Brand. New. Thinking.

I was  driving home the other day when I went through an intersection I have driven through hundreds of times in my life. On one particular corner I saw two new delivery vans with the name
of a dry cleaner on the side. I recognized and realized they had a new logo, and an overall fresh visual. I was amazed. “They finally grew up” I thought to myself. Until that moment that dry cleaners had been the visual equivalent of background noise because  I could not bring myself to look at the hideous single van parked on the corner that had vinyl lettering of all sizes and colors displaying the name, number, etc..

At a time when budgets are being stretched so very thin in marketing departments I was pleasantly surprised to see a business, albeit fairly small, investing in themselves. The re-brand was very nice from a visual standpoint. I started thinking of what kind of paradigm shift had to have taken place for such a dramatic change in the visual voice of this company. And, did the changes affect the balance
sheet of the company in a positive way? I had know more.

I spoke to the owner of the dry cleaners who admitted to seeing and increase in sales after the re-brand. People were coming in and acknowledging they did not know the cleaners was there.
It was not until they saw the new signage on the vans that they became aware. I cannot say
with certainty that the re-brand alone was closing sales but it was clear the efforts were having a positive impact on traffic through the door and it was affecting the ROI of their branding efforts. The owner affirmed my suspicion. Once inside however I did realize there was more than just a facelift. The environment was nice and the staff were nice and helpful. I spent more than an hour at the counter talking to whoever was willing to talk. (I also dropped off some items to be dry cleaned)

The value of a brand hinges on how the brand is delivered, the messages in their materials, the media they choose, the markets they serve, etc. But mostly, I’d say it hinges on how well they execute and deliver — especially in customer interaction.

Through my conversation with the dry cleaner owner it was clear that they understood branding to be a long term investment. And I think that is how, especially in today’s challenging economic landscape, companies of all kinds might want to look at branding.

I would like to add that through our conversation I learned that they also saw it as a way to positively impact the aesthetics in the community in which they do business. That’s a blog entry for another day.

Mary P. Curtis
CEO

3880 So. Bascom Ave., Suite 215
San Jose, CA 95124

Voice: (408) 559-8880
Mobile: (408) 888-7872

email: mcurtis@pacifico.com
Web: http://www.pacifico.com