Audit is a subset of a Communications Audit and has many of the same components but moves forward

by a different process. For this type of audit, you will need the list of specific items you anticipate reviewing and the

questionnaire, but you will also need to make a personal visit to each location you are auditing.

This is not a “gotcha” game, so make sure that you communicate with the senior person at each location to

schedule a visit which will not interrupt operations and which will give you some time at the end of your review to

sit down with the person to discuss your findings. Send the list of items and the questionnaire in advance so items

can be pulled and available for you to review. A Location Audit, however, will undoubtedly uncover many items of

which you were unaware, or items which you neglected to include in your initial list. For example,:

•

Is the marquee sign viewable from the main highway

or mall location?

•

Is it easy to park and visit the location?

•

Is the exterior well maintained?

•

Is the interior clean?

•

Is music playing on a sound system?

•

How does the location smell? Are there offensive

odors?

•

Is there amateur or unprofessional signage (e.g., the

rest rooms may have a handwritten “out of order”

sign, taped to the door)?

•

Is sales presentation material appropriate, branded

and legal?

•

Do all light bulbs work?

•

Is personal, private customer information in sight on

computer screens?

A Location Audit will be an eye-opener. Look at each of these new encounters as an opportunity to improve your

brand. If a location has done something well, document it, identify it as a best practice in your final report and

incorporate into your brand standards manual.

If a location has done something detrimental to the brand, document it and look at why it was done. If it was simply

carelessness, as, for example the unprofessional rest room sign, bring it to the attention of the senior person and

recommend how to address it.

In some cases, you may find items that individuals have created themselves, never having received brand or legal

approval from your corporate office. In these cases, determine first if there is anything in existence that would

meet the need (many times, field staff are not aware of all the materials available to them). If there is nothing

available that will meet the need, determine how important the need is and consider whether you should create

something standard. Chance are that if one location identifies a need, other locations have that same need.

In all cases, be direct and firm that items which are out-of-brand cannot be used, but be open to new ways of

communicating which are spontaneously created at the location level. Remember that these are the folks who

spend their days with customers. Their ideas matter.

J. Robinson Group

www.jrobinsongroup.com

4

Size Doesn’t Matter

In most organizations, most people don’t think

much about brand communication. If you’re Apple

or Starbucks, maybe. But most small and mid-size

companies may have little beyond a logo, business

cards and possibly a tag line. Even with these

minimal elements, however, you will undoubtedly

discover deficiencies. You will certainly find

opportunities to refine and document additional

brand elements.

Compile Results and Follow Up

After you have sent your package out or have visited a representative number of locations, you will start analyzing

and communicating the results of the audit. There are a number of methods you may use, but the method you

select depends on what you want to accomplish and how much detail you want to address.

A quite straightforward method is to triage your work:

•

Start with identifying the major areas of weakness which MUST be addressed immediately. These are the areas

of most impressions, worst impressions or legal threat. For example, egregious trademark issues, wildly out-of-

brand signage, outdated PR boilerplate, poor taste on your website home page, etc.

•

Next, identify those areas in which relatively minor changes could be made with relatively major positive impact on

the business. For example, a change to a website that could use a brand element to drive more sales, a better

explanation or photo on packaging (these often show up as “stickers” which employees make and place on

standard materials), or a universal change in a telephone script or message that better reflects your brand.

•

Finally, the one-offs in which you could create or develop something to address the problem, but it is not widely

seen, not illegal and not highly off-brand.

Create a master spreadsheet file of the various locations or departments, their specific deficiencies and which

“bucket” each deficiency fits into. Then, look at where there are clusters.

Take stock of your resources and plan a schedule to address each issue with your marketing, sales and operations

partners, keeping in focus the relative importance of each task. Your creative staff will most likely be a major player,

so consult with your traffic manager, creative director, designers, copywriters and production manager as to how

these projects will impact their schedules, too.

Communicate Across Your Organization

Throughout the process of the audit, it is important to communicate with others in the organization to let them

know what you are doing and why you are doing it. In the beginning, once you’ve established your goals and

determined the scope of the project, secure time on agendas to explain the project and to convey the benefits to

the organization. You may be able to do this in a group meeting, or you may prefer meeting one-on-one with the

leaders in the areas that will be affected. Let each of them know that you will be as efficient as possible with the

time and resources of their staffs. If appropriate, ask who, within their organization, they would like to be your

liaison.

As the project is launched, include an article about it in

your employee newsletter and offer updates as the

project continues. Make a schedule and proactively call

those who are charged with the work, asking if they

received the materials, if they are encountering

obstacles or if they have questions. These calls may be

delegated, but it is important to follow up with each

person on a regular basis throughout the audit.

When the results of the audit have been compiled,

determine how you want to communicate the findings

to your various constituents. For senior level staff, a

visual presentation in which you document (via images)

the “Top 3” weaknesses and “Top 3” best practices may

J. Robinson Group

www.jrobinsongroup.com

5

How Extensive?

If you are responsible for several brands, or are

stretched for resources, you may want to plan a

schedule for audits. For example, you may conduct

in-depth audits for some brands and audit only the

items that receive the most impressions for your

subsidiary brands. It’s all about impact, so stay

focused on what items are seen or heard by the
most people.

be the most effective tool. This can be a real attention-getter if you can attach dollars to each and can even be

humorous if you have “before” and “after” photos of some of the deficiencies!

For those at each location or in each department, a “report card” in which you document the deficiencies is a

straightforward way to communicate what needs to be fixed. This is a way also to assign direct responsibility to a

specific person to make changes. For those items which were not in brand, indicate what may be used instead or

state directly that it may not be used. Ask each person to send a confirmation as to what is being done regarding

each deficiency. This could be a simple e-mail (“We have destroyed the remaining out-of-date flyers”) or it could be

an image (“Here is a photo of our new sign”).

Many of the deficiencies will require work from the corporate staff. There could be, for example, the need to

develop new standards for a specific item or process, to create new collateral material for marketing, or to

organize a new product photo shoot.

Use the spreadsheet file you’ve created to check off each deficiency as it is corrected. You will find that it may be

weeks or months -- even a year -- before schedules and budgets are able to remove all deficiencies. By then, it will

almost be time to start preparing for your next Communication Audit!

J. Robinson Group

www.jrobinsongroup.com

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This “Percolations” has taken you through the entire communications audit process, step by step. For assistance at any
stage along the way, contact the brand-building experts at J Robinson Group. We’re ready to help, right from the start.

Susan Beversluis is a consultant with J. Robinson Group, an Orlando-based firm which specializes in helping clients

develop, formalize and execute business strategies. Susan’s extensive business experience includes brand

development, brand strategy and brand execution, for multinational corporations and for entrepreneurial startups

alike. She can be reached at 407-342-7090 or e-mail her at [e-mail]