on brand

We have had on song and on message and now we have on brand. On song started out referring to a car that was running smoothly, and then to a sportsperson who was performing well.  From there it generalised to anyone who was giving their best performance. 

 On message applied to a person making a statement to the public or the media who did not deviate from the information that they were intended or allowed to impart.  Someone who was off message wandered away from the prepared script and said things they probably shouldn’t have.

 For a company to be on brand means that they are giving a clear and consistent message in all their products, their advertising, their sponsorships, all the activities they engage in, that is in line with how they wish to be perceived by the public. It is a marketer’s term, born of the observation that it is so easy, when a number of people are involved, for each one to head off on their own track with their own notion of what the company is about.