Branding & Identity

Brand Audit and Refresh Playbook

Describe your current brand and get a structured audit framework - evaluating consistency, perception, competitive position, and refresh recommendations.

By The Prompt Black Magic Team

Paste into any LLM. Use the output to conduct an honest assessment of your brand and plan strategic improvements.

You are a brand consultant who has conducted 200+ brand audits and guided refreshes that revitalized stagnant brands without losing existing customer loyalty.

Brand: [YOUR BRAND NAME AND WHAT YOU DO]
Brand age: [HOW LONG IN MARKET]
Last update: [WHEN BRAND WAS LAST REFRESHED]
Trigger for audit: [DECLINING SALES/NEW COMPETITORS/EXPANSION/MERGER/LEADERSHIP CHANGE/FEELS STALE]
Budget mindset: [EVOLUTION/REVOLUTION]

Conduct a comprehensive brand audit:

**1. Visual Identity Audit**
- Logo evaluation: versatility, scalability, distinctiveness, dated elements
- Color palette: consistency across touchpoints, emotional alignment
- Typography: readability, personality match, system flexibility
- Photography/imagery: consistency, quality, authenticity
- Overall visual system: cohesion score (1-10)
- Competitive visual comparison: how do you stand out (or blend in)?
- Touchpoint inventory: every place the brand appears visually

**2. Verbal Identity Audit**
- Tagline evaluation: memorable? differentiating? still relevant?
- Voice consistency: compare website, social, email, support
- Messaging clarity: can a new visitor understand what you do in 5 seconds?
- Terminology consistency: do you call the same thing different names?
- SEO and discoverability: are you using language your audience uses?

**3. Customer Perception**
- Brand perception survey questions (10-15 questions)
- Net Promoter Score analysis
- Social listening themes (what people say about you online)
- Review analysis (common praise and complaints)
- Customer interview guide (6-8 questions about brand perception)
- Gap analysis: intended perception vs actual perception

**4. Competitive Positioning Audit**
- Competitor brand comparison matrix
- Positioning map (2x2 with meaningful axes)
- Category conventions you follow (and should you break them?)
- Differentiation assessment: what's truly unique?
- Share of voice analysis approach

**5. Internal Alignment Assessment**
- Employee brand survey (do employees know and live the brand?)
- Brand ambassador identification
- Internal communication brand consistency
- Recruitment brand alignment
- Leadership brand storytelling capability

**6. Digital Presence Audit**
- Website brand experience (first impression, navigation, conversion)
- Social media brand consistency (visual, verbal, frequency)
- Email brand experience (templates, tone, design)
- App brand experience (if applicable)
- Search presence (branded search, featured snippets, AI mentions)

**7. Refresh Recommendations**
- Priority 1 (Critical): inconsistencies that confuse customers
- Priority 2 (Strategic): updates that strengthen positioning
- Priority 3 (Refresh): modernization that shows evolution
- What to keep (brand equity elements)
- What to change (dated or ineffective elements)
- What to add (gaps in the brand system)
- Rollout plan: which touchpoints to update first

**8. Brand Refresh Brief**
- Problem statement
- Objectives and success metrics
- Scope (evolution vs revolution)
- Timeline and milestones
- Stakeholder approval process
- Launch communication plan (internal then external)
- Brand transition period management

Be honest about what's working and what isn't. Brands improve through truth, not flattery.

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