Question

Topic: Branding

Re-branding No Brainer?

Posted by Anonymous on 10/17/2013 at 1:56 PM ET 250 Points
Old (66 & 58) School Ownership not in touch with market and in need of reality check.

A 24 year old company languishing in their own complacency, must re-invent themselves. They are still viable for sure, they have been kind of a captive shop for years, hence part of the low visibility.)

Bad News is that they are invisible to market and have been for years.

Good News is that they are invisible to market.
But, they can re-emerge as anything they want to be.

Their target markets are B2B and mostly Southern California centric. Their target prospects are influencers, decision makers and higher, and the demographics are dominated by people 25 to 45 years old. We are not even on the radar screen to this audience.

The obstacles are that ownership doesn't realize that our messages need to be written in a different "language" to prospects who maneuver through a different purchasing cycle, and more receptive to learning about solutions, rather than being "told" that they need something.

Probably should mention we are a small company which has done pretty well by supporting the marketing & sales departments of a few Fortune 500 companies.

In house, we have a full digital photo studio—35MM, Med format, Lg format. Very good at all the applications related to photography, design for print, design for web & mobile. In house Xerox IGEN, 3 large format Epsons, die cutting, binder, fulfillment, show graphics, many other capabilities.

The cost for us reach our target audiences through almost every medium is much lower than any of our competitors because of our capabilities.

A full-on metamorphosis is destined to be a huge "can't miss"... if we can get out of our own way.

I suppose I am looking for the "gold plated sledge hammer" to drive the spike home.

Any suggestions which might point me in the right direction to approach this situation better?

Thank and appreciation to all in advance.



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RESPONSES

  • Posted by Moriarty on 10/17/2013 at 5:19 PM Member
    From my perspective, you've got something pretty good going on - all you need to do is find more folk who like your style. That you're invisible to the market means nothing - that you're visible to the people who count does.

    You will have contacts, and an email list (at the very least). One possibility for you is Facebook advertising, it's quiet and unassuming. You can tip your entire email list into their algorithm and let Facebook do its stuff. They'll find you more people who are looking for the things you do well. As importantly, you can split test to your hearts' content - and that means you can refine any taglines or branded images for maximum effect on your visitors.

    You can reverse-feed this information into your other advertising activities, including direct mailings. After all, half the battle is knowing what to say to whom. With the kind of metrics Facebook'll bring you, you'll know if they drive a merc or a 5 series BMW - and a great deal else. This'll allow you to tailor your message appropriately. Then you could use that info in a Linkedin campaign, Display network campaign and even an Adwords campaign (but this wouldn't be so effective if you're seeking out decision makers).

    The point is to do more of what you do well.
  • Posted on 10/17/2013 at 5:25 PM Accepted
    Your "gold-plated sledgehammer" is going to need to be specific to your audience. Using a generic sledgehammer is not likely to work. What you might do is hire an outside consultant to bring in some relevant prior experience and an objective look at what needs to be done. That could very well solve your problem, if you can find the right consultant.

    Before you do anything, though, you might want to take the management team through a SWOT analysis so everyone is starting with the same understanding of the situation.
  • Posted by Jay Hamilton-Roth on 10/17/2013 at 5:47 PM Member
    Have you tried to make 5-10 informational interviews to prospective clients to better understand their needs and validate your thinking (that you've got what they want)? That'll help cement your thesis, and ensure you're starting out on the right foot.
  • Posted on 10/17/2013 at 6:56 PM Author
    "Before you do anything, though, you might want to take the management team through a SWOT analysis so everyone is starting with the same understanding of the situation."

    Definitely. This is already scheduled for next week. I am halfway decent at channeling my inner Socrates, so I am optimistic that I can accomplish 2 important things. 1) A useful SWOT ; but almost more importantly, 2) instilling some confidence and purpose back into these guys. There are a lot of strengths present, but at the moment, most of the threats are from within the lackadaisical corporate culture. Another conversation for sure.

    Thank you all! Good Advice!
  • Posted by Moriarty on 10/18/2013 at 4:42 AM Accepted
    It sounds as if the branding process is more "internal" than "external"!

    I met a guy recently - a marketer - and he found it difficult to match the numbers on his papers to real people outside. It was just a job to grind through, as it were. My guess is that your team are feeling much the same. They need a breath of reality in their work, something that shows them they're doing something that has real results. That kind of feedback has a powerful effect on people.
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