One of the biggest barriers to great branding is many companies are so focused on their customers and navigating the daily challenges of running a business, that it can be challenging to find time to truly define their brand and bring it to life in a meaningful way.
In advertising, we commonly refer to this situation with the phrase “the cobbler’s kids have no shoes.” We spend so much time and energy on running our business, that we neglect the most important things right in front of us. We see this with companies far and wide…and we saw it with ourselves.
So, we did something about it. We buckled down and dedicated valuable time to ourselves, and we’re glad we did. Now we’d like to share and thought this case study might be relevant and inspiring to you and your company.
Rhycom — A Case Study in Rebranding a Company Who Does Rebranding for a Living
CHALLENGE
Our primary challenge was to make sure we were effectively communicating our unique point-of-difference to our clients and prospects. As with most industries these days, there is no shortage of competing ad agencies out there, and we wanted to make sure our position and advantage in the market were clear.
APPROACH
Just like we do with our clients, we started with a strategic approach and executed a process of discovery and research to identify what makes us who we are. We talked with our customers, our employees and utilized secondary research tools to learn even more about what companies really need when it comes to outsourcing their marketing.
We analyzed and discussed all this information and then distilled it into our Brand Essence statement. By practicing what we preach, we had a blast collaborating. And while we weren’t surprised, it was exciting to see the process culminate in branding that nailed who we are and why that should matter to our clients.
SOLUTION
We knew we weren’t an agency focused on just one niche category. We also knew we weren’t an agency focused on a specialized service. All of our clients need a lot of different services, and we’re good at a lot of different things.
What we did uncover, though, were two important assertions:
- HOW we work with clients day in and day out is unique.
- And, more importantly, HOW we work actually matches up very well with what a national research study of CMO’s said they wanted most from their marketing partners:
#1 – Get work done quickly
#2 – Handle difficult/complex challenges
#3 – Ability to work with minimal oversight
#4 – Provide fresh ideas
We found this very interesting. Especially when we learned that “Provide strategic insight” was a whopping #17 on their list. Almost every agency we know and have worked with leads with talking about how strategic they are. Granted we must be strategic, we are strategic, but perhaps it’s not the first or most salient point. It may be possible (sarcastically… sort of) that clients already have a good handle on their strategy! Shocking, I know!
So how we work, and lining that up with what clients say they need, led us to define ourselves as: BUILT FOR BUSINESS TODAY.
We are intentional about how we are structured and how we manage relationships. We are focused on business results. That is what matters.
We have a sense of urgency and cut to the chase—businesses need results today.
In conclusion, please stay tuned over the next few weeks as we explore Built for Business Today and what the Top Four Needs mean and how understanding them can lead to better client/agency relationships and increased business results.
