Strategy

Ah, springtime. Birds are singing, buds are budding, skirts are shortening and brands are looking for a little love.

Just like cleaning house, clearing out the junk and raking the lawn, brands need the same kind of care and attention. And Spring is as good a time as any to clean out the cobwebs, brush off the dust and clear away the clutter around your brand.

We’re not talking about repainting the house or putting in a new kitchen. A Spring cleaning should take a hard look into the little things that make up a brand, as it’s ridiculously easy to miss the small things that can affect the expression of your brand:

• When was the last time you changed the company (or your own) voicemail greeting?
• When did anyone last check for dead links on your website?
• When a user comes upon a 404-error page, do you capitalize on an opportunity to engage?
• When was the last time a news item was added to your website or a news release sent out?
• When was the last time you revised your media background information? (we can help if you have none)
• When was the last time you recited your positioning statement? (we can help if you don’t have one)
• Does your company have a social media presence? If yes, are you getting out of it what you had hoped? (if no, we can help with that too)
• When was the last time you Googled your organization – with and without your organization name – and looked at results and reviews?
• Is what your organization says it does, actually what it delivers? Really?
• How old is your last testimonial?

Answering the above should help you generate a list of brand chores for you to get started on. If you need some help, come by for a visit. Perhaps a beer. 

Next you should review things you may have “overlooked,” meaning that you looked at them and then looked right over them. Things like worn visual identities, tired taglines and faded colours. These are more in the “Spring Renovation” category. We suggest brand stewards think “brand refresh” before “rebrand” when looking at their brands and badges.

Too often, organizations are quick to jettison "old" visuals, messaging platforms and marques in favour of something “New and Fresh.” The risk of throwing everything out, is there are often still treasures that will take time and money to replace. Consistency, recognition, penetration, authority, history, stability are all valuable brand assets worth appraising by an outsider. Chances are that the people behind the brand will be sick of it long before the people in front of it are.

A refresh can be as simple as a colour palette update or addition, type modernization, messaging alignment, tightened positioning statement, revised style guide or new imagery. Revisit the offering and the audience. Still relevant? Then there’s still a brand in there somewhere waiting for a trip to the spa.

And that spa is located at 225 West 8th Avenue, Vancouver.