Is Rebranding Your Business The Way Forward?

A brand is anything that identifies a product, service or business. It can be a strapline (slogan), logo or symbol, jingle or most commonly a name. Branding is how this is seen in the marketplace. The long term aim of a successful branding exercise is to raise brand awareness. This refers to the buyer's abillity to recognize the brand, logo, strapline, jingle etc and identify with the product.

The key to successful branding is to create a certain expectation associated with the brand, that it is unique, with certain characteristics that will be remembered, making a product relevant to it's target audience. Working on the principle that buyer's don't purchase because they view it to be better, but more familiar to them, creating brand awareness and recognition is the key to any new advertising or marketing campaign.

Branding also has an impact on how staff members view the company product and also their ability to promote and sell it within the business and private community. Failure to believe in your branding will show through any sales pitch you make, compromising your business and on the contrary a branding refresh can generate new enthusiasm for your company product.

Is your business branding due an overhaul?

Worth a read...
ARE rebrand to ARE Creative
What is your branding strategy
Does your logo work?

Andy Rapkins Photography Branding

This was a project we thoroughly enjoyed. Andy is a Dorset based photographer with a very clear vision for his business and branding his company was not difficult. As always any branding takes place by considering how fonts and colours represent the business ethos and how they will work across all media. With a seasonal variation in photography, it was important to also consider a variety of colours for different seasons of the year. 

Please click Andy's logo to connect with his great new website. 

Do You Brand for Success?

Everything and everyone is a product. A country, a city, a company, a product, a service a person – yes you and me included. And how the market perceives the product determines its value. It’s sounds cynic, I know. But if you want a high value and be sought for on the market you have to create a brand that is in demand and sells.

Read more from Catarina Alexon

Putting a Roof Over Your Head

BRIEF:

Design brand logo, design and print business cards, letterheads and compliment slips

Share

Does Your Logo Work?

.... or your logo, your website, brochure, business cards and any of your marketing materials for that matter.

Colour is essential to the corporate face of your business. It can persuade, inspire and touch people, communicate feelings and represent ideas and concepts. Colour is crucial in business - it helps us communicate to others and sell our business.

So before you create a logo or any other piece of marketing make sure you consider the qualities you want your logo to promote - practical, corporate, sophisticated, professional, imaginative, simple and innovative. Selecting the right colors to communicate a personality that accurately represents you and your business is essential in order to succeed.

What does your logo say about the ethos of your business?

Our Own Rebrand to ARE Creative

The idea of branding our own business stemmed from spending time looking at the concepts of other businesses brand identities and how important it is to have the 'look' that sells your product. Previously Evolve had been primarily PR and Marketing, but since I took over last year, the emphasis has shifted more towards Graphic Design, small business Marketing and Rebranding.

I felt the old Evolve lacked creativity and that is was time for an overhaul. Are Creative was born out of my desire for a negative space logo that would be so different from other brands, something striking and so ordinarily plain that it would have impact. Take a look at ARE new logo and mail me your feedback here

Rachel Hall
Director
ARE Creative

Putting IGC Power on the Business Map

IGC Power are electrical contractors that have an established business in South Wales and are relocating to Dorset.

BRIEF:

Design company brand logo, design and print business cards, letterheads and compliment slips, review existing website and provide copy for changes, provide market research for advertising and social networking, devise marketing strategy for launch, design and complete van signage.

ARE Creative comments:

We throroughly enjoyed this project for Ian Case, owner of IGC Power. We approached Katie Wilson of Letters and Logos to provide van signage and found their service excellent.
From conception to finish was 3 weeks, a great project to sink our teeth into.

Waters-Edge Properties Go Online

Waters-Edge Properties is a relatively new company with waterfront properties in Dolphin Quays, Poole, and Swanage, Dorset.

BRIEF:

Design and build 3 websites, photograph properties, graphic logos and web site optimization.

Recommendation

"I approached ARE Creative to help me launch 2 properties that were holiday rentals on the Dorset coast. I wanted 3 websites, all linked and comparative in image. Previous websites had failed to capture any market. I had spent £1000 on one site alone and I couldn't change it to add in special offers and new pictures so was thoroughly dissatisfied. I didn't want a commercial site that looked 'big business' just a low key, colourful and eye-catching site that did the job.

Rachel focused on my first site and it was up and running within 5 days, including all her photography, with web hosting a week later. We have had our sites for a year and I have had 3000 hits on the Swanage site alone, my apartment has been fully booked for the last 9 months and I am taking bookings for next year. My second property at Dolphin Quays is catching up also.

Swanage apartment
Dolphin Quays apartment

ARE Creative have also purchased a domain name and linked that through to my blog, set up email hosting and shown me how to use it, so even though my official address is a blogspot.com, my clients get to me via www.accommodationswanage.co.uk.

I subscribed to a monthly plan for unlimited text and photo updating. I can email the team and they will take my suggestions, give their opinion as to the marketing approach and have the amendments made within 24 hours, start to finish together with any graphical work. I am supplied a list of how many visits to my site and how long they stayed.

I can recommend an blog site as the way forward and the team at ARE Creative have been 100% pro-active in making sure my sites were just as I wanted, and together with their marketing techniques, I am thoroughly impressed.

In summary, worth every single penny".

Amanda
Owner
Waters-Edge Properties

ARE Creative's Recommendation from Dorset Construction Ltd

BRIEF:

Design logo for brand, design and build website, photograph all properties, domain name purchase and website optimization. Design and print business cards, letterhead, invoice sheets and compliment slips

Recommendation

"I asked ARE Creative for help with branding as my company had nothing other than a grotty logo and cheap headed paper.
Within a week, we had a logo, and a blog-site, linked to www.dorsetconstruction.co.uk, personalised email addresses. 2 weeks later our business cards, letterheads, invoice sheets and complimentary slips arrived. Rachel even photographed all my properties herself and used her pictures for my blog-site.


I now have a professional image to present and this has helped my win contracts and business.

Fantastic service and EVERYTHING for under £1000.00".

Mark Eldred
Director
Dorset Construction Ltd.

A New Brand Identity For Dorset Construction

We have just finished a complete rebrand for a local construction company in Dorset. Across the board re-vamps are always fun to do, because you have a blank sheet to start with. The brief was simple, 'we need everything'.

So from simple business cards, letterheads and compliment slips to a full working website with our own photography, 'everything' is what DCL got.
www.dorsetconstruction.co.uk

What is Your Branding Strategy?

Corporate identity is achieved by the brand building and marketing strategies of the company.

So how actually is a brand built? It is done through the help of branding tools like logo designs, corporate colour, straplines, business cards and literature/brochures/flyers/office stationary. The purpose of all these products is to promote the professional attributes of your business, making them aware of your services and how you can benefit them. Once more consumers get to know about your services and facilities, more will come to try you out making your company a better success.

A strong 'look' will catch the eye, engage the consumer and hopefully draw them to read more, ask questions, contact you for an enquiry. As with most things, 'less is more', colourful, bright and simple often create a better first impression than cluttered, messy and difficult to really work out what is going on.

What does your branding say about your business? Does it ooze confidence, professionalism and committment?

Rebranding or Refreshing Your Corporate Image @ ARE Creative

Re-branding is a way for a small or medium size business to refresh their image with the hope of generating more business or attracting new clients.

It can be as simple as developing a new brand image, logo and stationary, some new business cards, overhauling an outdated website, a little SEO and a new marketing plan. Any one or combination of these alone can be enough to promote a surge in enthusiasm for your business and improved sales.

The difficulty can be for a business to step away from the image and practices of the past and be prepared to embrace a change. Rebranding need not be costly, often it is a few small changes that can make a huge difference. It all starts with a blank piece of paper and a few ideas.

Do you think that your corporate image could use some refreshing? Why not contact us here!

Evolving into ARE Creative

The idea of branding our own business stemmed from spending time looking at the concepts and strategies of other brand identities and how important it is to have the 'look' that sells your product. Previously Evolve had been primarily PR and Marketing, but since I took over last year, the emphasis has shifted more towards Graphic Design and Rebranding.

I felt the old Evolve logo lacked creativity and that is was time for an overhaul. ARE Creative was born out of my desire for a negative space logo that would be so different from other brands, something striking and so ordinarily plain that it would have impact. Take a look at ARE new logo and mail me your feedback here