# Brand audit Human Guide

## What This Is For
Provides brand strategist conducting a brand health assessment. It gives the agent a clearer input/output frame for brand and messaging: what context to ask for, what decisions to make, and what usable artifact to return.

Use this as a human-readable version of the Brand audit agent skill. It is meant for marketers, operators, founders, and other non-coders who want the workflow without reading agent-specific implementation instructions.

## When To Use This
- Use this when you need a repeatable process for brand audit.
- Use this when the task needs judgment, examples, constraints, or a clear output format rather than a one-off prompt.
- Use this when you want to hand an AI assistant enough context to produce a usable marketing artifact.

## When Not To Use This
- Do not use this when you only need a quick factual answer.
- Do not use this when the work depends on private data you cannot share with the assistant.
- Do not use this as a replacement for legal, compliance, financial, or medical review.

## What You Need Before Starting
- The goal or business outcome you want.
- The audience, customer segment, or market context.
- Any source material the assistant should respect, such as notes, briefs, examples, URLs, or brand guidance.
- Constraints such as tone, length, channel, deadline, region, or approval requirements.
- A clear definition of what a good final answer should look like.

## Step-By-Step Workflow
1. State the job clearly: "Use the Brand audit guide to help me with..."
2. Add context: audience, goal, offer, channel, source material, and constraints.
3. Ask the assistant to identify missing inputs before producing the final output.
4. Have the assistant follow the skill-specific guidance below.
5. Review the result against the final checklist and ask for revisions where needed.

## Skill-Specific Guidance
- **Brand materials** — website URL, social profiles, any existing brand guidelines, pitch deck, or marketing materials they can paste or link
- **What prompted this audit** — what specific concern or trigger led to this review?
- **Business context** — any recent changes (new leadership, new product, new market, funding, rebrand considerations)?
- **Internal perception** — how does the internal team describe the brand?
- **External perception** — any customer feedback, research, or NPS data about brand perception?
- **Key competitors** — who should the brand be benchmarked against?
- Is it clear who this brand is for?
- Is the brand's differentiation immediately obvious?
- Does the brand own a specific territory or idea?
- Is the positioning distinct from key competitors?
- In one sentence, what does this brand stand for?
- Could this positioning statement apply to a competitor?

## Decision Points And Nuance
The original skill emphasizes: Before You Start, Information to Gather, Audit Framework, DIMENSION 1 — POSITIONING CLARITY (Score: /5), DIMENSION 2 — VISUAL IDENTITY CONSISTENCY (Score: /5), DIMENSION 3 — MESSAGING CONSISTENCY (Score: /5), DIMENSION 4 — VOICE & TONE CONSISTENCY (Score: /5), DIMENSION 5 — AUDIENCE ALIGNMENT (Score: /5), DIMENSION 6 — COMPETITIVE DIFFERENTIATION (Score: /5), Output: Audit Report.

Use these questions to steer the work:
- What is the intended audience or buyer?
- What source material must be preserved?
- What should the assistant optimize for: clarity, persuasion, accuracy, speed, creativity, or conversion?
- What examples represent the desired quality bar?
- What should the assistant avoid?

## Common Mistakes
- Starting without a clear audience or goal.
- Asking for a final artifact before sharing examples or constraints.
- Accepting a generic first draft without checking it against the intended use.

## Copy-And-Paste Prompt
```text
Use the Brand audit human guide.

My goal:
[Describe the business outcome]

Audience:
[Describe who this is for]

Context and source material:
[Paste notes, examples, links, or existing copy]

Constraints:
[Tone, length, channel, timeline, must-include items, must-avoid items]

Before producing the final output, ask me for any missing information that would materially improve the result.
```

## Final Checklist
- [ ] The output matches the original goal.
- [ ] The audience and context are reflected in the answer.
- [ ] Important constraints and source material were preserved.
- [ ] The assistant made the relevant decisions explicit.
- [ ] The final artifact is ready to use, review, or hand to the next person.

## Source
This guide was generated from the arnabbagxd/brand-building-skills skill entry for `brand-audit`.

## Source Skill Notes
These notes preserve the nuance from the original skill. Use them as supporting reference when the workflow above feels too generic.

# Brand Audit

You are a brand strategist conducting a brand health assessment. Your job is to evaluate how well the brand is working — its clarity, consistency, differentiation, and alignment — and deliver a clear diagnosis with prioritized recommendations.

## Before You Start

Check if `.agents/brand-context.md` exists. Read it first. Use that context as a starting point for what the brand is *supposed* to be — then evaluate how well the current brand materials match that intention.

---

## Information to Gather

Ask the user to share:

1. **Brand materials** — website URL, social profiles, any existing brand guidelines, pitch deck, or marketing materials they can paste or link
2. **What prompted this audit** — what specific concern or trigger led to this review?
3. **Business context** — any recent changes (new leadership, new product, new market, funding, rebrand considerations)?
4. **Internal perception** — how does the internal team describe the brand?
5. **External perception** — any customer feedback, research, or NPS data about brand perception?
6. **Key competitors** — who should the brand be benchmarked against?

---

## Audit Framework

Evaluate across 6 dimensions. Score each 1–5 (1 = needs significant work, 5 = excellent).

---

### DIMENSION 1 — POSITIONING CLARITY (Score: /5)

**What to assess:**
- Is it clear who this brand is for?
- Is the brand's differentiation immediately obvious?
- Does the brand own a specific territory or idea?
- Is the positioning distinct from key competitors?

**Questions to answer:**
- In one sentence, what does this brand stand for?
- Could this positioning statement apply to a competitor?
- What would be lost if this brand disappeared from the market?

---

### DIMENSION 2 — VISUAL IDENTITY CONSISTENCY (Score: /5)

**What to assess:**
- Is the logo used consistently across touchpoints?
- Does the color palette feel intentional and applied consistently?
- Is typography consistent and on-brand?
- Do all visual materials feel like they belong to the same brand?

**Questions to answer:**
- Are there 3 or more versions of the logo in active use?
- Does the visual identity match the brand's positioning (premium brands look premium, etc.)?
- Is the visual identity distinctive or generic?

---

### DIMENSION 3 — MESSAGING CONSISTENCY (Score: /5)

**What to assess:**
- Is the core message consistent across channels (website, social, ads, pitch)?
- Is the value proposition clear in the first 5 seconds of encountering the brand?
- Are key messages supported by proof points?
- Is messaging audience-appropriate?

**Questions to answer:**
- What does the homepage hero say vs. the social bio vs. the pitch deck intro?
- Are these consistent? If not, where do they diverge?

---

### DIMENSION 4 — VOICE & TONE CONSISTENCY (Score: /5)

**What to assess:**
- Does the brand write with a distinctive, consistent voice?
- Does tone adapt appropriately by channel without losing identity?
- Is the writing human or corporate?
- Does copy reflect the brand's personality?