How building a new brand can revitalise your business
Successfully revitalising a brand is every marketer’s dream but is no easy task, requiring persistence and hard work. Changing customer perceptions and providing clarity of the brand’s values is difficult, especially when it comes to transforming the target public’s entrenched mindset.
Marketing Eye wanted to change the way consumers perceived American Property Partners (APP). Was the APP brand clearly projecting the message it wanted to put forward to the general public? It is essential for portfolio managers to present themselves as reliable. After all, customers must trust them with their investments.
Marketing Eye wanted to change the way consumers perceived American Property Partners (APP). Was the APP brand clearly projecting the message it wanted to put forward to the general public? It is essential for portfolio managers to present themselves as reliable. After all, customers must trust them with their investments.
First off, we designed a fresh new logo for their site. A beautiful logo can encourage brand recognition among consumers, and if done right, this will generate a positive spill-over effect to other aspects of the brand. The initial logo was a dark blue and green with sharp edges to depict the rooftops on several houses.
However, too many sharp edges can depict a feeling of danger or caution. The new logo we designed was a lighter shade of blue, with slightly rounded letters. The shade itself portrays a sense of stability and trustworthiness. Light blue, being the colour of the sky and ocean, is often associated to dependence and tranquillity, compared to dark blue which represents power and seriousness. The header we selected for the website’s homepage also portrays a sense of calm, with an image of trees, complimenting the consistent blue theme of the site.
The older site consisted of a home page jam-packed with information, a phone number and blog link. As people ‘scan’ websites in our time-stretched society, they do not necessarily like to scroll and read long paragraphs full of information. We designed a new site, based on symmetry and simplicity. Visitors on the site now have a clear understanding on the services APP provides, how to access this information and the types of property that is offered. The quotations and testimonials are social proof provided by previous clients, adding an element of trust for new customers seeking a trustworthy company to create a property investment portfolio for them.
We also added a small side column for the latest news involving the company so customers could get a feel of what was happening with APP, in real time. The login and registration page ensures that APP can now collect customer data and give their clients a sense of belonging as members of the site and additional member benefits such as access to research reports. In addition, we included social media buttons such as LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter for a more accessible reach to customers. Lastly, we added a footer containing important information such as the company’s contact information, FAQ, blog, calculator, events and links at the bottom of the page.
Consumers find great comfort in consistency, but this does not mean that a brand should rest on its laurels. They should continuously aim to exceed customer expectations and proactively deliver on what their brand promises. Revitalisation can regain a brand’s ‘gloss’ and make it stand out among competitors. In addition, reinforcing a brand’s values and credibility can lead to customer trust. Customer trust leads to customer retention, which as a bottom-line generates earnings for the company.
Maxine Lee is an intern at Marketing Eye.
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comments ( 2 )
Maria Alda Prawitera
10 Apr 2013Great post, Maxine, and good job on the logo!! Perception sometimes IS reality in the eyes of consumers, thus it is always better to get it all right from the start!!!
ReplyRonja
16 Dec 2012Hi Maxine,
Replythanks for the fantastic insight into how a new brand logo and hence brand image is created. The new Logo definitely does look much better! I think you really summarised well what the objectives of the new logo were!