Hiring an agency is better than doing it in-house
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We all know branding and marketing is important for the growth and success of a business, no matter the industry. But it seems the more digitized we are the more convoluted the activity of “marketing” gets. Jostling for eyeball space has become ever so laborious. So should you be doing your own branding, design and advertising? Whether it’s difficult or not isn’t the point as much as the effort (and time) it takes to get results. And how good is your content and strategy? Chances are a company isn’t the best at what they do and also just happens to have an incredible creative design acumen as well.
So the critical decision that businesses often grapple with is whether to handle their marketing efforts in-house or to enlist the expertise of a professional branding agency. Both approaches have their merits. Here’s why hiring a marketing agency can offer a strategic advantage.
Expertise: You do what you do — let the pros handle the rest.
Marketing agencies are home to a diverse team of professionals with specialized skills across various facets of marketing, including digital marketing, content creation, SEO, social media management, etc. By outsourcing marketing to an agency, companies can tap into a wealth of expertise that may be challenging to assemble in an in-house team. Agencies stay abreast of industry trends, ensuring that their strategies are cutting-edge and aligned with market demands.
Cost: Agencies aren’t as expensive, you say?
Contrary to popular belief, hiring a marketing agency can often be more cost-effective than maintaining an in-house team. Building an internal marketing department involves recruiting, training and providing ongoing professional development — not to mention the costs associated with salaries, benefits and office space. Agencies operate on a fee-for-service model, allowing businesses to scale their marketing efforts up or down based on their needs without the long-term financial commitments associated with full-time staff.
Agility: At scale!
Marketing needs can vary over time, especially for growing businesses. Marketing agencies offer a high degree of flexibility and scalability, allowing companies to adapt to changing circumstances seamlessly. Whether launching a new product, entering a new market or adjusting to shifts in consumer behavior, agencies can swiftly adjust their strategies to align with the evolving needs of the business.
Objectivity: A fresh set of eyes
Internal teams may become entrenched in the company culture, potentially leading to a lack of objectivity. Marketing agencies bring an outsider’s perspective, offering fresh and unbiased insights. This external viewpoint can be invaluable in identifying untapped opportunities, addressing weaknesses, and crafting innovative strategies that may not be apparent to those deeply ingrained in the day-to-day operations of the business.
Sure, there are benefits to having an in-house marketing team, but the strategic advantages of hiring a marketing agency are hard to ignore. From access to specialized expertise and cost-effectiveness to flexibility and fresh perspectives, outsourcing marketing to an agency can be a game-changer for companies seeking to enhance their brand presence, reach wider audiences and achieve sustainable growth in today’s dynamic business environment.
Anolith wins (another) advertising award
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We are honored to receive a prestigious (and back-to-back) Graphis award for advertising. Graphis Inc. is an international publisher headquartered in New York City, holding annual awards for the world’s best in visual communications. Earlier this year we won for their 2024 poster award category, and we’re excited to say we’ve now received an award in the advertising campaign series category.
The Client
The series we created is for FACE by MD, an aesthetic facial and body rejuvenation center founded by medical professionals rather than plastic surgeons, a differentiator we utilized during the brand development, interior design and marketing campaigns for the client.
The Ads
The ad series was used in various media channels. Naturally, we developed for multiple ongoing digital applications like social media, websites and digital ad placement. Additionally, for this retail client we wanted to take advantage of conventional advertising avenues. We love an opportunity to engage audiences with physical advertising, featuring full-page publications, retail displays and bus ads coupled with unconventional and captivating brand collateral.
Designing the Future with AI
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Look up articles on AI in creative circles — the results would be an overwhelming amount of commentary bemoaning the existence of AI and warning the end is nigh for human-made creativity (how broad). Every generation has its personalized apocalypse and yet, here we all stand. While there are indeed issues that always, inevitably, arise from nascent technologies, there are also opportunities that come along with it, hence how and why these technologies came into being in the first place; the human condition of “because we can.” And if we can we do.
What opportunities does AI present creatives, more specifically in the branding, marketing, advertising, graphic design fields? Where many would decry that AI will take gigs away from creatives, we argue it has and will create more prospects for people.
Efficiency isn’t a word we typically think of when we consider art and creativity. However, when designing visual strategies in the real-world, tinkering with campaigns and product ideas, it has become immensely inspirational due to fast-product efficiencies in the design process.
For us designers AI is yet another tool, albeit a sophisticated one that can really churn up creativity and inspire new directions in product design and conceptual imagery. Our use of AI applications have been remarkably helpful in many of our projects and processes in the last year. Image generators (we’ve used a few) have helped us, quickly, explore creative routes when presenting concepts to clients. We, of course, present visually. How cool it is to be able to generate ideas that came from your own brain, quickly, that can articulate to the client what can be.
And sell it.
Once clients are engaged we begin building the idea and, way more often than not, employ vendors to compliment the campaign, prototype, what have you. These contractors are often 3D animators, videographers or other producers who likely wouldn’t have been engaged if we didn’t use our AI tool to woo the client on the idea. Quickly. Efficiently.
The Creative Catalyst
AI image generators have fundamentally altered the way designers like us approach creativity. They are powered by advanced deep learning algorithms that have been trained on vast datasets, enabling them to generate high-quality visuals that rival the work of human designers. Here’s how AI image generators have become a creative catalyst in some of our work:
Amplifying Imagination:
AI image generators serve as a wellspring of inspiration. They can take a simple concept or idea and transform it into a visually stunning reality. Whether we’re brainstorming ideas for an ad campaign or visualizing a product prototype, AI has helped us explore creative possibilities we might have missed otherwise.
Rapid Ideation and Exploration:
The speed at which AI image generators operate is a game-changer. In the past, developing multiple design concepts was a time-consuming process. Now, we can generate a variety of design options in a matter of minutes, allowing us to explore different directions and refine our vision quickly.
Bridge concepts inspired by AI image generators for use in real-world design applications.
Data-Driven Design:
AI image generators can analyze data and generate visuals tailored to specific audiences or demographics. This data-driven approach helps us create designs that resonate with target consumers, ultimately leading to more effective ad campaigns and product prototypes.
Customization and Brand Consistency:
One of the remarkable features of AI image generators is their flexibility. We can input brand-specific guidelines, color schemes and design principles to ensure the generated visuals align perfectly with a client’s brand identity. This level of customization guarantees brand consistency across all marketing materials.
Time and Cost Efficiency:
Designing from scratch is time-consuming and expensive. AI image generators allow us to create stunning visuals without the need for a large team or extensive resources. This cost-effectiveness frees up budgets for other crucial aspects of advertising campaigns.
Real-World Applications
We’ve had the privilege of using AI image generators in various projects, leading to remarkable results for our clients.
Conceptualizing Ad Campaigns:
When brainstorming concepts for ad campaigns, AI image generators help us visualize how different creative elements will come together. This aids in presenting compelling visual pitches to clients, increasing the likelihood of approval and collaboration.
Product prototyping and design for entering new markets.
Product Prototyping:
AI image generators play a pivotal role in bringing product prototypes to life. Whether it’s creating 3D renders, packaging designs or mock-ups, AI-powered visuals enhance the presentation of prospective products to clients and stakeholders.
Personalization in Advertising:
AI-driven personalization has become a trend in advertising. We’ve used AI image generators to craft personalized visuals for campaigns. This approach resonates with consumers, resulting in increased engagement and conversions.
The use of AI image generators has added to (and in some ways transformed) our creative process, injecting a new level of efficiency and innovation into bringing clients along and frankly has helped with getting things approved and implemented. These powerful tools have expanded our creative horizons, enabling us to explore, iterate, muck about and produce visuals that captivate audiences. As the technology continues to evolve, designers can anticipate even more exciting applications of AI image generators in shaping the future of design and advertising. Embracing these tools allow us to elevate our craft, delight clients, broaden the work landscape to include other producers heretofore not on the budget sheet and deliver impactful campaigns and product prototypes that leave a lasting impression.
Brand value and how to calculate it.
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A lot of people think it’s hard to measure a company’s brand. That’s because it often is. It’s easy to proclaim the immense value of brands like Coca-Cola, Apple, Nike. These companies have become synonymous with the term “brand” even to those not in the realm of branding and advertising. What’s difficult is evaluating the brand value of all the bajillion other companies that aren’t immediately recognized by a French fry flinging clown or an encircled three-point star emblem that makes you smell fresh luxury leather at the sight of it.
What is brand value?
Brand value is a term used in marketing and business to measure and assess the intangible worth or value of a brand. It is also referred to as brand equity. Brand value represents the financial and non-financial worth that a brand adds to a company’s products or services. Various factors make up the abstract equation that sums up brand value, the result not just of design elements and ad spends but things like perception, retention and feelings. All these things are a part of brand value and the resulting solutions can significantly impact a company’s profitability and success — long or short-term.
Some key components are:
Brand Awareness:
The level of recognition and awareness that consumers have about a brand. High brand awareness often leads to higher brand value.
Brand Loyalty:
The degree of customer loyalty and attachment to a brand. Strong brand loyalty can lead to repeat business and long-term customer relationships.
Perceived Value:
The perception of the quality and reliability of a brand’s products or services. A positive perception can enhance brand value.
Associations:
The mental and emotional associations that consumers have with a brand. This can include the brand’s image, reputation and values.
Differentiation:
The extent to which a brand stands out from its competitors and offers something unique or distinct. Strong differentiation can lead to higher brand value.
Consistency:
How well a brand maintains a consistent identity and messaging across all touch points, including advertising, packaging and customer interactions.
Brand Extensions:
The successful introduction of new products or services under the same brand name. Effective brand extensions can strengthen brand value.
Marketing and Advertising Efforts:
The investments made in marketing, advertising and promotional activities to build and maintain the brand’s image and reputation.
Customer Experience:
The overall experience customers have when interacting with the brand, including customer service, online presence and in-store experiences.
Financial Performance:
The financial impact of the brand on the company’s revenues and profits. A strong brand can command premium prices and generate higher margins.
Measuring brand value can be challenging and may involve both qualitative and quantitative methods, such as brand valuation models, consumer surveys and financial analysis. There are several methods and approaches that businesses and organizations use to measure brand value. Here are some commonly used methods:
Brand Valuation Models:
These models assign a financial value to a brand by estimating the potential future earnings attributable to the brand. The most widely used brand valuation model is the Interbrand’s Brand Valuation method. It considers factors like brand strength, brand loyalty and financial performance to calculate brand value. Other brand valuation models include the Brand Finance method and the Millward Brown method.
Customer Surveys and Market Research:
Qualitative data can be collected through customer surveys and market research to assess brand perceptions, customer loyalty and other brand-related factors. This data can help gauge the strength and value of a brand from a consumer perspective.
Financial Analysis:
Brand value can also be assessed by examining financial data such as revenue and profit margins associated with the brand. The Royalty Relief Method is one financial approach that estimates how much a company would have to pay to license its own brand if it were a separate entity.
Brand Equity Models:
Brand equity models like the Aaker Model and the Keller Brand Equity Model provide frameworks for assessing brand value. They consider dimensions such as brand awareness, brand associations, perceived quality and brand loyalty.
Market Capitalization:
For publicly traded companies the difference between a company’s market capitalization and its tangible assets can be considered as the value attributed to intangible assets like the brand.
Competitive Benchmarking:
Comparing a brand’s performance and financial metrics to those of its competitors can provide insights into its relative brand value within the industry.
Social Media and Online Analytics:
Monitoring brand mentions, engagement and sentiment on social media and online platforms can offer real-time insights into brand health and value.
Brand Metrics:
Track key performance indicators (KPIs) related to brand performance, such as Net Promoter Score (NPS), brand awareness, customer retention rates and customer lifetime value.
Brand Audit:
Conduct a comprehensive brand audit to evaluate brand elements like logos, slogans, packaging and messaging for consistency and effectiveness.
Brand Licensing and Partnership Deals:
The value of brand licensing deals or partnerships can provide insights into the perceived value of the brand in the eyes of other businesses.
Let’s do some maths, but with feeling.
It’s important to note that brand value is a dynamic metric that can change over time due to various factors including market conditions, consumer perceptions and competitive pressures. Therefore, it’s advisable to use a combination of these methods to gain a holistic understanding of brand value. And it’s important to also not lose trust in your gut, your intuition. Because at the end of the day brand, while sometimes a measurable science, is also both psychology and a form of art, and art uses abstractions and subtleties to motivate, bemuse, terrify or otherwise emotionally move its audience. And one cannot always succinctly commoditize inspiration.
Anolith wins 2024 Graphis award
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We are not only pleased but also rather excited to announcement we recently received a Graphis Inc. award for their 2024 Poster Competition. Graphis holds design competitions in various categories every year since basically forever. Major movie and television networks, international caused-based organizations, musical artists and giant brands are the typical contenders. Our contribution this year was for a local business.
The poster series was to promote the opening of a new bistro pub in Denver. We created an immersive narrative for the client for an interesting company story (literally) and customer engagement. The ad series depicts what we call the Three Witches of Taste, representing the various forms of cocktails and what they do for the palate and the mind through stages of inebriation.
Why is a raven like a writing-desk?
The character in the DRINK poster is Edith Liddell (younger sister to Alice from Lewis Carroll’s famous Wonderland). She represents mischief and temptation, having had bewitched the rabbit to coax Alice down the hole in the first place. She’s an instigator, seducer, a temptress — the prototypical party girl.
Il était une fois.
In the DRANK poster we see Laidronette from the French fairy tale Le Serpentin Vert (The Green Serpent or The Green Dragon). She serves as the embodiment of taste and sophistication. All the different alcohols used to make the various high end beer and liquors are guided by her magic — the fairy godmother of manners and savoring brewed, fermented, distilled and vinous nectars.
Second star to the right and straight on ’til morning.
The DRUNK poster shows Wendy the Wendigo. Wendy Darling (after her adventures in Neverland) became a bit of a gourmand, relishing booze in search of a lost nostalgia. She represents escapism, intoxication, excess, the voraciousness of overindulgence and spiritous greed.
Fundraising opportunities through rebranding
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In today’s accelerated and quickly changing business landscape, organizations often find themselves in need of new or supplemental funds to support their mission and operations, fuel growth and drive innovation. While there’s a time and place for traditional fundraising methods, rebranding offers compelling alternatives for companies looking to attract attention, build investor confidence and secure vital financial resources.
Let’s explore the transformative potential of rebranding as a strategic tool for raising funds and achieving long-term success.
The Emotional Connection
Rebranding provides an opportunity to reconnect with existing stakeholders and attract new ones by forging a deep emotional bond. By revamping visual identities, refining messaging and aligning brand values with target audience aspirations, organizations can evoke a sense of purpose and resonate with potential investors. A compelling rebranding effort can infuse enthusiasm, credibility and trust, laying a strong foundation for fundraising initiatives.
The Competitive Advantage
Rebranding allows businesses to differentiate themselves from competitors and stand out in a crowded marketplace. By undertaking a strategic analysis of the market landscape, organizations can identify unique value propositions and reposition themselves to highlight their distinctive strengths. A well-executed rebranding campaign communicates a compelling story that showcases the company’s vision, potential and ability to generate returns on investment — attracting interest from prospective funders.
The Expanding Audience
Rebranding presents an opportunity to expand the target audience beyond traditional stakeholders. A fresh brand image, accompanied by an updated marketing strategy, can tap into new markets, demographics and investor segments. Organizations can leverage their rebranding efforts to attract socially conscious investors, impact-driven funds or those seeking exposure to emerging industries. Casting a wider net increases the chances of securing funding from diverse sources.
The Investor Confidence
A successful rebranding initiative has the power to reshape external perceptions and instill investor confidence. Addressing any previous shortcomings or challenges associated with the company demonstrates a commitment to growth, adaptability and a willingness to evolve. Transparent communication about strategic changes, accompanied by a robust marketing and PR strategy, can dispel doubts and cultivate a positive perception among potential funders.
The Digital Leverage
Rebranding can harness the power of digital platforms to amplify fundraising efforts. A fresh brand identity, coupled with an updated online presence, enables organizations to leverage social media, content marketing and targeted digital advertising to engage with investors directly. Sharing the rebranding journey, highlighting milestones and articulating future growth plans can generate buzz and attract potential funders who are actively seeking investment opportunities.
The Partnership
Rebranding often opens doors to partnerships and collaborations previously inaccessible. By repositioning the company in alignment with a specific niche or industry trend, organizations can attract strategic partners, industry experts or potential investors who share similar values or goals. Such collaborations can enhance credibility, unlock new funding opportunities and provide access to networks that facilitate growth and success.
Rebranding represents a powerful strategic tool for organizations seeking to raise funds. By leveraging the emotional connection, differentiating themselves, expanding their target audience, enhancing perception, embracing digital platforms and exploring partnerships, companies can transform their brand identity into a catalyst for fundraising success. The process of rebranding requires careful planning, execution and communication, but the potential benefits of attracting investors, securing funding and propelling growth make it a worthwhile endeavor in today’s competitive business landscape.
Anolith accepted for Graphis awards
admin
We don’t typically enter awards. Nothing against them, we just tend to be too busy with work and sometimes forget about the solo art-world we left behind decades ago when we went into branding consulting and began our agency. That being said, we’ve had some clients in the last few years we’ve created some pretty cool stuff for. So we decided to show off a bit.
We designed an ad series for a Colorado-based brewing and cocktail company for the inauguration of their newest Denver location promoting their new bar brand and retail products.
This is what we entered and we’re excited to say the series has been shortlisted for Graphis’ 2024 poster awards.
Graphis Inc. is an international publisher and awards conglomerate for the visual communication industry. They’ve been around forever (since 1944 to be exact, founded in Switzerland). They’re based out of New York so it’s always inspiring to play in the competitive sandbox and see all the great design being done in our commercial art industry.
The Big 3: Musketeering the tiers of messaging
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Brand messaging is the words companies use to communicate themselves to their audience. Not to be confused with merely copy. Messaging, rather, is the higher level written communication that further articulates a corporate brand and what makes them unique. Messaging is used to convey company ethos — who you are — and is also used for products, services and anything else a company wants to sell, using messaging to capture interest. More importantly messaging is used to further engrain brand into the minds of their customers.
To capture attentions and make customers want to pick up what you’re putting down — within moments — it’s good to follow a tiered category of messaging that can be universally applied to what you’re trying to let your target customers know about you. Every agency has their own categories and messaging process. We have 3.
The Big 3 of messaging
Tier 1: Outcome messaging
This is also known as emotion-driven messaging. This refers to the most top-level messaging that elicits an emotional outcome from the desired audience. Mottos are typical examples of outcome messaging but it doesn’t stop at company slogans. An outcome centric message (often accompanied by outcome centric imagery) isn’t trying to tell people about the specifics of a product. Instead, outcome messaging seeks to tap into someone’s feelings and leave them inspired.
Some famous examples are Nike’s “Just Do It” and Apple’s “Think Different.”
Tier 2: Descriptive messaging
This type of messaging gets a little more specific and defines what you do as a company but still speaks to the main effects of the products and services you offer. While this tier is supposed to “describe” the product it is still advertising how the end-user should feel rather than educating them on the myriad of specific aspects that make up a product.
Nike would say:
“Athletic gear designed to make you perform to the max.”
Apple would say:
“Take your creativity anywhere with the iPad Pro with mobile hotspot.”
Tier 3: Detail messaging
We also call this features messaging. Here is where we get to the engine that makes everything work. Specification copy would fall under this category. This type of messaging should be used for marketing copy only when necessary or when a specific innovation is so revolutionary it benefits higher level messaging. Don’t waste digital (or worse physical) real estate talking about minute details that aren’t unique to you. If a customer is still intrigued by the time they get to third tier details it can safely be assumed they know your product can be shipped or that your internet application works on Chrome.
On the other hand, calling out certain details may be beneficial. If you know your competition lacks a feature, functionality, etc. that you possess a competitive edge may well be worthy of messaging to help prospective purchasers make a decision.
If you’re shopping online at Nike and looking at a specific pair of shoes you’ll read this on the product page:
• Mesh details for an airy feel
• Synthetic and textile
• 2-piece midsole
Likewise if you’re visiting an Apple store checking out a new laptop you’ll read:
• 3.5 mm headphone jack
• MagSafe
• Two Thunderbolt ports
Let’s see the Big 3 in action
Here is the front page of a website that shows all three tiers of messaging.
The company is a CRM platform developer whose primary brand differentiator is task automation. The unique selling prop and promise this company makes to its customers is that by using their software the customer will reduce manual, time consuming tasks so they can have more time to do more things (including time to just relax).
1. Alex (or the end user) is shown lounging, enjoying a cocktail after using his CRM platform to send out marketing videos to his entire client list simultaneously. The messaging in and of itself tells you nothing about the product. It’s telling a story, and while the message and the story it is telling is specific, the outcome is the general feeling you get when you discover you’re able to just do nothing since your daily tasks were significantly reduced thanks to the company’s product.
2. Now we are validating why Alex is getting to do what he’s doing (what’s causing the customer to be able to feel the feelings we’re trying to engrain). We can now see what the product name is and a brief descriptor of its capabilities. Notice while we briefly drop stats (grow your business by 10x) and features (automating tasks) the descriptive message is still eliciting an outcome (don’t be tied to your desk all day).
3. While uncommon to see detail messaging on the very first image of the first page of a website, this is an example where details or features are beneficial to display to the viewer immediately. This company’s competitors in their industry do not have features like easily viewable pipeline views and roles and permissions for larger companies. These things may seem obvious to anyone familiar with SaaS products but in this case the company’s industry is behind the curb so bragging about detailed features upfront qualifies as a differentiator.
Brand Matters: So much stuff but most of it isn’t any good
admin
We live in a world of options and most of them suck. And worse, for companies trying to follow their passions and create terrific new products behind a gorgeous and holistic brand, we live in a time of overwhelming competition who often have bigger pocket books. It seems like there’s always a product that’s cheaper and just-good-enough that can get purchased faster and — in our digital world — a service that can be automated with a few keystrokes and clicks (whether these products and services really do what they say). And even more depressing is these inferior products and services are often highly visible in the market (again, bigger pocket books).
This may be disheartening to the passion-fueled, to the individuals and organizations whose calling it is to create something new and different with superior functionality that makes their customers lives better. Why bother if you’re just going to lose to the status quo? But the dreamers and innovators need not get too depressed, because there’s a handy little fact: This isn’t true.
Brand value can be as profitable a financial component of your overall company valuation as your products, services, operations and assets.
Sometimes even the most important component. Unique brands are more important and desired today than ever in this world of first-to-market even though, eh, not the best but good enough. That only lasts so long and corporate (and brand) innovation is needed to keep the game going, or it will eventually be lost to a better, more authentic, competitor. This is great news for the folks that want to build something new. But just because you’ve built the best new widget that trounces all other widgets does not, of course, mean anyone is going to buy it. The “anyone” doesn’t know you exist. And If they somehow do figure it out what guarantees do you have for that random discovery leading them to buy your widget instead of going with the same ole safe ole? The answer is brand.
How is this achieved?
By positioning early-stage and high-growth companies to be industry leading brands.
Create High-Value Brands
Develop a visual and message ethos that make a company’s value worth more than just its products and services. This helps forge long-lasting bonds with customers and builds perceived worth, reputation and financial value. Most of all, it’s the reason customers choose well-designed and thoughtful brands over their competitors.
Build Customer Loyalty
A great brand establishes an ongoing emotional relationship between you and your customer, manifesting itself by how willing your customer is to engage with and repeatedly purchase from you versus your competition.
Curate Positive Market Brand Perception
The brand and delivery systems an agency can create with their associative alliances and partnerships provides positive vibes with which customers want to interact.
Foster Influencer Relationships
It’s highly beneficial to identify and reach out to industry influencers in order to form collaborative relationships and institute paid and non-paid endorsement deals with people and organizations who advocate your brand.
When is it time to invest in your brand?
admin
This question applies to all businesses, whether owners preemptively have a branding and marketing strategy or when a company’s brand is put under the microscope after things start to get real. And by real we mean when there’s a significant need and interest for a product or service and an investment is on the table. A strong brand is the guiding discipline, aesthetics and personality necessary for the kind of interactions a company wants from its customers, employees and stakeholders and, while not infinite, it’s important to know thyself—otherwise you really can’t expect others to just “get you.”
In our experience brand establishment is a sooner rather than later endeavor.
This is typically in the seed (or even pre-seed) round and usually before an A series round of funding is attempted. Of course, with most things, there is no absolute perfect timing, and this includes when to invest in your brand. There is no sacred deal to be missed or heavenly opportunity lost never again to be achieved just because you don’t have all ducks in proverbial rows. However, also like most things, the sooner is indeed the better.
General rules do apply to every business, whether it’s a B2C or B2B company, startup, tech mogul, etc. Branding isn’t as obvious and straightforward as say the qualities or features of your product. It’s not as easy to measure ROI on something like brand identity and therefore is a bit difficult to determine how much should be invested in the name and brand of a company. But an absence of this identity does not a successful company make and this should be worked on as soon as possible since there will certainly be ongoing developments to your company’s brand as it grows and changes. So the sooner the better.
Key milestones in your business will tell you when you need to focus on brand. These are when:
You know you have a viable business model and you’re ready to grow
You know who your ideal customers are and want to reach them
You want to grow your community, which often mean partnerships or acquisitions
You want to get more out of your marketing
You want to position yourself inline (or, better yet, well above) your competitors
Have you ever wanted to invest in a company but their name is just… bad? As a partner or investor, when is it polite to tell someone they need a shower and a haircut? Again, ultimately it’s when real money is on the line and, again, the sooner the better.
Before a company is ready to peek its head out into the market, before its time to really play in the beautiful but brutal traffic called commerce and competition, that company will have a competitive advantage if it has established a quality (and dare we say inspiring) brand. As we’ve said this isn’t infinite. Things like name, logo, colors, voice, messaging, visual guides and fonts, physical and digital presence, all the things that position you where you want to be in the market are brand items essential to all businesses. Have these things been thoughtfully crafted and built in sincerity? It’s worth asking yourself. It could be worth up to 40% of your company value.
A N E C D O T E
This medical device company invested in their brand and went on to help countless patients live better lives.
During his long career, Dr. Jeffrey Kleiner was a highly respected spinal surgeon. His experience spanned 25 years and over 6,000 surgeries. When you’ve done anything for that long and that many times you tend to know what you’re talking about and also what works and what doesn’t. For Dr. Kleiner what wasn’t working for him was the 35% acceptable failure rate for spinal surgeries — across the board! He also knew why: surgical instrument design and quality was subpar. This directly contributed to why a significant number of his (and every practicing surgeon’s) patients didn’t get better after expensive and physically tolling surgeries and, in fact, had to inevitably return to the operating table. This didn’t sit right with the seasoned professional.
Dr. Kleiner knew what to do about it but didn’t see anyone else doing it. So he invented the solution himself. Using his own money (it’s hard for a man without a brand to find funding no matter how good of any idea he has) he designed and prototyped his first medical device. He used it on multiple consenting patients and the results were remarkable. Simply by using a superior tool his surgery success rate went up astronomically.
But his success and excitement didn’t last long. He was unable to get hospitals to adopt his invention and even colleagues couldn’t (or wouldn’t) use his device despite its clear utility and performance. The primary reason was that Dr. Kleiner was an individual. He needed to be more than a smart guy driven by a cause. He needed a brand.
We were tasked with turning Dr. Kleiner’s proven ideas into a company people could believe in. Through our naming and branding process, we were able to design assets to set the good doctor up for success. Being in the medical industry, we wanted the brand to be strong, professional and reliable but contemporary, innovative and built to be approbate in case other products were included (which ended being true).
Sometimes the answer was right in front of you the whole time.
The client made one request which was not to include his own name in the company brand (quite humble for a surgeon!). However, during our research we thought it would be a missed opportunity not to take advantage of subliminal piggybacking with the well-established pharmaceutical and biotechnology giant GlaxoSmithKline (now GSK). The client initially resisted, but we aren’t doing our jobs if we don’t defend our ideas and convert hearts. We came up with a surname (device labs) that rolled off the tongue well with the doctor’s name. Combined with the serendipitous word association the client loved it and Kleiner Device Labs was born.
We designed the client’s logo and icon to also be used for product branding, choosing a light, almost lime green expressing excitement, newness and innovation and a blue embodying medical stoicism, trust and expertise. The icon represents a K for Kleiner. We also studied the design of the company’s first product (the KG1) and noticed the angles of the device also resembled a K so we incorporated this feature into the logo.
Since the client team was made up of individuals almost exclusively in the medical field, the messaging was highly clinical and features based. Our brand voice started with outcomes, not patients on the cutting board or images of x-rays with spinal alignments that most wouldn’t even recognize as good or bad. Going through multiple personas and voices of outcome we came up with “Better Life. Not Just Better Surgery”. All first level imagery would include people happy and active, not laid out in an operating room. We later produced multiple assets for use on various digital channels and presentation decks for fundraising.
Once he was armed with a professional brand he was able trademark, patent and raise funds to begin building his new company that would save hospitals, surgeons, service providers and payors a whole lot of money and time but most importantly to increase quality of life for patients. Kleiner Device Labs has since gone on to create a suite of noninvasive surgical products that ensure better lives, not just better surgery.