11 easy ways to be on brand
Need a quick and handy guide to staying on brand? Then look no further. Here are 11 top tips that'll help you share our key messages, and find the right tone, helping more young people gain skills for life.
Before anyone chooses to support or join Scouts, they first need to understand who we are and what we do.
Our brand helps us do this – making it easier to talk about ourselves, show what we look like, and get our personality across too.
Here are 11 easy ways to be on brand.
1. Talk about skills for life
These are the skills we help young people gain; to step up, speak up and be at their best. These are the key benefits of being a Scout.
2. Call us Scouts
We only use ‘The Scout Association’ on formal documents, such as contracts. This makes us more approachable and reflects how people talk about us in real life.
3. Use friendly, conversational, Plain English
Use contractions such as ‘you’re’ and ‘we’re’ when you’re writing to show we’re not stuffy and formal. Don’t use a fancy word if a simple one will do. Get up to speed on how we talk, use short sentences and everyday language that’s easily understood by all.
4. Remind people we’re a charity and led by volunteers
But cut out the Scout jargon and baffling role titles. People know what volunteer means, but probably not District Commissioner (brilliant people, though they are).
5. Be personal and person-centric
Talk about them, not us. Use ‘you,’ ‘me’, ‘we’ and ‘our’ and a person's name as much as possible. This shows we’re people and not a faceless organisation.
6. Celebrate our diversity
We’re an amazing family of Scouts from all sorts of communities and backgrounds. Let’s show that in the images we share and in the stories we tell. You’ll find a great selection of images on the brand centre.
7. Make sure everyone’s included
Don’t use language that excludes people, especially gendered language, such as ‘mankind.’ Use parents/carers, not just parents. Think about people first. If in doubt, think ‘what’s the kindest thing to say?’ If you’re not sure how to refer to someone or something about them, ask them.
8. Open the paint box
Take a look at our updated brand guidelines, including some new colours: a darker teal (for better accessibility) an orange and a forest green. No need to make any changes immediately – but feel free to introduce these when updating any print or digital materials. Use the right logo and font, Nunito Sans, which is free. Remember, you can find all our templates on the brand centre, ready for you to personalise, which will already feature the correct logo for you.
9. Keep it positive and fun
We’re an optimistic bunch, and create bright futures together. Let’s share some sunshine.
10. Give it some oomph!
Keep up the energy. We love what we do. Let’s share that energy and enthusiasm when we talk about Scouts.
11. Remind people of the big picture
If more people supported Scouts, we’d have more young people gaining skills for life and will help create a stronger, closer, kinder society. And who doesn’t want that?