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Set Up Brand Guidelines

⏱ 15 minutes beginner

Why centralize brand guidelines in CMP

Section titled “Why centralize brand guidelines in CMP”

Brand guidelines typically live in a PDF that gets emailed around, saved to various folders, and gradually forgotten. New team members never find it. Freelancers work from outdated versions. Even experienced writers second-guess whether it is “Optimizely” or “the Optimizely platform” in running copy.

Embedding brand guidelines directly in CMP puts the rules where authors work. Instead of switching to a separate document, writers see guidance inline as they create content.

What you will do

Section titled “What you will do”
  1. Configure brand voice settings
  2. Set up writing style rules
  3. Define visual brand standards
  4. Create a brand asset library
  5. Enable brand compliance checks

Configure brand voice settings

Section titled “Configure brand voice settings”

Brand voice describes how your company sounds in writing — the personality, tone, and vocabulary choices.

  1. Navigate to Settings > Brand > Voice
  2. Define your voice attributes. Describe each with a clear directive:
AttributeDefinitionExample do/don’t
ToneThe emotional quality of your writingDo: Confident, direct. Don’t: Aggressive, condescending
PersonalityThe character your brand projectsDo: Expert but approachable. Don’t: Academic or jargon-heavy
VocabularyPreferred and avoided termsDo: “Get started.” Don’t: “Commence utilization”
Point of viewWhich grammatical person to useUse second person (“you”) for guides, third person for case studies
  1. Add examples of on-brand and off-brand writing samples so authors can see the difference in practice
  2. Save the voice configuration

Set up writing style rules

Section titled “Set up writing style rules”

Style rules cover the mechanical aspects of writing — capitalization, punctuation, formatting conventions.

  1. Navigate to Settings > Brand > Style Rules
  2. Add rules organized by category:

Formatting rules:

  • Heading capitalization (sentence case vs title case)
  • List style (bullets vs numbers and when to use each)
  • Date format (March 25, 2026 vs 3/25/2026)
  • Number formatting (spell out one through nine, use numerals for 10+)

Terminology rules:

  • Product name spellings (exact capitalization and spacing)
  • Preferred terms and their alternatives to avoid
  • Abbreviations and when to spell them out

Structural rules:

  • Maximum paragraph length
  • Required sections for specific content types
  • Call-to-action placement guidelines
  1. For each rule, provide the rule statement, a correct example, and an incorrect example
  2. Save the style rules

Define visual brand standards

Section titled “Define visual brand standards”

Visual standards ensure that images, graphics, and layouts used in content align with brand identity.

  1. Navigate to Settings > Brand > Visual Standards
  2. Configure the following:

Color palette:

  • Add primary, secondary, and accent colors with hex values
  • Specify which colors are approved for text, backgrounds, and accents
  • Note any color accessibility requirements (contrast ratios)

Typography:

  • List approved fonts for headings and body text
  • Specify sizes and weights for each context

Image guidelines:

  • Minimum resolution requirements
  • Preferred aspect ratios for different placements (hero images, thumbnails, social)
  • Photography style notes (e.g., natural lighting, real people, no stock cliches)
  • Logo usage rules (minimum size, clear space, approved color variants)

Create a brand asset library

Section titled “Create a brand asset library”

The brand asset library gives authors quick access to approved logos, icons, templates, and photography.

  1. Navigate to Settings > Brand > Asset Library
  2. Upload approved assets organized by type:
    • Logos — All approved variants (full color, monochrome, reversed, icon-only)
    • Icons — Brand icon set for use in content
    • Templates — Pre-designed layouts for social, email headers, blog graphics
    • Photography — Approved stock images or brand photography
  3. Tag each asset with usage notes (e.g., “Use on dark backgrounds only,” “Social media avatar — do not crop”)
  4. Mark assets as current or deprecated to prevent use of outdated versions

Authors can browse and insert brand assets directly from the CMP editor without leaving their content item.

Enable brand compliance checks

Section titled “Enable brand compliance checks”

Brand compliance checks automatically evaluate content against your configured guidelines.

  1. Navigate to Settings > Brand > Compliance
  2. Enable the checks you want to run:
CheckWhat it evaluatesAction
TerminologyFlags usage of non-preferred termsSuggests the preferred alternative
Tone analysisEvaluates writing against voice attributesHighlights passages that deviate from brand voice
Image complianceChecks uploaded images against visual standardsWarns about resolution, format, or dimension issues
Logo usageDetects incorrect logo usageFlags issues with sizing, spacing, or color

  1. Set the enforcement level for each check:

    • Suggest — Show as a recommendation that the author can dismiss
    • Require — Block workflow advancement until the issue is resolved

  2. Save compliance settings

Verify the configuration

Section titled “Verify the configuration”
  1. Create a test content item
  2. Intentionally violate several brand rules (use a non-preferred term, upload a low-resolution image)
  3. Verify that the editor surfaces appropriate suggestions and warnings
  4. Attempt to advance the content through workflow and confirm that required compliance checks block progression
  5. Fix the violations and confirm the content advances successfully