Brand FAQ
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What is a brand?Back to TopA brand is an exclusive and desirable idea embodied in products, places, services, people and experiences.
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What does the term brand personality mean?Back to TopThe term brand personality describes how an organization interacts with the general public at every touch point. An organization’s brand personality is universal—regardless of language, location or audience. A successful brand personality is always aligned with—and supportive of—the company’s brand positioning. Four words that describe the Toastmasters brand personality are leader, dedicated, helpful and empowering.
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What is a brand strategy?Back to TopThe plan that identifies and describes short- and long-term objectives, key brand initiatives, tactics and measures of success. The Toastmasters brand strategy determines what, when, where, why, how and to whom we plan on communicating our brand messaging.
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What is brand positioning?Back to Top
The deliberate application of the Toastmasters brand. The positioning of a brand is what people envision when they think of a brand. It should be distinct and hold unique value.
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What is a tagline?Back to TopA phrase that concisely communicates an organization’s value proposition to its target audience. The Toastmasters tagline is “Where Leaders Are Made”.
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What are the benefits of using the Toastmasters branding standards?Back to Top
When you use these branding standards, the Toastmasters International brand becomes stronger. By communicating one consistent Toastmasters identity, the brand is more recognizable and accurately symbolizes the benefits of this great organization we are all proud to be part of.
Clubs and districts that communicate a consistent look help increase understanding and global awareness of Toastmasters International and can be beneficial in attracting and retaining members by clearly showing a connection with an international organization. All clubs have a responsibility to reinforce the brand through consistent application of club messaging and visual communications.
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How does the brand impact me?Back to TopMore than simply a logo and colors, the brand is represented through everything we do and say. Each member will interact with the brand in a variety of ways, from communicating with prospective members, to building new clubs, to the materials used for district conferences and club meetings. By communicating one consistent look, tone and message, we increase global recognition and understanding of Toastmasters International.
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How can we brand our club?Back to Top
There are many ways clubs can brand their club. For visual branding, clubs can use the branded materials on the Logos, Images and Templates page. Here you can find pre-made templates, downloadable graphic elements and stationery templates. Another way that clubs can brand is by displaying the branded banner at the entrance of the meeting location. By displaying the banner at the front of your meeting location, prospective members will recognize your club as being tied to an international organization.
When each club around the world provides a safe and welcoming club experience, all members are contributing in strengthening Toastmasters International brand promise.
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How can our club be unique while still adhering to the brand?Back to Top
Each club has a unique personality, but must still be recognized as being connected to the International organization. Clubs can achieve this by using the brand colors, fonts, logos and the enduring tagline, “Where Leaders Are Made”, correctly.
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Is it acceptable for districts and clubs to create custom themes, pins and logos?Back to Top
To strengthen the Toastmasters International brand, we need to create a unified global perception of the organization through consistent messaging and visual identity.
Having a theme in your district or club that changes each year implies a change in our organization’s mission or direction and could confuse members or potential members.
Clubs and districts should not create annual themes, but they can still develop conference- and club-specific themes that relate to the educational materials, speakers and topics that will be presented during the event or meeting.
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Can I create custom Toastmasters materials?Back to Top
Yes, but first please review the two-steps on how to do so under Creating Your Own Materials on the Logos, Images and Templates page. To request permission to use the Toastmasters trademarks in your materials, you must submit an official Trademark Use Request Form with a sample of your design. For more information on Toastmasters trademarks and copyrights, please review Toastmasters Policy and Protocol, 4.0.
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How can clubs help to increase brand recognition?Back to TopUse branded materials in your district and throughout your clubs. Please visit the Stationery and Marketing Materials sections on the Logos, Images and Templates page for free resources. Clubs can display the branded banner, lectern and other promotional materials.
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How can I brand my club or district website?Back to Top
Please review the club and district templates under Club and District Websites on the Logos, Images and Templates page. The FreeToastHost (FTH) 2.0 platform allows clubs and districts to update the design and software of their website to match the brand of Toastmasters International; three branded templates are available.
Clubs and districts that do not use FTH can use Toastmasters predesigned Wordpress and Google themes. If the club or district website is customized or hosted on a different provider, apply the verbal and visual guidelines in this manual and incorporate the visual elements from the brand portal. All predesigned themes and additional, branded, website banners are available online in the Create a Website section on the Logos, Images and Templates page.
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What is a logo lockup?Back to Top
A logo lockup is the Toastmasters logo accompanied by descriptor text. Please refer to page 35 in the Brand Manual for acceptable logo lockups and find them for download in the Logos section on the Logos, Images and Templates page.
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Why are there two logos?Back to Top
The globe emblem is only used as the seal or official mark of Toastmasters International and not as the logo for the organization. It is used on items such as the back cover of education manuals. When creating your social media sites, websites or marketing materials, please use only the logos available on the Logos, Images and Templates page. The logo should not be altered in any way.
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Can I use different colors than the ones in the official Toastmasters color palette?Back to Top
The color palette was selected to align with Toastmasters brand position and illustrate a feeling of confidence and strength. Please use the official color codes on page 28 in the brand manual when designing your materials. No other colors can be used in conjunction with the Toastmasters brand.
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What are the main typefaces?Back to Top
Please review pages 42–46 in the Brand Manual.
- Our primary typeface is Gotham, used for headlines and subheads.
- Our secondary typeface is ITC Lubalin Graph Std and should be reserved for callout boxes and taglines.
- Our body copy typeface is Myriad Pro.
- Arial is our web-safe typeface for online purposes and external communication (Word, PowerPoint, email) and can be used if access to other fonts is limited.
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I don’t have access to Gotham, Lubalin or Myriad Pro. What font should I use?Back to Top
Free alternative fonts are available for download (please see pages 42–46 in the Brand Manual). If you have limited access to fonts, Arial should be used. Arial is the web-safe and universal font that should be used on club and district websites. If you do not have access to Gotham, ITC Lubalin Graph Std or Myriad Pro, here is how you can use Arial:
- Titles/subtitles: USE UPPERCASE ARIAL
- Content: Please use sentence case Arial
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Where do I find the templates listed in the brand manual?Back to TopPlease visit the Logos, Images and Templates page for marketing materials, downloadable content, and club and district stationery.
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If I have suggestions for additional templates, who do I contact?Back to Top
Contact us by email if you have suggestions for additional templates and other resources you think should be added to the Logos, Images and Templates page.
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How do I know if my designs are in alignment with the brand?Back to Top
When creating materials, please visit the Create Custom Materials section on the Logos, Images and Templates page. To confirm that your designs are on brand, please refer to the visual guidelines in your Brand Manual (page 27–47). For questions about your design, contact our brand team by email. For questions about how to use the logo, contact our trademarks team by email.
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How do I know if my communications are in alignment with the brand?Back to TopTo confirm that your communications are on brand, please refer to the verbal guidelines in your Brand Manual (page 17–26). If you have questions about your messaging, contact us by email.
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How can I learn more about the brand and who do I contact with questions?Back to TopPlease visit the Logos, Images and Templates
page for a variety of brand information and resources. Contact us by email with any additional questions you may have.
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What resources are available to help me brand my club?Back to Top
The Logos, Images and Templates page is a wonderful resource for members. Here you can find many premade, branded templates for your club such items as; Agendas, Newsletters, Open House Fliers, and Business Cards. There are also branded photographs and graphic images to use if you decide to create your own materials. If you decide to create your own materials, please reference the Creating Your Own Materials section on the Logos, Images and Templates page.
There are many ways to help strengthen the brand. Clubs can communicate consistency across all club communications, such as the club website, banners and marketing material. Your club will be more easily recognizable by current and potential members when you use branded logos, colors, images and the tagline “Where Leaders Are Made.”
Is your site instantly recognized as a Toastmasters site? FreeToastHost 2.0, a free web-hosting service, provides tools that make brand-compliance easy. Building, modifying and updating a website is fast and easy when you follow the steps outlined in the FreeToastHost Club or District Website Setup Guides.
However, if your site was built on another platform, you can use the tools your host provides to upload brand-compliant graphic elements, such as logos and other downloadable images, from the Logos, Images and Templates page to your web server.
Another great way to show your pride in the club and showcase the brand is to display the club and district banners and lecterns. Lectern banners are an inexpensive way to embrace the brand. If funds are limited, another great way to increase awareness is to simply print a welcome sheet with the Toastmasters logo. It promotes the friendly club experience while strengthening the brand promise. Many clubs display a sign-in book for guests. This is another wonderful opportunity to show the brand. There are many ways to increase awareness.
Social media is a wonderful tool to promote awareness of your club or district. By displaying the Toastmasters logo on your social media page, you can help increase worldwide recognition. Name recognition is imperative to the growth of our organization. If each club or district created their own logo and unique identity, it will weaken ties to the international organization and ultimately, it weakens the brand.
By continually educating members of the importance of using branded materials, in addition to creating the Toastmasters club experience; in time, Toastmasters International will have global understanding, name recognition and international presence that will be long lasting. It is the responsibility of each club and district leader to educate the importance of the brand.
For more information on branding your club, please contact us by email.
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When do I use a logo lockup?Back to TopYou can use the premade logo lockups on all materials or you can create your own logo lockups, following brand standards, to develop a unique identity for a program, group, internal initiative or event.