Does changing a brand sound risky? Do you wonder if it’s necessary?
Last year, a company called DF Building came to Rosewood for marketing consulting. They specialized in high-end renovations for the greater Roanoke area of Virginia, especially the Smith Mountain Lake community.
DF Building’s Marketing Guide™ and Coach strongly recommended a rebrand. Here’s why. The folks at DF Building had spent the last few years perfecting their craft, but “no part of their presentation hinted at the level of work they were doing,” says Shandon, a Rosewood brand designer. “That was the biggest disconnect we were trying to solve.”
Bradley, a DF Building partner, agreed. “Our current logo and brand were very basic. They didn’t resonate with the higher-end clientele that we were already serving and wanted to target.”
Time to Leap
“Rebranding and renaming was the scariest thing that our company had ever done. It was a big deal to me and my business partner, Drew,” says Bradley. But they decided to take the leap.
Your Name, Please?
The first step was to find a new name for DF Building. Exploratory questions and a naming session with Rosewood yielded it. Aspire. It spired up from the other choices, capturing the visionary and elegant feel envisioned for their new brand.
Next Comes Branding
Research is the first step on the branding journey. Drew and Bradley worked through a 17-point questionnaire with questions like these: Describe your company’s mission. Describe your ideal customer. What do you hope your logo/brand identity will do for you?
Style Scapes
Drew and Bradley’s answers coupled with Rosewood’s research of Aspire’s competitors and customers gave Shandon a seedbed for his creative ideas. First, he created three “style scapes.” A style scape is a curation of shapes, colors, photos, and logos that align with a certain style and evoke a particular mood. Bradley and Drew reviewed these three style scapes and chose the third as the one that most represented the image they wanted for their brand.
And Then the Logo
Shandon got to work sketching out logos that would be at home in the chosen style scape territory. After multiple meetings and many renditions, Aspire chose this logo for their new brand.
Keeping the consumer in mind is paramount when developing a logo. Fifty percent of Aspire’s clients are middle to upper-class women who are looking for the perfect company for their dream remodeling project. Bradley and Drew chose to modify their preferences for a bold, strong, and punchy logo to something with a bit more finesse. The end result? A logo that resonated with their target audience.
The Launch
Aspire rolled out their new brand about a year ago. Employee uniforms, leather quote portfolios, van wraps, letterhead, and more showcased the new brand. They also launched a marketing initiative through Rosewood that included postcards, ads, and brochures.
Quality, Not Just Quantity
“One of the most profound things that I learned through the rebranding process was that it’s possible to influence the quality of the leads coming into your company,” Bradley says. “I assumed that you could increase the quantity, but I wasn’t aware that you could increase the quality just through advertisement.”
“We were concerned that advertising would dragnet in a huge amount of calls. It didn’t,” Bradley said. The right people started calling, and unqualified calls began tapering off.
In the past, first-time customers knew little about DF Building other than their logo and phone number. This put pressure on DF Building to get on-site and sell the project in person. Now, when people receive an Aspire postcard in their mailbox or see their ad in a magazine, they can tell at a glance from the branding, design, and messaging whether Aspire is a good fit for them. Aspire has also implemented a vetting process in that initial phone call to help cut down on extra job site visits.
The Results
“We are extremely happy with the name and rebranding. Looking back we can see very clearly that it was a defining point in the company,” Bradley says. “The rebranding greatly clarified what we wanted to do. If we had not rebranded, that clarity wouldn’t have happened. Looking back, that would have been a mistake at this stage of our company. It would have hampered our growth.”
What About Your Business?
Every business is at a different stage on its marketing journey. Do you want a marketing team that can help you figure out the next best step for your business strategy? Here’s how to get started.
- Explore our website to learn more.
Schedule a call, and we’ll discern together if Rosewood is right for you.
- Get onboard and start your journey.
Your marketing guide and coach work with you to create a marketing strategy, set goals, and plan your projects for the year.
- Watch your business grow with purposeful marketing.
Your marketing plan comes to life through creative messaging and designs, both print and digital.