Transformation Archives

Are You Rethinking Your Logo Design?

Posted on October 15, 2020 by Jonathan Haggard

So you need to rebrand, but you’re attached to your current logo. You worked hard to get your logo crafted and have likely spent a few fond years building equity into it. The thought of changing your logo might sting, it might even make you a little nauseous. Not only the tactical work of changing out all of your swag, marketing collateral, event assets, PowerPoint presentations, etc. But also that anxious feeling of “What if the new logo isn’t as good?”

First, you need to understand what role the logo plays in a brand system. The logo represents the core of your business. It’s the superliminal distillation of your company’s positioning in the marketplace. It’s the cornerstone that everything else builds upon. In a great brand system, it should help inform decisions in typography, graphic system, photography, color system, photography, copy, etc. This is all to say, the logo is pretty damn important.

Let’s break down some scenarios where it’s beneficial to change your logo and when it’s better to keep it the same.

When should you change your logo?

The fabric of what makes your company has changed.

This can happen in a lot of different ways. Your company could have gone through a sudden growth spurt and has changed its narrative during an intense wave of iteration in order to drive sales—effectively changing the core story your company is telling. It can also happen as a result of being in the same market for decades—changes in leadership, processes, regulations, and customer base all add up to make a big change in what the core of your company truly is.

This type of change typically results in a full rebrand—not just a logo and identity change, but a new strategic positioning and name that supports the story your company is telling now and will tell many years into the future.

Sci Fi changed their name to Syfy and dropped the planet from their logo to signify that they are more than just a fantasy and science fiction channel. Their underlying core changed and because of it, their logo needed to change as well. A couple of years later they realized that their strength was actually in fantasy and science fiction. Their core changed back to their original position, but instead of opting for going back to their old logo, they chose to craft something retro-futurist that looks like it’s straight out of “Total Recall”.

Your company has changed its name due to legal reasons.

Previously our client “Newmark Realty Capital”, was in a legal conflict with their name and required a name change. This was an opportunity for a codification of their positioning and a new logo and brand to go along with it. They’re still the same company with the same offering but communicated much more clearly and elegantly.

Your company is “growing up” and selling to enterprises.

Your company might be in a transition period where you have an existing brand that works for your current customer base, but it looks a little immature when you’re going to meetings with the likes of IBM, Oracle, and ABB. You want to dress correctly for the party you’re attending. Flip flops and board shorts are comfortable and rad, but they look embarrassingly out of place if everyone else is wearing knitted sweaters draped atop their shoulders.

The core truth of your company may remain the same in this case. Your offerings aren’t changing, and you’re still the same company inside. However, as brand designers, we need to go back to that core to reestablish who you are and make sure that we are representing it faithfully. In a lot of ways, this is a much more difficult job to accomplish, as there are more concrete constraints that we have to work within.

The work we did for Snow Software was to help them grow up. They needed a brand that looked like a billion dollars so that they could sell billion-dollar solutions. Their old brand wasn’t doing their product justice when they were speaking to enterprise prospects.

We understood that the core of Snow was staying the same, so when constructing the new logo we retained the original geometry and structure of the logo. This maintained a consistent story throughout the rebrand and made it so that going from the old brand to the new brand was seamless and easy for existing customers and new prospects.

You’ve merged companies or restructured.

This is where things get really tricky and are guided by both the politics of the organization and federal regulations.

Let’s take the Bell/AT&T logo systems as an example. The bell was the main mark of AT&T for 80 years until the company was required to split into separate divisions—regional bell companies and a parent company of AT&T.

AT&T being the parent company, took a higher position in the brand architecture to encompass all electronic communications, so with this new core, a new logo was needed.

Your company has done something terrible.

In the same way that you should always have a change of clothes if you’re going to commit a crime, a company can rebrand after they’ve done something terrible in order to distance themselves from what they’ve done.

Two years after it spilled 200 million gallons of oil into the Gulf of Mexico, BP spent $500 million to rebrand and distance itself from the catastrophic damage it caused the world.

In order to distance themselves from their atrocity, BP needed to change the most fundamental form of its brand: the logo. The fact that they are still a company being traded is proof enough that it works.

When should you keep your logo the same?

Your core is the same but you’re trying out new markets.

Joyable was in a situation where they needed to sell their existing product to employers rather than directly to consumers, while still maintaining the same brand for consumers. Since the core of the business was staying the same and they were adding a new market on instead of outright switching markets, it made sense to keep the logo and existing consumer brand intact and build upon it to create an enterprise brand that could speak to employers.

Your logo is on hundreds of thousands of pieces of hardware.

At a certain point, it becomes a logistical nightmare to change your logo. The costs of losing existing equity in installed hardware across the world combined with the uphill climb of building new equity in the new logo start to outweigh the benefits of the rebrand.

For Verkada, it was top of mind as we were designing their rebrand to keep the existing logo intact, and that any alterations were minor in order to match typeface geometry. This ensured that all existing hardware still remained valid and is never part of the older generation and that there is consistency across all branded assets.

So, do you need to change your logo?

Honestly, it’s a case-by-case basis. But if you’re considering a rebrand, logo redesign, or completely unsure and keep flipping back and forth, reach out and we’ll take a look at what you’re looking to solve. To schedule a free 30-minute consultation, contact Founding Partner Tracy Lloyd at [email protected].

Emotive Brand is a brand strategy and design agency in Oakland, California

Healthcare Brands: In An Era of Transformation, Where Is Your Value?

Posted on March 2, 2020October 11, 2024 by Shannon Caulfield

Healthcare Brands, A Time of Transformation

The healthcare industry is undergoing a massive transformation – and it’s about time! As new players emerge in the market, they expose the cracks buried deep within our bureaucratic medical system. Upstarts shine a light on unmet consumer needs and are sparking a shift in focus from provider to patient. This forces the entire healthcare industry to begin to explore the need for a holistic patient experience instead of a messy set of siloed solutions.

If patients focus on value, healthcare brands are wise to follow suit. Just because the medical space is complex doesn’t mean healthcare brands must be too. In a country where the medical industry is notoriously difficult for consumers to navigate, simplicity and consistency go a long way.

Getting Valuable

If you’re thinking about overhauling your healthcare brand, we’ve got some ideas. Below are three key ways we at Emotive Brand have seen the best healthcare companies communicate their value during this era of transformation.

1. Don’t stop at data when it comes to digital.

From automating the billing process to streamlining medical records, digital technology has had such a strong impact in the medical industry. It doesn’t stop with data, however. Medical brands can and should engage with patients and prospects in the digital realm.

United Healthcare, for example, launched the award-winning “We Dare You” campaign, an online program that challenged women to make healthy choices each day in exchange for a reward. Not only did United Healthcare gain access to the data that came from patients interacting with the campaign, it earned a reputation as being trendy and youthful, especially in comparison to its less tech-savvy competitors. It’s time to start up that Instagram account, people.

Lyra is another patient-centric brand with a strong digital strategy. Their smart design system removes the friction out of mental health care for patients, employers, and therapists. In a world where employer-based mental health programs are typically opaque and limited, Lyra is able to match people with a wide variety of practitioners using granular detail to find just the right fit.

2. Don’t skimp on design.

Many patients have low expectations for what we’d call the “user experience”. The painfully lack-luster facility design of clinics and hospitals likely has something to do with it. If you’ve seen one bland waiting room, you’ve seen them all, right? One Medical, however, has disrupted this sea of sameness by means of great design—and improved the patient experience in the process.

Their offices evoke a sense of comfort. It feels more like a spa, not the sterile, clinical rooms that dominate most facilities. Their logo—a simple, attractive and inviting design—acts as a foundation for their identity system.

One Medical repeats this design in the geometric features of their office décor. This people-centered approach plays a paramount role in spreading awareness of the ten-year-old company. Many medical practices are following their lead: 53% of healthcare providers have invested in facility improvements in 2018 to enhance patient experience (PWC). So, take advantage of the foot traffic in your waiting rooms and replace the bland décor with something that connects with the fruitfulness your brand.

3. It’s not always all about you.

The healthcare industry exists because of its patients, so why not tell your brand’s story through the lens of those who you serve? Showcasing research studies may be a solid acquisition strategy, but why not take it a step further and share your patients’ success stories? St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital employs this tactic on its website with its “Meet (Patient Name)” campaign where the hospitals demonstrate how its brand changes lives. The Mayo Clinic’s brand ambassador program, Mayo Clinic Champions, is another example of using patients as a vehicle for storytelling. Consumers love to read reviews before purchasing anything – let the patient success stories speak for themselves!

This is such an exciting time for healthcare. When you can position your brand well in the rapidly evolving market of consumer-centric, value-based care, you capture an incredible opportunity for growth. Don’t get left behind!

Emotive Brand is a San Francisco brand strategy and design agency.

How to Make a Business and Brand Transformation Successful

Posted on May 2, 2017 by Tracy Lloyd

Emotive Brand hinges itself on the power of business transformation through brand strategy, and brand strategist, Jo Schull adds a honed strategic mind to our team. By working directly with clients to help understand the true essence of their business, she uncovers the necessary internal and external strategies needed to transform the potential of their brand into a reality. In this interview, Jo offers her thoughts and expertise on how to make a brand and business transformation successful.

People are always talking about business transformation – what does that mean?

Business transformation can mean different things to different people. Some leaders see business transformations as bold, quick moves meant to shake things up. Others look at business transformation as the start of a change – a process that starts with purpose, strategy, and vision, and then takes shape through a series of changes to the business.

When or why should businesses attempt a transformation?

Many businesses wait too late to ‘transform’ themselves. They wait until they’re in trouble. They wait until competitors have encroached on their territory, until employee morale is low, until recruiting is difficult, until share prices are down. They wait for when the business is stuck in a downturn. These are all certainly good and necessary reasons to attempt a business transformation, but smart businesses are always looking ahead. These leaders know that the best transformations anticipate and head off crises.

What’s an example of that?

Smart businesses are constantly thinking about what’s next. They ask themselves: what’s the next phase of their evolution? For some, it might be about a product expansion or moving into other markets. For others, it might be about refining their customer experience: how can their offering become the best and most beloved brand for their core customers? In the end, it all comes down to honing in on the business’s purpose — understanding and communicating clearly why you exist as a business. From this, the business can be intentional about its future, who you serve, and why you want to serve them.

What are the essential components of a successful transformation?

The business must have executive-level participation and ownership. The leaders of the company have to be an essential part of the process. They set strategy, make business and brand decisions, and are responsible for the company’s overall performance. They lead the change.
The process must be inclusive. All cultures are different. Some are top-down, and others are more inclusive and democratic. The most successful transformations are those that feel authentic. And the best way to achieve authenticity is by including many voices in the process. As much as it’s important that leaders lead the process, it is equally important that the process involves perspectives and participation from across the organization. This includes different divisions, different geographies, different functions, and different levels within the organization. Many top-down transformations have failed because leaders did not understand the day-to-day realities of the business.
The transformation must be true to your brand and business. There’s nothing worse than attempting a brand and business transformation that is misaligned with your brand or business position. Your employees will be the first to see the disconnect and your customers won’t be far behind.

How do you work with leadership teams to create alignment during a business transformation?

We start by getting the leadership team clear on three things:

1) Why does your company exist in the first place?

2) What’s the next big problem you can solve for your customers?

3) Where are the biggest threats and opportunities?

Ideally, leadership teams are aligned on these questions. But occasionally, they are not. Either way, it’s important that when going into any sort of transformation that leadership teams are aligned about these questions. A transformation will get them on the same page about why they exist, what they are trying to do, and where the next opportunities lie.

How do you rally employees?

When we talk about rallying employees, there’s no one right way to do it.

You may ask: Is this a course correction, or a 180° shift? What’s the state of employee morale? Will this come as a shock or has the leadership of your company been transparent and brought employees along the journey? How large is the company? There are always many factors at play, but here are some guiding principles.

Inspire: To many people, ‘rally’ implies large events where leadership teams unveil big visions and strategies to employees. Those events have their purpose – especially in large companies where leaders need to reach hundreds or thousands of employees at once – but a one-time event isn’t enough to create sustainable change.
Demonstrate: What’s equally important, if not more crucial, are the actions of the leadership team every day following those large inspirational events. Employees need to see evidence of change – both progress toward goals and examples of new ways of working.
Involve: If employees have been involved in the process, they’ll already have a stake in the transformation. They’ll understand the reasons for change and will believe in the vision for the future.
Reinforce: Examine internal systems such as messaging, reviews, rewards, and recognition to make sure they’re supporting and reinforcing the change you want to make, especially when dealing with culture change. Nothing erodes employee trust more quickly than policies and procedures that are at odds with a company’s stated values and beliefs.
Communicate: Keep the new strategic direction top of mind. Build it into employee communications and presentations. Bring it into areas where employees will see it. Highlight a section of the strategy and focus on it for a month or a quarter. But whatever you do, don’t let your new strategy languish in a drawer.

Emotive Brand is a San Francisco brand strategy firm.

How Is Coaching Like Brand Strategy?

Posted on July 29, 2016 by Tracy Lloyd

Coaching and Brand Strategy: Parallels in Action

We are an active bunch at Emotive Brand. Because our team is filled with athletes, it seems only natural to draw a parallel between the impact of coaching and brand strategy. Bella Banbury, co-founder and CEO at Emotive Brand, is a Triathlete. Bella is the first to say that her growth in the sport is thanks not only to dedicated hours spent on her bike, on the trails, and swimming in the San Francisco Bay, but thanks to the support of her coaches.

Coaching keeps her on track, focused, injury free, and the fittest, fastest, and strongest she can be. It gives her the support to reach new goals and push her limits each and every day. And she can’t help but see the connections between her competition out there and her work at Emotive Brand. By sitting down with Bella, we’ve outlined five ways brand strategy is like coaching and what we can learn from this analogy.

Here are our insights:

1. Not every athlete is the same.

Different athletes have different characteristics and strengths, just like the brands and businesses we work with. Some need to move fast, while others prefer distance over speed. Some are new to the sport – like our startup clients – learning the ropes, gaining basic skills, and looking to grow. Others are experienced but may have plateaued and need to fine tune their skills in order to reach new heights. Some need help breaking out of outdated brand behaviors that are holding them back. Many are trying to adapt to new skills, and need guidance incorporating what they’ve learned into their existing practice. In the end, everyone is looking to improve and gain some kind of performance edge.

A good coach, like a good brand strategy agency, understands that not every athlete or business is the same. Each athlete plays, practices, and performs for different reasons, just like every business has different motivations, goals, aspirations, and a unique story behind what they do and why they do it. And each athlete, like a business or brand, needs someone who deeply understands these differences and can help them reach maximum impact, performance, and meaning within the market.

2. A coach must adapt to the objectives of the athlete.

Powerful and impactful brand strategy gives each individual client the specific tools they need to succeed. Brand strategy can be the whole package – brand naming, positioning, visual identity, brand narrative, etc. – but that isn’t always necessary. On the other hand, it might simply be fine tuning a strong business with a fresh look, a slight shift in positioning, a new category, or just a simple refinement of the narrative.

Brand strategy at Emotive Brand is about making your brand matter more to people and, as a result, transforming your business. And each brand and business is different and demands a customized path to transformation. In order for an athlete to meet their goals, he or she needs a plan tailored specifically to them. Good coaches adapt to each athlete’s objectives if they want them to thrive. By deep diving into the client’s needs, challenges, strengths, and weaknesses, a brand strategy firm can help any business reach its full potential, ready the organization for growth, and strategically position the brand for success.

3. Good coaching is key to beating the competition.

Brand strategy is all about helping businesses be fit and fast, just like coaches. In today’s ever evolving digital landscape, business is more fast paced than ever before. In order to compete, you have to be one step ahead of the competition. You can’t win unless you have a strategy for competing and maintaining relevance in the market. For brands, this means a full understanding of what makes you different from your competition. What gives you an edge? How can you stand out? How can you maintain your place at the top or make your way up there? What kind of people are going to help you “win”? What makes you special as a team? These key, strategic questions can position your business to compete even within highly competitive, always shifting markets.

4. Coaching requires teamwork and collaboration.

A sports team can’t be successful without working together. This also applies to any coach and athlete relationship. Success requires a collaborative and respectful mindset. And we’ve found that brand strategy helps teams become more open to new ideas, people, and experiences, while recognizing and respecting that every individual has different values, beliefs, experiences, and boundaries. Empathy and trust are key, as is a focus on strong communication.

In the end, strong collaboration promotes growth, widens perspectives, increases creativity, and inspires innovation. And through our work, we’ve found that collaborative businesses more easily overcome challenges and aptly conquer obstacles. Working as a team gets everyone aligned and moving towards common goals. So when we work with clients, we think of their challenges as our own, just as a coach might about an athlete’s or his own team’s. This joint ownership makes clients feel more supported and situated for success.

5. The value of coaching is realized when the strategy comes into play.

Creating a strategy only gains real value when the strategy is activated and actually comes to life. This might be likened to the difference between practice and an actual game or competition. An athlete might have a strategic plan they’ve gone over and outlined with their coach, but the success of the strategy isn’t realized until the actual competition, match, race, etc. In our world, this is when the strategy goes to market. So as an agency, our job isn’t only to create a strategy for our clients, but to give them the tools and assets to make it come to life. How is the strategy going to live and breathe? A visual identity and guidelines for how to use the brand help demonstrate how the strategy will work, live, and compete in the market.

Coaching can help an athlete reach peak performance, beat the competition, and meet goals with a tailored plan for success. And we know, first hand, that brand strategy can do the same for your business and brand. So consider the power of brand strategy and how it can position your business to thrive.