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brand
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Is it time to let your logo go? Susan Milne, founder and president of Epiphany, gives advice on A/E branding and logos.
WHAT WAS THE END RESULT FOR HFA? The official company name has remained the same: Harrison French & Associates Ltd. The company logo became an abbreviation/name combination in 2008 to:
By LIISA ANDREASSEN Correspondent
A logo is the simplest form of your visual identity. Typically, your logo won’t explain what you do, but as your brand develops, it will serve as shorthand for what your brand stands for. If the logo is well known, such as the Nike swoosh, you might even see it used without the name of the business. However, most logos have typography that spells out the name of the organization. Logo is defined as “a distinguished representation, mark, or symbol of a firm.” Susan Milne, a principal at Epiphany – a firm that helps A/E firms work through the branding and rebranding process – says that the logo is defined as “a distinguished repre- sentation, mark, or symbol of a firm.” How do you know whether your logo is working for you? Milne suggests reviewing the following to ensure your brand, positioning, marketing, and methodology are all aligned with your logo. Brand: This is the space that your firm occupies in the client’s mind. It’s comprised of reputa- tion, expertise, process, culture, and ethos. For an A/E firm, because the product is service and expertise, a brand is intangible. Brands become tangible as they are articulated across multiple formats including, but not limited to: logo design, web design and development, printed materials, unique process/methodology, and thought leadership through blogs, vid- eos, social media posts, and white papers – just to name a few. Positioning: Your strategy is articulated in a way that separates your firm from its compe- tition. Positioning statements include your firm’s name, expertise, targets, processes and methodology, and the benefits your clients experience from working with you. Marketing: Simply put, marketing is the act of promoting and selling your business’ prod- ucts or services. The goal of marketing is to amplify your brand and nurture leads. Marketing is business development for A/E firms. It can be tracked, measured, and – when following inbound methodology – eliminate competition. Methodology: This is your firm’s process, or way of conducting business. Positioning, brand- ing, and marketing are all set up to serve the goals of the firm. The methodology depends on what the firm is trying to achieve. When should a firm consider a rebrand or creating a new logo? Milne says to think about it under the following circumstances: new or updated positioning; merger, acquisition, or change in leadership; change of business goals – entering a new market or significant growth of an existing sector; logo looks tired or outdated 3 STEPS TO REBRANDING SUCCESS. Milne further outlines how to go about starting the rebrand- ing process. It begins with three steps:
In 2014, the logo changed to HFA and included the firm’s new mission statement:
for obvious reasons. While this is an uncommon reason for rebranding, it’s still a very, very good one. You don’t want your customers associating you or your business with the wrong image. Your brand is boring. It might be hard to accept, but sometimes it’s time to rebrand simply because the brand image you started out with is a little boring. Rebranding can give your business new life. It can help you retain old customers, while successfully bringing in new ones. Lott admits that it took time to phase the various ongoing proj- ects into the new logo and to com- municate the purpose to everyone. The overall rollout took about six months. “It’s an ongoing process for us, since our new brand was more to- wards our purpose and growth as a company than just a name change,” he says. “Changing to a new brand does take a lot of logistic planning to provide a smooth transition.”
See LOGO, page 8
© Copyright 2015. Zweig Group. All rights reserved.
OBER 26, 2015, ISSUE 1125
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