Brand Toolkit
Last Updated: October 2026
Introduction
Meet the MMA. We lean into the future and lead the marketing industry.
The MMA takes on real marketing challenges with bold innovation and rigorous research. We are a peer-driven CMO community, relentlessly pursuing new skills, tools, and business growth. We uplift and empower each member and, as an alliance, lead the industry forward into the future.
The MMA invites those with grit and vision to join us in pushing the limits of marketing for themselves, their businesses, and the future.
These guidelines give us the tools to show up in a way that is unified, bold, and motivating.
Logo + Wordmark
MMA Progress
The MMA Primary Mark’s bold black letterforms, sliced by vivid gold diagonals, radiate focus, motion, and intent. The sharp, forward-leaning cuts suggest an unflinching drive to take on challenges and push past limits, while the gold channels ambition and excellence. It’s a symbol of momentum and invention in equal measure: bold enough to experiment, relentless enough to lead.
In a word, Progress.
Wordmark
The MMA wordmark introduces the new name: inspiring, inviting, galvanizing. As an alliance, not an association, MMA attracts the boldest thinkers and moves the industry forward. To emphasize and socialize the name, include the Wordmark in a lockup with the Progress Mark.
NOTE: When writing the full name in copy, always use the plus (+) symbol, NOT an ampersand (&) or the word “and”, e.g., Marketing + Media Alliance.
Lock-up Structure
The Wordmark forms both the literal and figurative foundation that the MMA brand is built on. The relationship between it and the Progress Mark is fixed and should NEVER be altered. The space between the bottom edge of the Progress Mark and the top edge of the Wordmark is ALWAYS .5 X the height of the Wordmark.
Use the Progress Mark on its own only where the full logo would be too small to read, like a favicon. Everywhere else, use the full logo.
Logo Usage
Primary Marks
Primary (White Background)
Use the 2C MMA logo against a white background. The standard configuration with black letterforms and gold diagonal accents.
Inverse (Black Background)
Use the 2C R_Neg MMA logo against a black background. Gold letterforms with white diagonal accents for maximum impact on dark surfaces.
On Gold Background
Use the 2C Neg MMA logo against a gold background. Black letterforms with white diagonal accents create a bold, premium appearance.
Grayscale (White Background)
Use the black/gray MMA logo against a white background when color reproduction is limited.
On Photo
The gray/white MMA logo can be applied to photographic backgrounds. Ensure sufficient contrast for readability.
Safe Zone
Utilize the height of the letterforms as a gauge for guaranteeing the appropriate amount of clearance surrounding the MMA wordmark. Employing 2X the height of the “M” in “Marketing” will provide the correct amount of spacing required.
What Not to Do
To maintain brand integrity and consistency, avoid these common mistakes when using the MMA logo:
- Do not tilt the logo
- Do not add drop shadows or effects to the logo
- Do not change the color of the logo
- Do not squeeze, stretch, or distort proportions of the logo
- Do not place 2C logo on non-brand colors
- Do not outline the logo
The Diagonal
When to use it
The Diagonal is an integral part of the Primary Mark and can be isolated and applied within the brand palette as an accompanying design element. The Diagonal creates consistency while offering flexibility and visual variety. Portable, forward-leaning, dynamic, and adaptable, it brings “Progress” to every platform and usage.
Two angles
The relaxed Diagonal, about 18° from vertical, is the standard: before headlines, as section dividers, and in backgrounds. The sharp Diagonal, about 23°, follows the cut of the logo itself; it’s the one in the regional and council logos.
When Diagonals sit side by side, keep every gap the same.
Every brand color
Use MMA Gold by default. The gem colors belong to the Think Tanks: Emerald for MATT, Sapphire for DATT, Topaz for MOSTT, Peridot for ALTT. Use the lighter tints for subtle accents.
On a gold background, use the white Diagonal. The white Diagonal never takes an outline.
Typography
Söhne Halbfett (Headings)
Söhne Halbfett is a modern grotesk typeface that offers a strong balance of functionality and character. Its precise forms and subtle humanist details give the MMA brand a contemporary edge while remaining approachable.
- Weight: Normal (600)
- Leading: +10% for clear legibility
- Tracking: 0
Söhne Leicht (Body Copy)
Söhne Leicht brings clarity and poise to the brand’s voice. Its lightweight and open proportions make it ideal for text, offering refinement and ease across platforms.
- Weight: Regular (300)
- Leading: +20% for clear legibility
- Tracking: +10
Tiempos Text (Alternative Body)
When paired with Söhne Halbfett, Tiempos Text offers exceptional readability and refinement. Tiempos is added to the font set for use when there is a need for a clear distinction in the “color” of long blocks of text. It can also be used to highlight “pull quotes”.
Getting the Fonts
Söhne and Tiempos Text are licensed typefaces. Use them for MMA work only.
Where the brand fonts aren’t installed, Aptos and Georgia stand in.
Colors
Primary Colors
MMA Gold and Black are the primary brand colors. The authority of gold, the highest standard, is given a contemporary tone blending excellence with urgency and power. Black reinforces the palette by providing a solid foundation, adding professional directness and strength to the MMA brand.
Secondary Colors
The secondary colors introduce a sense of vibrancy and energetic touch to the MMA brand. These tones are often linked to media and technology, making them an ideal complement to the future-facing MMA mission.
Brand Structure
MMA does its work through four Think Tanks, one for each marketing arena: Marketing Attribution, Data + CX, Organizational Strategy and AI Leadership.
Every Think Tank runs the same three programs: Future Labs, Knowledge Center and Communities. In text, write the Think Tank’s acronym, then the program: MATT Future Labs, ALTT Knowledge Center, DATT Communities.
Every Think Tank runs three programs
Think Tanks
Four Think Tanks
Each Think Tank logo sets its acronym in the heavy letterforms of the Progress Mark, cut by one Diagonal in the Think Tank’s gem color, with the full name beneath.
Use each logo as supplied. Never retype the acronym or the name.
Program Eyebrows
A program lockup sets the program name, in capitals, as an eyebrow above the Think Tank logo: FUTURE LABS, KNOWLEDGE CENTER, COMMUNITIES. The eyebrow names only the program, because the acronym is already in the logo.
Use the lockup files. Never set the eyebrow in live text.
Gem Colors
Each Think Tank owns one gem color: Emerald for MATT, Sapphire for DATT, Topaz for MOSTT, Peridot for ALTT. Its products and initiatives carry the same color, as a relaxed Diagonal beside the name in Söhne Halbfett.
Never recolor a Think Tank logo or borrow another Think Tank’s color.
On Dark Backgrounds
Every Think Tank logo and lockup also comes as a knockout version, with white letterforms and name, for black and dark backgrounds.
Regional Logos
Every Region and Council
Every MMA region and local council has its own logo: the full MMA logo with the region or council name beneath it. Always use the official files. Never type a region name next to the logo yourself.
Regions
Local Councils
How They’re Built
The name sits beneath the logo after a sharp gold Diagonal, right-aligned with the wordmark. Region names are black; local council names are gray.
Color Versions
Each regional logo comes in the same color versions as the MMA logo. Use 2C on white, 2C R_Neg on black, 2C Neg on gold, and gray/white on a photo.
Regional Event Treatments
Every MMA-branded event combines four elements:
- The MMA logo, or for a regional event, that region’s or council’s logo
- The Diagonal with the event name, or the event’s own lockup
- A solid White, Gold or Onyx background
- A photo or illustration
Events for One Marketing Arena
When an event focuses on one marketing arena, match its accent color to that arena’s Think Tank, such as Emerald for a Marketing Attribution event.
Download Yours
Each download has every color version, plus profile pictures and square versions for social media.
Don’t see yours? Email [email protected].
SMARTIES
Celebrating Marketing Excellence
The SMARTIES Awards are MMA’s awards program. SMARTIES has its own logo system and palette, aligned with the MMA brand while keeping the SMARTIES purple. For SMARTIES work, use the SMARTIES logos and colors.
Logos
Regional and country logos add their name beneath the tagline. On dark backgrounds, use the dark versions: they’re transparent, so they sit on any dark ground. To show a logo on Gala Indigo, place the dark file over #323366.
Palette
SMARTIES Gala Indigo anchors the dark backgrounds and Celebration Purple accents them, as in the bars of the “E”. Gold, Silver and Bronze mark the award tiers. SMARTIES uses Söhne Leicht and Söhne Halbfett.
Tone + Voice
Across every touchpoint
Our tone may shift in different contexts, but our voice should always sound like it’s coming from the same brand. By following these guidelines, we can ensure that all of our communications build trust, confidence, and attract members to join us.
MMA is the Hero
MMA’s brand archetype is the Hero. Our Think Tanks have an element of the Sage, and our events an element of the Magician, but the brand is focused on grit, mastery, and saving and advancing marketing for impact.
Never Alone
MMA isn’t going it alone. It assembles the team to triumph through bravery, perseverance, and mastery. MMA is not a lone ranger; it is the force that gathers, empowers, and inspires a team to triumph.
MMA as the Hero is
- Assembling the best
- Mastering skills
- Rising to the challenge
- Creating a better future
- Setting high standards
- Inspiring & leading
- Teamwork
- Win against the odds
MMA as the Hero is not
- Saving the day alone
- Fortress of solitude
Our voice is...
Read each pair as a balance: confident but never arrogant, energetic but never shouty, clear but not terse. We speak as an alliance, “we,” never as “I.”
| Our voice is | Our voice is not |
|---|---|
| Energetic | Shouty |
| Sharp | Rude |
| Smart | Showy |
| Clear | Terse |
| Confident | Arrogant |
| Generous | Subservient |
| An alliance | One person |
Key Message
To be taken seriously and attract members, we introduce ourselves the same way everywhere: one key message, one proof point, one call to action.
Our brand stands for “Progress.” Forward-leaning verbs such as lean, push, lead, advance and empower are on brand.
Writing Our Name
Write Marketing + Media Alliance (MMA) the first time, then MMA. Always the plus symbol, never “MMA Global”, and never “the alliance” as a name for us.
- Marketing + Media Alliance (MMA)
- MMA
- MMA Global
- The MMA
- Marketing & Media Alliance
- The alliance
The Approved Words
Use the approved text as written: “Lean into the future. Lead the marketing industry.” for social bios, the About text for About sections, and “Push the limits of marketing” for banners.
MMA takes on real marketing challenges with bold innovation and rigorous research. We are a peer-driven CMO community, relentlessly pursuing new skills, tools, and business growth. Our members are true and trusted partners. As an alliance, we educate and empower one another, leading the industry forward. Join us in pushing the limits of marketing for yourself, your business, and the future.
Tagline
Come for the alliance. Stay for the impact.
Use the tagline with the logo, never in body copy. Only the last word changes, and only to an approved word: science, revolution, knowledge, progress, growth, proof, courage, momentum, innovation, rigor.
Application Examples
The MMA brand system works across all touchpoints, from digital to print and from social media to stationery. These examples demonstrate how the logo, typography, colors, and diagonal element come together to create a unified, bold presence.
Available Resources
Questions, or need a file you can’t find? Email [email protected].
Every Think Tank runs three programs
Regions
Local Councils