Brand Architecture Issue
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- Louno
I have a client who asked me to do a complete re-branding of their company... now, i dont have tons of experience in branding but i admire people who do this and am happy to have this opportunity...
The problem is that, the company im working with is a bit complex... Ive read about Brand architecture and i cant figure out which of the 3 type of architecture this company is following http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bra… . I guess it would be my job to suggest which type they should go with... but id like to have some opinion from you guys..
Basically its a company which distribute other companies products, the products are in the high end health/beauty/esthetic/medical sector. They also have a few product that they manufacture themselves, but very little...
Sometimes the product they get from the manufacture already have advertising, articles, high res pictures and lots of branding for them to work with... but sometimes they dont ! which means even tho its not THEIR product, they have to hire a photographer, create ads etc, which i find weird because its not like if it was their product, they are only distributing it...
Anyways currently all the product / product lines have their own logo, which is separate from the company.. the mentality of this company is that, they want to see their logo everywhere it can be... but im wondering if this is a good ideal... should the company logo be on the product marketing ( remember each product have their own logo/marketing material ) ... maybe their should be a little label that says "Distributed by XXX"... or maybe the logo shouldnt be there at all ...
ugh...
- digdre0
is it TIMELIFE?
- MrOneHundred0
Ah, so their ego is what is motivating them? I think you need to define what it is that the company does in relation to the other partner companies. Where do they see themselves in relation to their partner companies? Does anyone care who distributes the stuff?
- akrokdesign0
"Basically its a company which distribute other companies products, the products are in the high end health/beauty/esthetic/medical sector. They also have a few product that they manufacture themselves, but very little..."
that means their logo would probably not been showed at all. its kind a like licensing products.
- Louno0
moamoa :
yeah, i think this is a bit too big for me... but that company went to see other agencies before me, and they could not afford them...since they used my services for many of their "lesser" jobs and were happy with it they asked me if i did branding... They basically dont know much about branding themselves ( id say they are clueless, judging from what i see ) so whatever i give them they will most likely be happy with it, but i want to do my best, i want to give them good advices...MrOneHundred :
thats a good questions, the manufacturer DOES care about who distribute their stuff, and the distributor company also does care about who makes them and quality of the products since they mostly distribute to high end professionals, ( medical clinics, spas, esthetics clinics etc..)... For most of the product they distribute they have an exclusif deal that allow them to be the only one in a specific territory ( usualy canada, but it can also be provincial/state level )So basically, this company does a bit more than just distribute... it becomes a partner with the manufacturer and tries its best to promote the products... for example , they took a product that had no marketing material and they did a whole photoshoot and advertising campain online & offline... they know that they are the only one distributing the product here, so if anyone wants the product they have to go through them... however if you live in the USA, then profit goes to some other distributor...
- Louno0
hmyeah, i dont have time to read a book unfortunately... but, ill add it to my wishlist , thanks :P
- akrokdesign0
maybe instead of trying to do all at ounce, just do phase 1. first.
- Louno0
akrokdesign :
I think i agree with you, but what kind of argument can i give ? Im not familiar with the product licensing industry also... can you elaborate more ?I tried looking for "distribution company" online and, search engine results are pretty crappy, im having a hard time finding a quality company that distribute products ...
- MrOneHundred0
Perhaps you could do some research into other companies that do a similar role in another area and see how they have approached the same exercise. Sounds like a great challenge, especially if they are willing to learn about it with you. Good luck!
- akrokdesign0
as you don't have all the info, you have to ask.
1. what do they want the brand to say?
2. what does it stand for?
3. who is the audience?
- akrokdesign0
4. who's there biggest competitions?
- MrOneHundred0
5. What tangible benefits do they expect to gain, if any, from the branding exercise?
- Louno0
1. well, they already have a logo and a tag line which they absolutely want to keep... so i have to work with that.
2. they are trying to position themselves as the leading "wellness" company... they have a whole document that explain their values / mission and how they want to promote health beauty strenght bla bla bla
3. audience is mostly women about 20 to 40, but thats the consumer part... those are the people that will be interested by the product, but in reality, the company doesnt sell much to consumers, they sell more to retailers, spa, clinics, therapy centers, beauty salons n stuff like that...
4. They dont really have direct competitors, because once they get the rights to market a product, they have the exclusivity for that product in a specific zone... however there are many competing products, made by a bunch of different companies... for example NIVEA would be a competitor if we want to see it like this ... each product has competitors , but not the company per say because they have a wide range of products which they do not manufacture themselves...
- Louno0
5. they want to get a more professional feel, have a more uniform marketing... for example, right now everytime they do an advertisement in a magazine, they start from scratch, sometime their logo is not on the ads ( only the product logo ), sometimes their logo is there, and its never located at the same place on the same backgrounds etc....
basically they want to make things more simple for their marketing department and also have more conformity
- janne760
i kicked out a BIG client last summer as i had a few hints it was similar to this situation, but then a lot of seriously risky high end webwork was involved.
they wanted an entire rebrand and wanted me to take the photos!!
that was the sign, as they could not have known about my photos and for specific demands i rather hire a specialized photographer.anyway, there was a lot of shadiness about that job and i just had a web job for a company seen sucking the life's blood out of me and my programmer..
sometimes you need to learn and ditch a client before they take you with them into a journey down to corporate graveyards..
- *out of my programmer and me
haha, i am such a dick.. :/janne76
- *out of my programmer and me
- moamoa0
you said they can´t afford the other agencies? but they can afford advertisements?
hmm....
not sure in which magazines they place their ads, but do you know who expensive an ad is?
how big is this company?
- Louno0
Well, they are getting bigger, which is why they need a rebrand... they have about 15 to 20 employees and about another 5 or so who are part time... ive been doing stuff for them for years, so i dont want to ditch them...
the magazines where they put their ads are not super mainstream, and they just did their first ever video ad on a crappy schedule on tv just recently... so yeah im guessing all this costs money but they get clients for it, branding doesnt get you clients directly its more subtle... anyways, maybe they have the money but they dont want to pay ... i dont know, all i know is they asked me because other agencies were too expensive...
- digdre0
hire me.
- livelikebruce0
Sounds like a great opportunity Louno. From the posts it's not entirely clear if they are looking for a re-brand as in identity and collateral, complete brand strategy (and/or brand building program) or a refresh of their current brand strategy and identity. Brand strategists are typically involved in the process to develop a number of insights relevant to creating a brand platform and strategy. That's a MASSIVE undertaking with the process typically taking as much as a year or more in my experience. If their needs are more on the cosmetic side you will need all the data they have regarding their brand and brand strategy as input for what you develop.