Evolving Your Company’s Brand

Man On A Mission

Four months ago I walked into our office in Westbury and prepared for a morning meeting with our team. I knew our fall was going to be busy; we had just won pitches to help launch two new start-ups in the marketplace for 2018. The pitch included work from brand conceptualization to marketing strategy & web development, essentially the whole “9 yards” and it was up to us to make these companies stand out.  As I looked around the table after briefing our team, I suddenly realized that this wasn’t the same one-man shop, that I started two years earlier.  I started to draw a comparison between the companies that hired us and our agency. “who are we” I said to myself as if I had forgotten. It dawned on me that the original brand I conceptualized two years earlier was no longer a valid representation of the agency we were building.

With so many new faces, personalities and skills, I knew we had to reinvent ourselves, becoming an example of the practices we preached to our clients day in and day out. Our team set out to build a new identity for ourselves, something that represented our edgy, process-driven agency & the quality we could provide to companies. After three months of work, we hit that string unveiling our new branding in January.

Now I’m in the branding and marketing business, so it was clear to me when it was time to change our brand identity. If you’re a founder or stakeholder of your company, your primary concern is providing a quality product or service (rightfully so), not worrying about your company brand. So here’s how you know it’s time for a change.

1. The branding doesn’t match the quality of your skills.
2. Your target audience has changed, or you’ve identified new ones.
3. Your message isn’t resonating as powerfully with your audience.
4. The needs of your customers are changing.
5. You’ve introduced new products/services.
6. Your company culture begins to transform as you grow.

If you feel your company is in a situation, I described above; it may be time to start the conversation about evolving your brand. This can ensure you remain relevant to your customers, raise company morale and of course affect the company’s bottom line.

Every Day Is A New Day

Evolving your brand isn’t always an easy undertaking, and when your companies are investing in advancing their reputation, you’ll want to make sure you’re following a process that takes branding, marketing & your overall strategy into consideration. Here’s a process I recommend you follow:

1. Before you think of any messaging or creative, lay out your objectives and goals for the next five years, this will help you align your new brand with your organization’s ambitions and ensure your investment lasts longer.
2. Put together a committee that represents different departments of your business, allowing for multiple perspectives and needs met. However, only have ONE point of contact to communicate the committee’s requirements.
3. Branding isn’t “graphic design,” it’s essential that extensive research is performed on your current and prospective customers. Heavily take into account their opinion and in some cased prioritize their asks over yours.
4. You want to hire professionals that have the expertise & skills it takes to launch a new brand for you. Understand that it takes talent from strategist to artists to ensure your vision & messaging is communicated right, the first time.

Evolving your brand can seem like a daunting task, but in a world of fastly growing markets, it’s essential that you keep you up appearances. The result will be higher relevance to your customers & a position that will help to expand your companies profits.