Monkey
Content
Brand Guide
Mission
Our mission is to give business owners the tools and resources they need to establish meaningful connections.
Vision
We’re creating a world where content builds connections, connections form communities and communities unite to create an impact.
Our Values
Integrity: We maintain high standards and expectations for all that we do. Maintaining a Positive Attitude : We tackle challenges with a positive attitude and take hardships in stride. Courtesy: We believe in treating others with respect and providing a level of customer service that is nothing short of excellent. Uplifting Others: We believe in building people up so that they can reach their highest potential - whether that’s our employees or the business owners we serve. Building Local Communities : We’re all about relationships, and at the heart of our business lies a desire to help business owners and the people they serve to connect personally. We believe those connections build communities.
How Our Customers Share Our Values
Integrity: Everyone wants to work with people who are honest. Our clients and customers can rest assured that their goals, values, and dreams are in good hands with us. Maintaining a Positive Attitude : At some point, most business owners have worked with a client or company that never had anything to say unless it was something negative. That attitude is draining and can suck the life out of an otherwise exciting project. Business owners will be pleased to see that we approach challenges from a positive angle and focus on the solution - not the problem. Courtesy: Everyone wants to be treated with respect, and our focus is to be one of the best parts of someone’s day. Uplifting Others: Business owners walk away from working with us feeling uplifted, refreshed, and optimistic. Building Local Communities: Communities are built on shared values. It is our vision to create a world where content builds connections, connections form communities and communities unite to create an impact. It is through this shared value that our clients and customers can create a greater impact on their community.
Brand Tone
Quick-Witted: We’re quick-witted, moving effortlessly from topic to topic and solution to solution without losing a beat. We’re clever in more ways than one, and aim to show off our ability to innovate, create, and problem-solve in a variety of circumstances. Agile: Being agile is all about knowing when to pivot, and doing so effortlessly. We’re able to accommodate new opportunities whenever they arise, and overcome challenges with grace. Confident: We know our stuff and we’re now afraid to show it. We draw on our years of expertise, to provide meaningful content that resonates with audiences across a wide spectrum of interests and values. Accessible: We understand that our ideal client could come from a variety of different backgrounds, and we want to be respectful of that. That means communicating in a way that is approachable and down-to-earth. Cheeky: While not the forefront of our voice, we do want to build a brand that’s playful and vibrant. That means at times we are cheeky, funny, lighthearted, and spirited. Brand Voice Our overall voice is conversational. We want people to feel like they are having a personal conversation, not attending a lecture. That means approaching educational or dry subjects in a dynamic manner that takes readability and audience interest into account.
Language - We communicate
Character - We are… • Playful • Fun • Approachable
Tone - We sound… • Spirited
Purpose - We want to… • Engage • Educate • Amplify
by being… • Simple • Honest • Focused
• Personable • Experienced
Voice Branding Matrix
Formal
Playful
Serious
Humorous
Detached
Friendly
Professional
Casual
Tasteful
Irreverent
Wordy
Concise
Branding Do’s
Explore clever and out-of-the-box ideas. That means reading what other writers have written, doing your research, and maintaining a curious mindset. Keep your language accessible. Speak eloquently without being pretentious. Respect the fact that there are different kinds of intelligence, and that uncommon words can prove alienating for many of our key audience members. Be willing to take appropriate risks to create something great, instead of just settling for “good.” We have a lot of freedom to take risks and play around with our copy. If you believe that you can elevate a “good” piece to “great” by taking a risk, do so. The worst that can happen is that we need to make some edits.
Branding Don’ts
Stick with the same topics and themes because it’s easy. Often the old axiom “write what you know” leaves its adherents feeling uninspired and limited. If we want to keep our copy agile and fresh, we need to be willing to try new things and pursue a mindset of continuous learning. Write in a manner that is overly verbose and alienates certain readers. We’re a content marketing firm, not an SAT test writer. That means that you don’t get extra points for finding a way to shoehorn “obsequious” or “grandiloquence” into your pieces. We want to make sure that we’re speaking to people at a level that honors their intelligence, while not intentionally making our copy inaccessible. Take unnecessary risks without purpose. Just because an idea is “new,” doesn’t mean it’s good. Part of being agile and quick-witted is being willing to admit when an idea is too over-the-top or won’t work in practice. We want our copy to reflect that forethought and attention to detail.
Brand Message
Content Monkey is a vibrant content marketing platform that provides captivating content to business owners that will allow them to form meaningful relationships with their customers. We build bridges and relationships in a world that is becoming increasingly disconnected. Our content can touch someone’s heart, make them laugh, or teach them something that expands their view of the world. We don’t see our clients as mere customers that we churn out content for, we see them as individuals with specific needs, preferences and tastes that need to be accommodated. We are committed to forming communities and put power in the hands of local entrepreneurs to nurture personal connections with their audiences. We’ve been delivering results and perfecting our craft for over a decade, and we’re ready to continue our mission to give business owners the tools and resources they need to establish meaningful connections.
Personas
Jennifer | Small Business Owner | Sole Proprietorship
Jennifer is a one woman show successfully running her tax preparation business. Jennifer has a good roster of clients, which she gained through slow, word-of-mouth marketing. Jennifer wants her business to grow beyond her word-of-mouth-roster. Jennifer knows that tax-season is one of the most dreaded seasons of the year, but she believes with a little client education, it can ease a lot of discomfort.
Jennifer has seen what good content can do to alleviate stress and she wants to use this tool to grow her business.
Pain Points
• Doesn’t know where to start
• Can’t get out of the word-of-mouth client roster
• Limited knowledge of how to use content
• Wants to be seen as a business instead of a sole proprietorship
Tyler | Ad Agency Content Marketer | Small-Sized Business
Tyler runs a small advertising agency with the help of a few key individuals and contract workers. Over the course of Tyler’s career he has seen an increased need for good ad, sales, and marketing copy. However, finding quality writers is a consistent problem for Tyler and his advertising agency.
Tyler understands the basics of SEO, however he is not as knowledgeable as he would like to be. He knows that content marketing is continually changing and he wants to stay ahead of the curve.
Pain Points
• Not enough time to manage multiple writers, designers, and clients
• Fearful of marketing changes and volatility
• Basic knowledge of SEO, but not an expert
Jason | Tech Consultant | Medium-Sized Business
Jason runs a successful technology consulting company. Jason’s team assists businesses with IT infrastructure, technological solutions, and data design. While Jason’s business is successful, he wants to continue to grow beyond $10 million in revenue a year. His website is successful and has a small marketing department, however he is looking to expand.
Jason has little experience in marketing and successfully grew his company through paid ads, strategic partnerships, and recurring revenue.
Pain Points
• Little marketing experience
• Wants to provide marketing with everything to be successful
• Has resources and tools to grow, however unsure where to put the most effort
Logo
Monkey Content
Monkey
Content
This logo is a balance of structure and cheekiness. The font is rounded and playful, but it is also clear and straight forward. The banana lends an element of fun.
Variations
Monkey Content
Monkey
Content
Monkey Content
Monkey
Content
Colors
Primary
Primary
Green symbolizes growth, reliability, and strategic thinking. Orange symbolizes optimism, confidence, adventurousness, and positivity. www.colorpsychology.com
CMYK 87, 34, 100, 28 RGB 26, 103, 52 Hex 1a6734
CMYK 53, 0, 100, 0 RGB 133, 196, 65 Hex 85c441
CMYK 3, 35, 100, 0 RGB 243 ,173, 28 Hex f3ad1c
CMYK 3, 64, 100, 0 RGB 237, 122, 35 Hex ed7a23
Secondary
Secondary
Teal symbolizes renovation, clarity, open communication, and practical thinking. Pink symbolizes nurturing and playfulness. www.colorpsychology.com
CMYK 3, 7, 20, 0 RGB 246, 232, 205 Hex f6e8cd
CMYK 88, 42, 48, 17 RGB 18, 107, 114 Hex 126b72
CMYK 73, 2, 36, 0 RGB 28, 182, 178 Hex 1cb6b2
CMYK 0, 83, 31, 0 RGB 240, 83, 122 Hex f0537a
Typography
Logo Fonts Cooper STD Black Montserrate Alternate - Regular
The fonts chosen to represent Content Monkey are Cooper STD Black and Montserrate Alternate- Regular. These fonts represent the stability and versatility of our brand while also being a bit cheeky. Cooper STD Black reflects our values of reliability and strength. It also adds some weight which represents the breadth of our content creation. Montserrate Alternate - Regular balances Cooper STD Black with a lighter weight, but matches the curves and slight playfulness with it’s rounded characters. Freight Micro Pro , our body font is a serif font that is strong in readability, but still has a distinctive style that stands out from other serif fonts. All our chosen fonts play well with each other, and create a well balanced set.
Cooper STD Black Headline Font Montserrate Alternate - Regular Tagline Font
FreightMicro Pro - Book 10 point, Leading: 13 Body Copy Font
Suez One Montserrate Alternate - Regular Noto Serif Web Fonts
Iconography
The Banana To be used as a stand alone, a favicon, or as a background image. The colors can vary between all the approved logo colors.
Banana Leaf Background To be used as a background or graphical element. Not limited to these three styles, but should be similar. Can include a color overlay of one of the approved colors.
Banana Pattern To be used as a background or graphical element. Can be any color from the approved logo colors.
Web Iconography
Error Page To be used when something goes wrong on the website, or if a correction needs to be sent via email. A “whoops” icon.
Favicon
Icon Style
Un-clicked
Roll-Over
Button Styles
Un-clicked
Roll-Over
Icon Library
Gradients and Drop Shadows
Drop Shadow Settings: 31% Opacity. .0625 Distance, Angle 135°, .0625 Size
Illustrative Style
Color block/Flat Illustrations Illustrations will follow a flat, color blocking style. Limited details, and strong color contrast will be the key elements.
Image Styles
People in Photos Photography with people will be in a natural setting with the subjects not looking at the camera. Ideally there will be some sort of plant/s in the background. There is an blending mode of “Soft Light” of the light orange color at 50% on the image to create warmth.
Image Styles
Color overlays To add a bit of cheekiness to our photography, a color overlay can be added to images. The brighter colors are to be used exclusively.
Social Media
Visual Style Posts will stay within the color pallet and reflect the illustration style. They will fall in to the following categories: Info-graphic, educational videos, tips and tricks for good content creation.
Content Style Posts will be engaging, and focus on education with a bit of entertainment. Easily digestible content that is applicable to with links to blogs or back to the Content Monkey site.
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