small company image revamping exercise - rebranding? - any experience?

patto_chan

I run a small company and after several months of growing dissatisfaction with the 'staleness' of our image - website, stationery, logo etc I am considering a complete revamp.
I suppose you could call it a rebranding.
I know that big companies can spend a small fortune on such an exercise but my means are more limited.
Has anyone had the experience of a rebranding exercise? Did you use an outside agency? If so, can you recommend anyone? (PM if necessary)

Dabko

Hi there,

I'm in the middle of re-branding a company of mine at the moment.

The company has being on the go for almost 4 years now and is the first co I started. Its initial market was casual, west of Ireland customers. We have being planning to go nationwide with the service and now need to establish a more professional, clean cut image as we are dealing with alot of large clients who first impressions are very important to.

We started by firstly deciding on the new name (almost a year ago now, however, it really shouldn't take this long!). Something easy to remember and associated with the business.
Next we bought our web domain name and registered the business name with the cro - both very simple processes.

Next we contacted the bank so as to change the name on the account. This is quite important as if you receive a cheque written to the new name, you cant cash it. You can still keep your original account - eg. My business ltd trading as Howya lads!

Now the part that's going to cost you monies.

If you have a nice bit of cash hanging about, you could go to the likes of a high end graphic design/marketing/art house and pay for them to come up a new image for you - logo, website, adverts, stationary and all that jazz.
Most of the time, you will get good solid advice and a nice re-branding, but you will pay very well for it.

Your other option is, if you are already versed on who your market are and you know what advertising is, you can make quite a saving and still pull off a successful re-branding (this is what we have done - with the help of another of our companies).

Firstly, get in contact with a couple of the smaller web and graphic design companies (preferable both rolled into one) and inquire on pricing and what you get for it. Let them know the nature of your business, the market, who your competitors are and show them your existing image. A good company should be able to build on all this information and get a "feel" for what you are about.
Depending on how fussy you are, you can achieve a great logo design from as little as 150 euro.
From here, your new website and stationary should be fairly straight forward (i mean that in a sense that if you are happy with an image and colour scheme, you are half the way there to your re-branding) Remember to update your email address(s) and re-direct you existing domain.

If you are getting the one company to create your new logo, website and stationary, tell them you want a selection of different size adverts for free! These adverts should be announcing that due to the growth of your business, the demand has called for a new fresher image to take you forward...blah blah blah. Use your existing advertising mediums for these adverts - local/national papers etc.
Also, get some new flyers for handing out to local shops, homes...

Once all the above is done and dusted, start working on all your existing customers. Send out letters announcing the exciting new re-branding you are under taking, thank them all for their support up to now and assure them the same great service/product will still be available.
Why not use the opportunity to offer some promotional "5% off next order..."

Also, if you are already present online with business directories and the like, update all your information.

The majority of the above you can do your self, with the exception of the website and graphics work.

If you need any more info or tips, give me a shout. I may be able to help out with the graphics/web/print side of things.

Best of luck Patto.

antoinolachtnai

Well, it depends on your situation, and it depends on what resources you have. If you have the cash, I would find some sort of decent agency. You could get the work you need for eur 150, but to be honest, you would need to have pretty exact requirements to do this, for the simple reason that it will only allow a designer an hour or two to work on the thing.

There is a difference between designers. There are different styles for one thing, but there are also some designers who are really great, and some who are just mediocre. And for sure, it isn't all about price, and just because you go to a fancy agency it won't automatically get you a great designer. I would say, you just have to talk to a lot of people.

To get an idea of where things are with development of brands in recent years, I recommend you read Olin's 'Brand Book' (yellow book, available in bookstores). It's certainly not a 'how-to', and it doesn't go into the ins and outs of design or anything like that but it will give you a good appreciation for what it's all about.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Wally-Olins-Brand-Handbook/dp/0500514089/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1226969155&sr=8-1

It focuses on biggish companies, but almost everything there is relevant for a small firm.

Another tip - create a 'board' of all the identities of your competitors and peers. It's a useful exercise and gives you and your designer an idea of the space they need to both fit into and stand out from.

If you start to invest in the look and the name, you should think seriously about registering a trademark too.

Ellechim

The other thing to think about when re-branding is who are your customers, what will appeal to them and how you make your brand synomous with the service/product you're offering. I certainly think if you're going to the effort of rebranding and spending money on letterhead and advertising you'd be better off getting some decent advice, €150 doesn't buy you very much....you want this branding to be a revenue generator for you after all - yes it might put a logo around your company name but that will be about it.......

heggie

not in any way a good logo for that money I might add.

Dabko

heggie wrote: »

not in any way a good logo for that money I might add.

I really must object to that - You can great looking business logos/images for down to earth prices like 150 euro.

You can spend thousands on a wonderful logo that will make you tea and give you free **** jobs, but at the end of the day, if you dont market/advertise it wisely, a complete waste of money!

I think the problem with this country is If it doesnt cost a fortune, It must be sh1te!

Roll on the recession!

niceirishfella

Dabko wrote: »

I really must object to that - You can great looking business logos/images for down to earth prices like 150 euro.

You can spend thousands on a wonderful logo that will make you tea and give you free **** jobs, but at the end of the day, if you dont market/advertise it wisely, a complete waste of money!

I think the problem with this country is If it doesnt cost a fortune, It must be sh1te!

Roll on the recession!

+1
I agree with Dabko. You can get a good logo for €150,if you know where to go!
It's all about knowing how to market you co - ABSOLUTELY!:P

heggie

show some. 150 will buy you plagerised or at best generic rubbish. A good logo takes time & research, 150 doesn't buy much of that.

Dabko's retort is ridiculous. I never said a logo will make you tea or anything else, and of course you need to advertise, noone suggested a logo is all a business needs.

niceirishfella

Heggie, you're wrong........just wrong.
I'd say the Ryanair logo cost less than €150 - but they knew how to market their product. You can spend infinate money on corporate logos/indentity etc, but if you don't have the inate ability to market your product or service, you're going to fail.

heggie

ryanair doesnt have a great logo, its supposed to look cheap and nasty. I'm not wrong. I work in the industry, im not touting for business here, you'll either value your image or not.

It's amusing how the counter to my argument is 'you need to market/advertise or you'll fail' Where am I saying that you don't?

Still waiting on a good logo for 150.

6th

niceirishfella wrote: »

I'd say the Ryanair logo cost less than €150

Then its you thats wrong. €150 is 2 hours of 1 persons design time. You have to charge for meetings etc which would include briefs, changes and producing brand guidelines etc.

That said from my years in the design & advertising business I know you dont have to spend a fortune to get results. That said dont expect a designer to be at your beck and call if you are paying below the odds - they are gonna have to be working on other jobs to make the time worth their while.

Patto, what you need to do is be realistic and figure out how much you want to spend and what you expect for your money.

heggie

Exactly. Boards is full of people that know the price of everything and value of nothing. There are countless amounts of threads to demonstrate so, this http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055370339 being another recent one (read from the results as you will)

Well done on realising you need a rebrand Patto, and while you won't get good results from 150, you won't need to spend tens of thousands either. Any good designer can and will outline what you get for X amount. Best of luck with your search.

niceirishfella

LOL - on forums like this, its always the experts "in the industry" with the vested interests but yet say "I'm not touting for business" that underscore the importance of splashing out on stuff like this and spout the old chestnut "Boards is full of people that know the price of everything and value of nothing".


2 words spring to mind.......kettle and cat.
re; a good example of logo's for €150 - go to www.99designs.com and see some of the stunning design work in contests there for $200 upwards. All your examples are there - end of story.

heggie

no, they are almost all generic or rip offs of other designers work, that will in all eventuality land the client in a lot of trouble or additional cost. It's no secret, people are well aware of sits like those.

niceirishfella

heggie wrote: »

no, they are almost all generic or rip offs of other designers work, that will in all eventuality land the client in a lot of trouble or additional cost. It's no secret, people are well aware of sits like those.

but Heggie - everything in life is now riff off's - cars all looks the same design, radio stations all sound the same playing the same music, some bands rip each others music off, tv shows ripp each others off, corporate logo's and identities are never ending, untiring place of the RIPP OFF - look around and tell me anything in life now that is ORIGINAL?

I don't think anything anymore is new and original as its all been done before. Most right thinking people will agree that virtually nothing in any area of life now (including design )is new now - so, your arguement is still lame.

6th

I'll go against the grain a bit and say that 99designs aint bad but there really is no comparing it to what you get when you pay properly for rebranding. Rebranding is more than just presenting a pretty graphic.

There is one on there for a "Logo Music Download site - €150". And that person will get something they are happy with - a logo that says nothing about their company that it couldnt say for 1000s of other similar businesses. The designer can also go on to tweak it a bit and resell it to the next customer .... and on that site there is always another person looking for the same thing for the same price.

heggie

pointless replying to niceirishfella's drivel. OP best of luck, I've said all I'm willing to on this thread. For a starting point, checkout the designers on logopond.com and see if any of them who's portfolio you like would be suitable for the job.

EKRIUQ

With regards logo I've always went to 99Designs.com

http://99designs.com/categories/logo-design?page=10

With prices from €120 for a logo, normally over 40 different designs to choose from, as many reviews until you have what you want just as long as you work with them giving feedback and I've often worked with the designers for different projects afterwards like press adverts and stationary.

Not exactly a power marketing house but I got what I wanted and didn't have to pay a premium for it and communication was no problem with email, instant chat and skype.

I'm sure for €1,000 you'd get a huge amount of design work done, logos, delivery vans, stationary, flyers etc..

Worth taking a look at if your serious about changing your image

niceirishfella

heggie wrote: »

pointless replying to niceirishfella's drivel. OP best of luck, I've said all I'm willing to on this thread. For a starting point, checkout the designers on logopond.com and see if any of them who's portfolio you like would be suitable for the job.

and thats the best retort you can muster?:rolleyes:

antoinolachtnai

You should certainly read this.

http://www.graphicpush.com/99designs-bull****-20

niceirishfella

Dead link

antoinolachtnai

http://www.google.ie/search?q=99designs+book&sourceid=navclient-ff&ie=UTF-8&rlz=1B3GGGL_enIE219IE219

it's the first link on this page.

the problem is that a bad word is in the web address.

Antoin.

Dabko

Good points niceirish.

However, I can honeslty see where Heggie is coming from. I have a moral mind set that if a person wants to pay big money for something unique and time consuming, let them. There will always be people and companies out there to exploit this - its called Business!


I dont think there is a right or wrong here in this argument, just a matter of opinion. I would never pay millions of quids on a piece of modern art crap, whereas others would. Power to them, Silly people are what make the world go round!

Best of luck op with the rebranding exercice - just remember to haggle the hell out of a greedy industry still living in the celtic tiger days!

heggie

There will always be a market for cheap quick fix solutions. That's fine, I accept that, but to say that paying anything above that is somehow being ripped off or exploitative is wrong, and misleading. As 6th says, 150 will buy you at most 2 hours of a designers time, I certainly take longer doing a logo than 2 hours.

Ellechim

That is why I said first of all know your customer - if your product is high end luxury and expensive then you need slick polished branding (a logo is just part of that) which doesn't always come cheap - depends on who your market is......and remember the power of perception - you can package up something relatively cheap with expensive design and ramp the price up and people will pay for it......

Dabko

Heggie,

you keep getting very defensive about this. I didnt say ripped of either, because the price of "design" is something everyone prices differently, therefore you cant say its a rip off as there is no market milestone to base this upon.


I still think that you can get great company/product representation for great prices and thats it really.
Shop wisely.

"As 6th says, 150 will buy you at most 2 hours of a designers time..."

I wouldnt pay a heart surgeon 75 quid an hour, no matter how good he is!

heggie

Sorry but have u read what u typed? 'greedy' 'exploit'

Dabko

later heggie, dont have time to split hairs.

Viva la Recession!

rotax

Hi Patto,

I'd seek out freelance designers and have a look at their work. your brand is your companies personality and it's much more then a logo. I spent 9 months developing my brand. It takes a lot of thought to create a brand but in my opinion it is well worth spending time and money on it. In my case the brand was key to the success in sales (retail). Branding and advertising are different things. If you have a great brand, it really helps with advertising ideas.

Watch out for the $99 websites. If you go that route be careful that your logo or name is not infringing on anyones trademark. This would cause you major headaches in the future.

set yourself a budget and work with it. If you create an amazing brand you might even get calls from creative agencies offering to work for free just to have the brand on their books....happened to me.