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Brand Audit Template: A Checklist You Can Run Today

Brand Audit Template: A Checklist You Can Run Today

Strategy

OCT 2026

A brand audit is only useful if it ends in a decision. This template is built for that: six sections, a short checklist in each, and one score from 0 to 2 per section, the same scale our brand audit framework uses. When you finish, you will know which part of the brand to fix first and which to leave alone.

It is the practical companion to our brand audit framework, which explains the method behind each layer. Use the framework to understand the thinking. Use this page to do the work.

How to use this template

Run it with two or three people who know the business and one person who does not. Insiders know the context. The outsider sees what customers see.

  1. Collect everything first. Screenshot every page of the website, your recent social posts, email templates, proposals, packaging and signage. Put them in one folder. That folder is your brand as it actually exists.
  2. Go section by section. Tick each item only if you can point to proof in the folder. "We sort of do this" is a no.
  3. Score each section from 0 to 2 with the question at the end of it. Score what is true today, not what is planned.
  4. Write one sentence per section explaining the score. The sentences become your brief.

Be strict. A generous audit is a wasted audit.

1. Positioning

Positioning is the foundation. If it is weak, nothing built on top of it holds.

  • We can say what we do, for whom and why it matters in one sentence, without the words "quality," "innovative" or "passion."
  • A stranger who reads our homepage for ten seconds can repeat that sentence back.
  • Our target audience is described by what they value and how they decide, not only by demographics.
  • We can name three direct competitors and say how we differ from each.
  • There is one primary value proposition, with supporting proof points under it.
  • The homepage, the About page and the sales deck say the same thing.
  • The positioning is written down and someone owns it.

Score 0 to 2: How clearly, and how consistently, does the brand say what it is and why it matters?

2. Visual identity

Visual identity comes after positioning for a reason: visuals without strategy are decoration.

  • The logo works at every size we use, including small, single color and reversed.
  • There is a primary mark, a secondary mark and an icon, and people know when to use each.
  • Typography has a defined hierarchy and is used the same way across web, print, social and presentations.
  • The color palette is defined with exact values (HEX, RGB, CMYK, Pantone) and works on screen and in print.
  • Photography has a defined style: subject, light, composition, grading.
  • Graphic elements (patterns, icons, illustration) belong to one system.
  • Brand guidelines exist, are current and are actually used.

Score 0 to 2: If you lined up ten recent assets with the logo removed, how obviously would they belong to the same brand?

3. Verbal identity

Verbal identity is how the brand sounds, everywhere it speaks.

  • We have a documented voice, with examples of what we say and what we never say.
  • Our copy could not be swapped with a competitor's without anyone noticing.
  • The tone stays recognizable across the website, social, email and job listings.
  • There is an approved short description and a longer boilerplate.
  • Key messages exist for each main audience.
  • Copy is specific and confident, not padded with qualifiers and filler.

Score 0 to 2: How distinct, and how consistent, does the brand sound across at least five touchpoints?

4. Brand architecture

Brand architecture is how names relate: the company, its products, its services, its sub-brands. David Aaker and Erich Joachimsthaler define it in California Management Review as "an organizing structure of the brand portfolio that specifies brand roles and the nature of relationships between brands." If you carry only one name, this section is short. If you carry several, it may be the whole audit.

  • We can draw our brand portfolio on one page: parent brand, sub-brands, products.
  • Each name has a clear role, and nobody inside argues about it.
  • Naming follows one logic, not whatever seemed right at the time.
  • Customers can tell how our products relate without asking.
  • New products have a rule for whether they get their own name.
  • Acquired or legacy names have a decision: keep, endorse or retire.

Score 0 to 2: How easily would a new customer understand how all your names fit together?

5. Touchpoints

The brand is what people experience, not only what you show.

  • We have a list of every touchpoint, digital and physical, from first ad to invoice.
  • The homepage states the value proposition above the fold.
  • Navigation and calls to action are clear on mobile.
  • Email, from newsletters to transactional mail, matches the rest of the brand.
  • Proposals, invoices, onboarding and packaging look like the same company.
  • We read what customers say in reviews and messages, and it matches how we describe ourselves.
  • We know where the experience falls short of what the brand promises.

Score 0 to 2: At how many touchpoints does the experience match what the brand says?

6. Competitors

A brand is only strong relative to the alternatives the customer is weighing.

  • We collected the homepages, social feeds and key materials of five to eight direct competitors.
  • We mapped them on two axes that matter in our category (for example, traditional vs modern, minimal vs expressive).
  • We know where the empty space is.
  • We compared taglines and value propositions side by side.
  • With all logos removed, someone outside the company could tell us apart.

Score 0 to 2: How clearly does the brand stand apart from the alternatives your customers actually consider?

Scoring and next steps

Add up the six scores. The total matters less than the shape.

  • 0, Missing. What it means: Not documented, unclear or absent; What to do: Fix first.
  • 1, Partial. What it means: Some elements exist but are inconsistent or outdated; What to do: Fix second.
  • 2, Solid. What it means: Clear, documented and actively guiding decisions; What to do: Maintain.

Then apply one rule: fix from the bottom up. Positioning and verbal identity come before visuals, and visuals come before touchpoints. If visual identity scores a 2 and positioning scores a 0, a new logo is money spent on the wrong layer. The framework explains why the order matters.

Three ways the scores usually read:

  • Low positioning, high visuals. The brand looks good and says little. Start with strategy. Brand strategy vs brand identity explains the difference.
  • Low architecture, everything else fine. The brand grew faster than its naming. Fix the map before adding another product.
  • Low across the board. The company has outgrown the brand. Read why most startups rebrand too late before you decide to patch it.

Finish with the three lowest sections and one sentence each. That page is the start of your brief, whether you fix it in-house or bring in a partner.

Run the template, keep the scores and send us the page if you want a second read. Start here.

Source:

Atla Journal

Author:

José Pablo Domínguez

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