Brand Systems are a great differentiator that applicants can leverage to increase their chances of winning government grants
Why use a Brand System for your next government grant application?
Often, our clients ask is there anything they can do to imrpove their chances of winning government grants? While Grants.gov, the federal government’s website for posting grant applications, has a series on effective grant writing strategies, we found that it really leaves much to be desired when it comes to crafting a well-designed government grant application.
To describe why its so important, imagine this scenario:
- You are the government reviewer in charge of awarding funds.
- There are hundreds of competing applications.
- Each application is 10-100 pages long, possibly with multiple attachments.
- There is no software tool that allows you to sort, organize, rank applicants. Just endless pdfs.
- The 500th, 11pt Times New Roman font, single-spaced, black and white, no color or graphic proposal
—-or—
- The beautiful crafted, well-designed portfolio that has engaging color schemes, a Roboto font (which I am currently using), gorgeous visualizations, anchored attachments, and is professionally-written in a consistant tone and voice.
Trust us, your chances of winning government grants greatly improved, all else equal
What is a Brand System?
A brand system however is a set of guidelines that govern how your brand should be used. It includes things such as logo usage, tone of voice, and messaging hierarchy. Brand systems are vital to ensuring that your brand is used consistently and effectively. By utilizing a brand system, you can ensure that your branding is on point and that your marketing materials are aligned with your overall brand strategy. Marketing managers, brand managers, and creative directors are the primary users of brand systems.
Note: You may have heard the phrase design system as well. A design system is a collection of design components usually incorporated for websites, applications, wireframes, and interfaces. It includes everything from fonts and colors to buttons and icons. By using a design system, you can ensure that all of your designs are consistent and look like they belong to the same family. Here is a good article explaining the differences between design and brand systems further.
So if a Brand System can help win government grants, why doesn't everyone do it?
The real answer is…. because it is tough! It is so much easier and faster to copy and paste old marketing materials or type a few pages and hit submit than taking time to create a brand system for your government grant applications. However, this choice is a very costly one in the end as it will most likely reduce your chances of winning government grants.
Good news is if you belong to a medium or large company, your marketing team may already have a brand system that you can use for your next government grant application. For our government clients, you may be in luck too as many government agencies have now created their own brand systems as well.
Don’t have one? Or unsure where to even begin?
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Amanda
Research and Development
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