A key benefit to a partner relationship with Cascade Strategy is the ability to leverage our brand. It is critical that the Cascade Strategy brand and the brands of our partners are expressed properly.
These Partner Branding Guidelines are designed for Cascade Strategy’s partner ecosystem. They supplement the Legal Policies. Please distribute these to your marketing managers, product managers, product marketers, and graphic designers to ensure your marketing materials are in line with Cascade Strategy branding policies.
If you have any questions not covered in these guidelines, please contact partners@executestrategy.net.
Through these guidelines, we empower our partners to:
- Reference Cascade Strategy brands effectively and correctly.
- Create clear and effective marketing materials.
Remember: You, and only you, not Cascade Strategy, are legally responsible for your materials and any claims you make.
If you have a need that is not addressed in this guideline contact a Cascade Strategy representative to obtain approval. Please do not make any decision on your own.
Creating Success Together
As a Cascade Strategy partner, you need to comply with our Cascade Strategy Partner Branding Guidelines and all applicable intellectual property laws in your use of brands, logos, domain names, and creative assets. The Cascade Strategy Partner Branding Guidelines are subject to change.
Partners are responsible for ensuring all branding and related marketing materials, press releases, and online assets and communications (“Branding Material”) are consistent with current Legal Policies.
Cascade Strategy may require partners to change and/or remove any Branding Material it deems to violate the Partner Branding Guidelines. While we do not like to, we can force partners to change corporate and/ or product name(s), domain names, social media assets, signage, printed promotional materials, partner website copy or logos, product descriptions, demos, booth design, messaging, and other materials. Costs for rebranding or new material to comply with Cascade Strategy branding guidelines shall be the sole responsibility of the partner and/ or sponsor. Failure to change and/ or remove Branding Material when directed by Cascade Strategy may affect your standing as a partner.
Creating strength together
All Cascade Strategy brands and Branding Material, including trademarks, logos, designs, websites, social media assets, videos, marketing collateral, white papers, etc., are important assets of the company and are protected by various intellectual property laws in Australia, the U.S., and worldwide. Cascade Strategy protects its own intellectual property and it respects the intellectual property rights of others. Cascade Strategy expects its partners to do the same. These guidelines have been developed to assist partners in: (1) building their own strong brands and materials, and (2) avoiding costly rebranding and/or infringement issues. Cascade Strategy strongly encourages all partners to carefully review this document and the terms and conditions of their agreements with Cascade Strategy prior to developing brands or Branding Material, including those for online use or use in print.
On Copyrights
Copyrights are exclusive rights to original works, including certain original written material, pictorial, photographic and graphical work, audio-visual work, and certain computer programs and code. The owner of a copyright has the right to exclude all others from reproducing, displaying, distributing, creating derivative works, performing, or otherwise using the original work. Copyrights owned by Cascade Strategy include its logos, website designs and content, videos and other promotional materials, and its proprietary code. With very limited exceptions, partners may not use any copyright asset owned by Cascade Strategy without written authorization.
What is the correct way to refer to Cascade Strategy?
Context is key. When referring to Cascade Strategy, the context of the reference determines the correct articulation.
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Articulation
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Context
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Example
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Responsis Pty Ltd
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Use this when referring to Cascade Strategy as an entity in a legal line (for legal documents, etc.).
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Responsis Pty Ltd, trading as Cascade Strategy Strategy
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Cascade Strategy
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Use this when referring to Cascade Strategy as an entity in prose.
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“We’ve partnered with Cascade Strategy for the past four years...”
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What are acceptable company and product names?
Do: Make your brands, names, domains, and social media assets distinct from those that belong to Cascade Strategy (examples below):
- Alpha Strategy
- Alpha Inc
- Alpha Strategy Solutions
Don’t: Use any Cascade Strategy brands or names in your company or product names, taglines, social media handles, advertising keywords, or any other branding or source-identifying materials (examples below):
- Cascade Alpha Strategy
- Alpha Cascade Solutions
- Alpha Cascade Strategy
How is the distinction maintained between brands?
Do: Create company and product names that are distinct from Cascade Strategy to eliminate brand confusion
Don’t: Modify, imitate, or abbreviate any Cascade Strategy brands or names anywhere. This includes misspellings, phonetic or foreign equivalents, rhyming words, stylizations, logos, or other variations:
- Cascade4strategy.com
- Cascade Strategy Tool
How do you indicate that your service offers Cascade Strategy?
Do: Indicate in your marketing materials that your offerings include Cascade Strategy by using smaller text in a plain font. Emphasize your brand, not Cascade Strategy. Use the phrase “powered by Cascade Strategy” or the like, but only do so referentially...
Alpha Strategy
Powered by Cascade Strategy
Which Cascade Strategy logo should be used?
Do: Use partner-approved badges that accurately identify programs your company is currently enrolled in.
How do you keep your logos distinct from Cascade Strategy brands?
Do: Create your own, unique, non-Cascade Strategy company logos that only promote your brand and products independent of your company’s relationship with Cascade Strategy.
Don’t:
- Use logos or designs that incorporate Cascade Strategy design elements, such as the Cascade Strategy icon in the logo.
- Use Cascade Strategy brands or product names in any logos created by your company.
- Insert your company name or product into an existing Cascade Strategy logo or cloud.
- Create your own Cascade Strategy logos or designs. Create logos or marks confusingly similar to Cascade Strategy’s.
How can Cascade Strategy and customers be referenced?
Do:
- Get permission from your customers or third parties before using their logos, names, or quotes.
- If you want to use Cascade Strategy’s case studies, you can do so on a ‘as-is’ basis.
Don’t:
- List customer or third party logos, names, or quotes without written permission.
- Use pictures of Cascade Strategy team members without permission.
How should Cascade Strategy’s creative assets be used and referenced?
Do:
- Create your own original videos and presentations for online and in-person use.
- Link to Cascade Strategy’s videos and other creative assets.
Don’t:
- Embed or copy Cascade Strategy videos, images, audio clips, or other creative content without permission.
- Use clips or images from Cascade Strategy videos in your own videos or marketing materials without written permission from Cascade Strategy legal. Otherwise, you may be liable for your use of that video to multiple parties.
How should names be created for social media?
Do: Create social media handles, tags, or the like that properly identify your company and its brands only.
- @alphastrategy
- #alphastrategy
Don’t: Create social media handles, tags, or the like that include Cascade Strategy brand, abbreviations of the brands, or anything confusingly similar.
- @alphastrategy_cascade
- #alphacascadestrategy
How should domain names and keywords be handled?
Do:
- Create domain names that properly identify your company and its brands only.
- Use advertising keywords and ad copy that are associated with and promote your company or industry.
alphacompany.com
Don’t:
- Create domain names that include Cascade Strategy brand or abbreviations of those brands, or anything confusingly similar to Cascade Strategy.
- Use advertising keywords or ad copy that incorporate Cascade Strategy brand name without written permission.
Cascade.alphacompany.com
Alphacascadestrategy.com
How should search campaigns be managed (Google Ads, Microsoft Ads, etc)?
Do:
- Bid on broad ‘strategy’ keywords in general.
- Bid locally where you are certain you can service the customer.
Don’t
- Bid on “Cascade Strategy” in broad, phrase or exact match without receiving permission first.
