When to Use Mandates vs. Brand Setup
A decision guide for where to put new rules and preferences
What It Is
Both your brand definition and your mandates shape how SI communicates. Both influence tone, content, and behavior. So when you want to change how SI works, where do you make the change?
The answer depends on whether the change is *universal* or *contextual*.
Brand definition is your identity. It describes who you are, how you sound, what you value, who your audience is, and what you sell. Every piece of communication SI generates starts from this foundation. Changes to your brand definition affect *everything* — every email, every call, every chat, for every contact, across every channel.
Mandates are behavioral rules for specific contexts. They override or supplement the brand definition when a particular situation demands something different. A mandate says "in *this* situation, do *this* instead." Changes to a mandate affect only the matching context — a specific ware, audience, stage, channel, or status.
The question is: Is this a change to *who you are*, or a change to *how you behave in a specific situation*?
Why It Matters
Putting the wrong rule in the wrong place creates problems:
If you put contextual rules in the brand definition, they leak everywhere. Adding "always mention our money-back guarantee" to your brand voice means SI mentions it in every email — even to existing customers, in support conversations, and in contexts where it is irrelevant or confusing.
If you put identity changes in mandates, they become fragmented. If you change your brand tone from "professional" to "conversational" via a brand-level mandate instead of updating the brand definition, new features, reports, and AI-generated content outside of SI may not pick up the change.
Getting this right keeps your system clean, predictable, and easy to maintain as it grows.
How It Works
Use this decision framework:
Update your brand definition when:
- The change applies to *all* communication, not just specific contexts
- You are changing your brand voice, tone, or personality
- You are adding, removing, or modifying an audience segment
- You are adding, removing, or modifying a ware (product/service)
- You are updating your company facts, capabilities, or positioning
- The change reflects who you are *as a brand*, not a rule for a specific situation
Create a mandate when:
- The rule applies only in a specific context (one audience, one ware, one stage, one channel)
- You need to override SI's default behavior without changing the global baseline
- The rule is about compliance or policy (prohibitions, hard facts)
- You want to control cadence or frequency for specific scenarios
- You need to handle objections or competitive positioning differently per product
- The rule might change or be temporary (mandates are easier to version and archive)
Examples of the distinction:
| Scenario | Where to Put It | Why |
|---|---|---|
| "Our tone should be conversational, not formal" | Brand definition | This is a global identity change |
| "When emailing CFOs, lead with data" | Audience mandate (Comms Flow) | CFO-specific behavior, not universal |
| "We offer a 14-day free trial" | Brand definition (wares) | Universal fact about the product |
| "Never promise SLA guarantees to non-enterprise customers" | Ware mandate (Prohibition) | Context-specific restriction |
| "Follow up within 24 hours of a demo booking" | Stage mandate (Cadence) | Stage-specific operational rule |
| "We are SOC 2 Type II certified" | Brand definition (facts) | Universal compliance fact |
Examples
A realtor wants all communication to feel like a local market expert
This is an identity change — it affects everything SI produces. Update the brand voice in **Brand > Setup** to emphasize local market expertise, neighborhood knowledge, and community connection. Do not create a mandate for this, because it should apply to every contact, every channel, every stage.
A SaaS company needs to stop SI from discussing an unfinished feature
This is a context-specific prohibition. Create a Hard Facts mandate: "Feature X is in development and not available for customer use. Do not reference it in any communication. If asked, say it is on the roadmap without committing to a timeline." This is a mandate, not a brand change, because it is temporary and specific — once the feature ships, you archive the mandate.
A coach wants a different follow-up rhythm for high-ticket vs. low-ticket clients
This is context-specific cadence control. Create two Cadence mandates — one attached to the high-ticket ware (more frequent, phone-heavy) and one to the low-ticket ware (less frequent, email-only). The brand definition stays the same; the mandates handle the variation.
