Improving through Sharing
Brand Guidelines Your Comprehensive Guide to CPAmerica’s Brand Standards CPAmerica Brand Guidelines
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The CPAmerica Brand While CPAmerica members vary in terms of size and practice areas, they all share the common vision of wanting to continuously improve, to make more money, to strengthen relationships among member firms, and to bring prestige to firms both domestically and internationally. The CPAmerica logo and branding standards reflect this common vision among members who enjoy the benefits of the association while retaining their independence. By following these guidelines, each firm will enhance its membership through co-branding and will work to protect the brand of the association.
Contents Approved Branding Applications.................... pg. 3 Representing Your Membership...................... pg. 4 Logo Usage........................................................pg. 5 Properties and Limits........................................pg. 6 Brand Tool Kit....................................................pg. 7
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Approved Branding Applications We encourage members to brand their firms with CPAmerica. The CPAmerica logo, alongside your firm’s logo, may appear on: • All of your firm’s letterhead, envelopes and other firm collateral materials. • The homepage of your website, as well as other appropriate pages on your website. Please link the logo back to CPAmerica’s website at https://www.cpamerica.org. • Employee email signatures. • All client newsletters, brochures, mailers and other publications sent to clients and prospects. • All press releases sent to the media. A description of your firm’s affiliation with CPAmerica should be included in the press release. • All print advertisements. • All banners, signs and other displays at special events, trade shows or other public gatherings in which your firm participates.
CPAmerica Brand Guidelines
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Representing Your Membership The language below should be used to describe your firm’s membership with CPAmerica. Paragraphs may be omitted if space is limited. [MEMBER FIRM] is an independently owned and operated member firm of CPAmerica, Inc., one of the largest associations of CPA firms in the United States. Through our affiliation, we have instant access to the expertise and resources of more than 2,800 professionals and more than 750 partners. [MEMBER FIRM] offers clients unique access to national and international markets through our membership in CPAmerica, an association of independent accounting firms that maintain the highest practice standards. CPAmerica is a member of Crowe Global, providing our firm access to a top-10 global accounting network with over 200 independent accounting and advisory firms in more than 130 countries. As a client of our firm, you truly receive the best of both worlds: the personal attention and sincere concern of a local firm and the knowledge and resources of an international association. The use of “CPAmerica, Inc.” should be reserved for the first mention of the organization; any reference thereafter should be “CPAmerica.” According to guidelines by the AICPA, the term “network” may no longer be used to describe the affiliation. Please replace any reference to the term with “association.”
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Logo Usage Recommended Logo Usage The CPAmerica logo may stand alone or be used with the words “Member of” above the logo on your firm’s marketing materials. “Member of” should be written in the font used by your firm on marketing materials, and should maintain the clear area (described on page 7) above the logo.
Member of
Incorrect Logo Usage Use only the approved CPAmerica logo shown above. Do not do the following: • Reproduce the logo in non-approved colors. • Attach or remove anything from the logo. • Stretch or distort the logo’s proportions. • Alter the horizontal orientation of the logo. • Surround the logo with shape, such as a box. • Place the logo on textures or backgrounds that may impair legibility.
CPAmerica Brand Guidelines
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Properties and Limits The logo is a graphic entity that identifies the association and must always be represented as shown. No components may be added or removed from the logo. The CPAmerica logo should occupy its own space. Always maintain a general “clear space” on all sides of the logo to separate it from other communication elements.
Logo Color Options There are four basic color options for the logo from which to choose: blue and yellow color version using the approved colors; reversed version, in which the entire logo is shown in white against a solid, dark background; reversed version, in which the entire logo is shown in white and the pinnacle symbol in yellow; and grayscale, when printing in one color.
Corporate Colors PANTONE (PMS) 282 C 100 M 68 Y 0 K 54 R 0 G 45 B 98 HEX CODE 002D62 PANTONE (PMS) 130 C 0 M 30 Y 100 K 0 R 253 G 184 B 19 HEX CODE FDB813
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Artwork Digital files with .tif, .eps or .ai extensions should be used for printed materials. Those with .gif or .jpg extensions should be used for online viewing. Electronic files of the CPAmerica logo are available on the members-only website, in the sharing library, under Association Documents and CPAmerica Branding.
Clear Area The clear area is the required empty space around the logo that is equal to the height of the lowercase “m” in the logo as a guide all around the logo. No other element should violate this space. This includes: No text, other logos, or art work.
m
Clear Area
Brand Toolkit Please reference the CPAmerica members-only website to access this brand standards guidelines under “Association Resources.”
CPAmerica Brand Guidelines
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Questions? Please contact CPAmerica at (352) 727-4070 or email marketing@cpamerica.org
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www.cpamerica.org • (352)727-4070