Hewlko News - The branding process
Creating a brand with a customized approach
This past fall I met Stephen Lewis for a coffee meeting at the studio. By the end of our conversation we had created a proposal for a client who required branding work. The soon-to-be owners of a mid-sized energy company needed a name, logo and website -- and they wanted this all done quickly with a process they could trust. They knew from past such projects that the agency they chose would need to tightly manage their costs. So, when Stephen proposed an ultra-lean team of Hewlko Creative Direction + Design partnering with his consulting firm to complete the project from start to finish, it was a winning approach for this client’s needs.
Need help choosing the right agency? Read the Branding 103 Series – How to find the right designer/agency for your business.
The Project Scope
Branding Workshop + Competitor Analysis – early October 2018
We started the project with a branding workshop that included the company’s newly selected CEO and its group of senior leaders. The new company was a “carve-out” from a larger organization. The senior leaders had been hand-selected by the CEO and the workshop was used to determine the company’s values, its service offering and target audiences in a group setting with input from the entire team. We also analyzed the company’s competitors and their services to understand best practices and brand positioning in the marketplace.
Name Development – mid October
Working from the workshop outcomes, we developed 14 names with rationales and URL options and presented those to the company’s owners and CEO the following week. These were narrowed down to the top five and sent to the owners’ lawyers to complete a NUANS search and to identify any conflicts. From that work and from ongoing discussions with the owners and CEO, it was determined that Campus Energy Partners was the right fit for the new company.
The Latin root word for Campus means “field” reflecting the location of the company’s starting point. The more modern definition of Campus -- a mix of buildings that make up a place of learning -- reflected both the unique collection of facilities the company would have and the culture of innovation and creativity its employees would aim to foster.
It took approximately two weeks to complete the legal searches, register the various domains, and complete due diligence on the final name.
Logo Development – early November
We presented five logo concepts with rationales based on the company’s name, values and services. The presentation included logo, colours and font treatments. The logo selected by the company’s owners and CEO reflected the company’s values of hard work, reliability and creativity in their approach to finding solutions for customers’ energy needs. The wordmark supported this messaging with a clear and friendly look. The icon shape is an abstract field which speaks to the landscape in which the business operates while reflecting that energy is a natural resource harvested from the land. Vibrant green and blue colours were chosen to further support the land and sky attributes included in the icon.
Website Development Workshop – mid November
We held a second workshop with the leadership team to gain their input and to reach agreement on how information would be displayed on their website and how each target audience would find the information. During this session we reviewed a draft of a site map and adjusted it based on input from the team. We discussed what content and visuals would be required and mapped out user flow based on the target audiences developed at the initial workshop. The results included a signed-off site map to build out the website and a content brief to direct team members. We also outlined photography requirements (in this case working from existing photography) and the content we would need the internal team to collect and share with us.
Website Production – November and December
We presented two initial design styles to provide the client with choices and developed the framework for all the content to be placed within. The website process ensured we maximized the competitor analysis phase of the project in understanding how competitors were displaying information, including what was effective and what was not. It was a fast-moving project and required regular meetings for our agency team and with the company’s leadership team. We worked closely with an experienced developer from the company’s IT group to assist in populating the website and formatting the site.
Communication Materials – December and January 2019
A brand guideline was created to help maintain consistency and build marketing tools in the future. The following materials were included in the initial brand package: business cards, letterhead, envelopes, and email signatures. Internal templates including Word and PowerPoint documents were formatted, and content was developed for LinkedIn and Indeed company profiles for the new company.
Project Outcome
The now-owners of this mid-sized energy company were extremely pleased with the results, noting the quality of the work, the efficiency in meeting their deadlines, and the effective cost-management by our agency team.
We believe much of our success on the project was due to having a small and experienced team which enabled us to move quickly and provide the client with direct contact to those who were doing the work. This ultimately saved time on the feedback-loop for revisions as questions were answered on the spot and messages didn’t get “telephoned” down the line.
Our approach helped us develop tight working relationships with the CEO and leadership team at Campus Energy. Decisions were made quickly as the owners and CEO trusted us as their creative partners on the project. Every step of the way it felt like a team effort with everyone pulling in the same direction to get the to get the new company launched on February 1, 2019.
A Q&A Series with industry experts and entrepreneurs that capture the evolving marketing landscape and provide helpful information for business owners.
Q&A with Stephen of SWL Consulting
Stephen and I partnered on the Campus Energy branding project. In this Q&A we learn about his background and how he's seamlessly shifted from an internal role in the energy sector to running his own consulting business.
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Nordic Inspiration
Chris Amat has been on the road a lot lately, but was back in Studio 1130 this month shooing a personal project, this is a sample from his session "Nordic Inspiration".
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