Rebrand. Refresh. Rebrand. Refresh. It’s not easy figuring out exactly how your brand should be looking, should be feeling, or should be sounding.
Blumilk is on hand to help you to map out where your brand is now, where you would like it to be and exactly what steps you need to get there.
Rebrand or Refresh?
It’s a problem as old as time. The thought of going through an entire rebrand can be daunting so what if you don’t have to? There are lots of ways that you can better connect with your target audience while achieving a tangible financial result.
The difference between a rebrand and refresh is that the former is a fundamental change to an organisation, for example, changing your product or service offering, restructuring or merging with another business, or perhaps your brand is stuck in a scene of Stranger Things and gets to work on its Chopper bike?
There are brands from only one or two years ago that are already starting to look dated.
These are all elements that require an entire overhaul of the brand in a way that a brand refresh would struggle to achieve.
What is a brand refresh?
It may just be a case of sharpening up your brand’s messaging, visual assets or tone of voice? Except, how do you know exactly what it is that you need to refresh?
Remember, your marketplace and audience are constantly moving, growing, and changing and so, it’s absolutely essential that your brand moves with them.
If your company and brand fails to keep pace with the evolving marketplace, you potentially leave your organisation wide open to competitors who are there to step into your shoes.
Take a look at Starbuck’s brand refresh below. The logo itself has evolved over the decades but still manages to hold onto its iconic Siren and ‘Starbucks Green’.
“As we evolve to meet beautifully diverse customers all over the world, our brand has evolved too,” Starbucks explains. “Here we introduce a fresh new design system that maintains the core elements of our brand while keeping our customers’ experience central to creative expression.
“To achieve this, we’re thoughtfully incorporating beautiful, expressive moments with calm confidence in ways that are optimistic, joyful and recognisably Starbucks,”
A quick once over of your brand to check for originality, sincerity, understanding of audiences, value, visibility and consistency is a great starting block in ensuring that your brand is where it needs to be. If you’re lacking any of the above, it’s time to think about your brand and how it can live up to its responsibility of standing out in your chosen marketplaces.
What is a Rebrand?
A rebrand is something that takes your brand and completely transforms it. Sometimes for the better, sometimes for the worse – so ensure that you either have vast amount of experience in rebranding established brands or collaborate with an agency who knows their rebrand onions.
A rebrand is something that is incredibly easy to get wrong and incredibly hard to get right. And don’t forget, your entire organisation’s success could depend on this exact stage in your evolution.
Take Tropicana’s 2009 attempt…
‘The new packaging design was rejected and criticised by the majority of Tropicana’s consumers. The launch of the new packaging was indeed such a failure that Tropicana had to drop it to come back to the original version of the packaging.’ (The Branding Journal)
That being said, it is absolutely essential that you keep your brand looking, feeling and sounding fresh and while a rebrand comes with a slightly higher risk factor than a refresh, it can propel you to the lofty heights of business success.
The brand has been well received in the industry and internally at CCW. With a modern new look, the brand is growing from strength to strength and is growing in recognition. The brand is cohesive across all platforms as well as colourful, friendly and inviting for consumers.
Amanda Caton, Executive Head of Communications said recently: “Cannot recommend you enough! Look at the amazing job you did… you should include a “before” so people understand the difference you made to our brand! From our very first conversation, Blumilk have been a joy to work with and have provided us with a level of service above and beyond our expectations.
“They instinctively understood our organisation’s needs, helped us overcome several barriers with determination and positivity, and provided indispensable advice and guidance when we needed it most. I don’t think it’s an exaggeration to say that without Blumilk’s energy, enthusiasm, tenacity – and commitment to providing an excellent service – our project wouldn’t have got this far.”
Whether you’re thinking a rebrand or refresh for your brand, it might be a great idea for you drop us a line or give us a call here.
Blumilk faces brand challenges every day so our clients don’t have to.
Ellingham Hall is a luxury wedding venue and its business has expanded hugely over the past few years. As is expected, to accommodate this growth their site has been added to and altered at various stages over this period. When the time came for us here at Blumilk to reorganise and redesign parts of their site, we recognised it as an opportunity to improve their user experience (UX).
Here’s why it’s important to provide a positive user experience and how we applied this understanding to Ellingham Hall’s website redesign!
Providing a Positive User Experience: The Supermarket Analogy
For most businesses, customer satisfaction is an absolute top priority as this factor often determines the likelihood of a person making a purchase, inquiry, referral, or return. Due to the many digital developments over recent decades, this requirement to satisfy customers’ needs and intentions has slowly but surely crept into online – as well as physical – spaces.
Supermarkets are often used as an analogy for search engine optimisation, website redesigns, and UX. Whilst we might not think about it when we go, supermarkets are very carefully planned in various ways. For example:
Isles are laid out specifically to influence the route made by shoppers e.g. having checkoutsspanning the width of the storeto make it as easy as possible to pay
Isles are clearly labelled and follow an intuitive order/hierarchy
Products are labelled andplaced in specific ways to encourage greater attention to certain products e.g. ‘grabbable’ items are placed at the entrance and by checkouts to encourage impulse purchases
The warehouse section is always out of site of users, similar to the ‘back-end’ or ‘off-page’ elements of a website
Cold/freezer sections are often grouped together for greater efficiency, just as navigation bars use groupings
Websites can be considered as much a ‘space’ as anything else in the physical world because they also require planning, navigation, and maintenance. Over time, pages will be added and removed, links will be changed, content will be altered, images will be uploaded and deleted, links will be added, and so on. If this isn’t regularly reviewed, this can start to damage what’s termed the UX.
The Ellingham Hall Site: What Was Needed?
When Ellingham Hall approached us to redesign their website we were excited at the opportunity and challenge ahead, recognising it as a great opportunity to improve their UX.
Getting started, we devised some specific objectives to help us accomplish this aim, which were to:
Make it easier for Ellingham Hall to update and upload changes to the site
Make their navigation function more consistent across the site’s pages
Alter the templates used on some pages to make the site more mobile friendly
Make Ellingham Hall’s popular gallery page more search friendly
Create and implement consistent call to action buttons on necessary pages
In theory, these changes would improve the site’s UX by reintroducing consistency to the site and making it more seamless and intuitive to use. These changes would also give Ellingham Hall more influence over the user journey, allowing them to encourage users along predetermined or favourable routes.
The Ellingham Hall Site: What Did We Do?
This was a particularly interesting project as it was very varied, involving multiple specific parts of the site.
We started by reviewing the current sitemap and proposing a more effective version which used our custom templates in a more consistent way across the site’s various pages. We then changed the layout of these pages to incorporate more content and to showcase the amazing photography of the venue, which is a key driving point for the site.
Once this was done, our talented developer created a bespoke search and filter system for their gallery page. This means that people can easily search for their wedding photos within the large gallery without wasting time.
Then we turned to the buying journey and thought about how we could use buttons to streamline the buying journey. We added a consistent ‘Book a Private Viewing’ button to the top right of the screen so that users can get to this crucial step regardless of where they are on the site. We also included an expandable ‘Contact Us’ and ‘Private Viewing’ button for both desktop and mobile versions of the site.
These changes may seem subtle but in unison they contribute to a seamless, improved UX. Importantly, Ellingham Hall will reap the benefits of this redesign for years to come as the results will be cumulative over time.
Here at Blumilk, we’re always looking to tackle problems preemptively and for ways to exceed our clients’ expectations. Regardless of the size or type of business or project, we will always find effective business solutions to help propel your business operations. Don’t hesitate to get in touch if you have any questions, from graphic design to digital marketing and from brand development to advertising campaigns!
In 1999, Blumilk was conceived in a small creative office on Pink Lane by brothers Colin and Adam Robinson. 23 years later, and with a reputation as an innovative northeast branding agency, we are proud and excited to move to Grey Street in the heart of the toon rather than being pestered by seagulls along the Ouseburn!
Whilst moving can be particularly stressful, it is usually for the better. When we decided to move from our fabulous office space in the Ouseburn and into the city centre in the autumn of last year, we knew it would be worth it in the long run – for our clients as much as our staff.
So far, Grey Street has definitely lived up to our expectations! With one of the most desirable postcodes in the northeast and a new spacious office to match this, it comes with more suitable areas for client meetings now that we are moving away from social distancing and home-working.
The new location will also ensure a better work life for our team who 100% deserve it after the past couple of years. Not only is Grey Street better suited to flexible office working and regional commuting, but it is also more involved in the city centre with a bigger range of options for lunch and socialising!
Ultimately, as a leading branding agency, it is important to us that where we work reflects the work we do. The new Grey Street office is packed with modern touches and dynamic meeting spaces, and we have an ambitious and hardworking team to make the most of it.
If you have any upcoming campaigns or projects that you think would benefit from our digital and creative experts, then don’t hesitate to get in touch to arrange a visit to our new home at 60 Grey Street.
The UK, together with their partners Italy, are currently hosting COP26 in Glasgow where Net Zero will be discussed and plans laid bare.
The United Nations have been bringing together world leaders from nearly every country on planet earth for more than three decades to discuss and reach an agreement on how to tackle climate change once and for all.
The race to Net Zero, Blumilk believes, is everyone’s responsibility. Whether you’re a global organisation or Sandra at number 22 you must ‘do your bit’ to lower your carbon footprint and leave a healthier world for future generations and the nature with which they’ll share our world.
What is the Paris Agreement?
At COP21 held in Paris in 2015, an historic agreement between every country involved was made to fight global warming together to achieve well below 2 degrees, aiming for 1.5.
It was at this summit that the Paris Agreement was born.
(Video credit: United Nations)
Under this agreement, each and every country involved made a commitment to bring forward national plans on how they will play their part in reducing emissions. These are known as the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs).
These NDCs are set to be presented at the summit with countries clarifying their plans to reduce their emissions.
Sadly, the Paris Agreement has not made enough necessary changes to limit global warming so now is the time for the world to pull up its socks and take action now before it’s too late.
COP26 Goals
Yes, the commitments laid out in the Paris Agreement are ambitious with reducing global warming by 1.5 degrees by 2050, however, by following the steps below, we can still aim for this crucial result:
Accelerate the phase-out of coal
By making the transition to zero coal burning, an incredibly damaging fossil fuel and most carbon-intensive will play a huge role in keeping global warming to 1.5 degrees.
Curtail deforestation
The lungs of the world, forests are crucial in the fight against global warming by absorbing the damaging carbon dioxide from the air. Crucially, when forests are cleared or disturbed, that carbon is released into the atmosphere as carbon dioxide.
Speed up the switch to electric vehicles
Electric vehicles emit far fewer greenhouse gases and air pollutants than their petrol or diesel counterparts. ‘Battery solutions are the catalyst that will drive our society to an electrified, zero-emissions future. It is the next industrial revolution; some call it the green revolution. The next decade will see unprecedented change’ (Orral Nafjari, Britishvolt CEO & Founder)
Encourage investment in renewables
Aside from the economic benefits of using renewable energy, the environmental impact is enormous. Generating energy using methods that produce zero greenhouse gasses will significantly reduce air pollution.
(UN Climate Change Conference UK 2021)
Adapt our efforts to protect communities and natural habitats
Some argue that global warming began with the Industrial Revolution as early as the 1830s with the last seven years being the warmest on record.
More than a million species are at risk of extinction by climate change (earthday.org).
Climate change can’t be ignored and COP26 is encouraging countries to adapt their ways to ‘protect and restore ecosystems while building defences, warning systems and resilient infrastructure to avoid loss of homes, livelihoods and even lives.’ (www.ukcop26.org)
How much will the fight to net-zero cost?
OK, we know what needs to be done but how will the world afford it? In order for countries to follow through with their commitments, at least $100bn in climate finance must be mobilised.
International financial institutions are receiving pressure to unleash trillions in private and public sector finance required to meet the global net-zero targets.
We must work together to deliver on our net-zero promise.
For organisations, lowering your carbon footprint can sometimes feel like a minefield but Blumilk is on hand to simplify your efforts and make sure that not only do your actions stack up but your branding, communications and campaigns do, too.
Due to launch Blumilk’s ‘Your Net Zero’ campaign is a first of its kind solution to assist organisations in their zero-carbon efforts through concise, truthful and impactful communications using a range of mediums including animation, digital content and collaboration to assist your plan ‘for better.’
From sustainability pledges to energy and carbon reporting to your CDP climate change disclosure and annual director’s reports and a whole host of other elements that will allow your organisation to be perceived as leaders in the race to zero.
Blumilk has worked alongside some of the UK’s most ambitious start-ups, SMEs and national organisations on their sustainability brands.
We will also work with specialist carbon offsetting consultants who are able to work with you on your approach and SBTi targets so that’s another area Blumilk have covered.
You can register your interest and we’ll be in touch as soon as we launch or if you have a question or would like to know more about other Blumilk services, you can contact colin@blumilk.com
Whether you started 12 months or 120 years ago, from the day your organisation started, you have grown into something you and your team can be genuinely proud of.
Marketing for the utility sector can be a daunting experience, but if you look after your clients, evolve with your marketplace and stay ahead of the game, you’ll reap the rewards for years to come.
That being said, if your organisation is going to reach the dizzying heights that you once envisioned, there’s an area where the utility sector often takes its foot off the gas – looking after the brand.
We know how it works all too well. You’re so busy growing your organisation that before you know it, your brand is left behind.
Suddenly your brand identity doesn’t reflect who you are, and it’s not making the right impression or connection with your target audience.
You make excuses for your lack of visual communications. You make excuses for your website. You make excuses for your dog-eared brochure that hasn’t seen a graphic designer for what seems like a decade. Excuses, excuses, excuses.
Your utility business is brilliant – it’s time to allow it to shine.
For anyone, attracting new customers can be difficult, particularly during much more challenging times. Everyone has a competitor vying for a bigger bite of the cherry, so it’s more important than ever to take the time to take a long hard look at your brand and ensure it’s in the best possible shape ever.
What is a brand?
Of course, the word brand means different things to different folks. Still, Blumilk likes to describe it as your most valuable asset. Your brand identity makes you immediately identifiable to your chosen market. More importantly, it differentiates you from your competition and leaves a memorable impression on anyone who comes into contact with it.
We’re not just talking about your logo either. We’re talking about your tone of voice, your image styling, the way you’re perceived by staff and customers, and all of your visual assets including your website, brochures, social media graphics etc. Getting your brand identity right is critical. Whether you’re starting from scratch or re-branding an established business, you must ensure your brand keeps up with you and revolutionises as your utility business grows.
Brand consistency
When we think about your brand and its identity, it’s so incredibly important that you keep it all consistent.
Best practice of brand consistency is to ensure that your entire organisation is all on the same page.
Leading brand consistency software experts, Brandkeeper, say: ‘For all companies, building a successful brand can sometimes take years of hard work to establish and even longer to maintain that reputation.
One social post, web page or even an email can change how your brand is perceived and therefore, to save running the risk of creating damage, everyone should be working from a robust house style set of assets.’
Think every element to your brand identity, as mentioned above. Don’t deviate, ensure everyone uses the correct visual assets, including logos, colour palettes and tone, and your messaging and the way you manage relationships.
Blumilk have worked with several industries but will use our utilities portfolio to demonstrate how we can bring all of the above together concisely and thoroughly stress-free.
Marketing for the Utility Sector
Take Western Power Distribution. WPD are the electricity distribution network operator for the Midlands, South West and Wales. They deliver to over 7.9 million customers over a 55,500 square kilometres service area, and they employ over 6,500 staff.
This marketing for the utility sector relationship began in December 2019 when Blumilk successfully tendered to look at the creation of a consistent and coherent brandfor the entire organisation.
Following a consultative period, we highlighted that WPD could benefit from a brand consistency overhaul, and this was completed on-time, on-budget, and to the delight of our client.
Twelve months on, Blumilk are now the only agency of choice that works with WPD, and we manage all of their branding, campaign and general day-to-day design work.
Regulated by Ofgem (the Office of the Gas and Electricity Markets), WPD is proud to have been awarded the Government’s Charter Mark, now known as the Customer Service Excellence award.
We are an extension of the comms team, and they are not just clients but friends. We also now work directly with other business areas such as safety, innovation, connections etc.
What your brand says about you
Who you are and what you stand for will be evident from your brand. Your brand is what you stand for and shows who you are as a business.
And as necessary as it is that you come across in the right light to your clients, it’s equally as important how you are seen through the eyes of your staff.
Likewise, with our relationship with Affinity Water. Through a series of intelligent and thought-provoking projects, AW has maintained and enhanced its customer-centric brand – putting their customer at the heart of everything they do.
Not only do we assist AW to meet all of their regulatory obligations, from their Finance Annual Report and Strategic Direction Statement but they can validate their commitment to being environmentally focussed, innovative and community-driven, with a sense of place and purpose, too.
Some exciting projects in-line with AW’s values and beliefs include their ‘Save 10 a Day’ campaign, internal brand-building with campaigns and initiatives to digitise processes and customer service efficiencies, a series of animations in which AW were able to bring their brand and key messages to the forefront of education together with a multi-channel approach to Drought Awareness campaigns that successfully maintained their brand consistency across all platforms.
SUMMARY
Don’t leave your brand behind. If you want your business to grow and for you to meet your commercial, environmental and regulatory commitments, your brand needs to grow with you.
Blumilkare experts at marketing for the utility sector and can work with you to tell your brand’s story in a way that will bring you to the forefront of your market and in front of your target audiences.
The process is stress and pressure-free, and we’re on hand to start the conversation just as soon as you are.
Get in touch with us now here and we’ll send you a copy of our most current Marketing For The Utility Sector Brochure.
