Why Rebranding Matters

Our brand is arguably our most important asset.

What is a professional services brand? Our brand is the totality of how our audience sees, talks about and experiences our firm.

How do you measure a brand? Reputation x Visibility = Brand Strength

What Does This Mean? The better and more focused our reputation and the greater our visibility within our target client group, the more valuable our brand.

The strongest brands… > Have 32% higher realized billing rates > Close a higher % of new business > Generate new leads earlier and less expensively > Attract higher quality job applicants

Rebranding Readiness… > Do we have specific goals we want to achieve? > Does top management recognize the need? > Does marketing staff recognizes the need? > Is rebranding is a priority? > Have we set aside a budget? > You we identified the internal team? > Have we identified our outside branding partner?

How Rebranding Impacts Our Firm… > Re-focuses our strategy to the right targets > Strengthens our value proposition > Tells our story in a clear and powerful way

Top Reasons Firms Rebrand > To grow faster > To offer new services > To target new clients > Their message is not clear or compelling > Their brand is out of date > More competition in the marketplace

Overview of Rebranding Process… 1. Get the strategy right 2. Build the new brand 3. Roll it out 4. Build it over time

1. Get the Strategy Right > Structured research of clients, prospects, competitors, and influences > Study external and internal brand > Brand strategy ● Audiences ● Differentiators ● Positioning ● Messaging ● Visual expression ● Value proposition

2. Build the Brand > Name, logo, tagline > Identity Package > Website > Collateral and tools > Tools to tell the story

3. Roll It Out > Roll out plan > Building internal buy-in > Training

4. Build It Over Time > Marketing plan > Support and troubleshooting > Track and adjust > Outsourced services

How Long Will it Take? > Depends on many factors: > Size of your organization > Number decision makers > Amount of research required > Scope of deliverables > Responsiveness of both teams

How Much Will it Cost? > Average firm spends about 5% of revenues on marketing > Rebranding usually requires 10%-20% of marketing budget

Scenario: Start-Up/ Small Firm > Scope: Basic rebranding (research, positioning, messaging, logo, tagline, website, brand guidelines) > Timing: 3-5 months > Cost: $75,000-$100,000

Scenario: Firm Re-focus > Scope: Brand strategy refinement (Research, positioning, messaging, tagline, messaging architecture) > Timing: 8-12 weeks > Cost: $20,000-$30,000

Scenario: Complex Firm > Scope: Comprehensive Rebranding and Go-to- Market Strategy (Research, positioning, messaging, logo, tagline, website design & development, multi-piece collateral design & writing, messaging architecture, expanded brand style guidelines, marketing plan) > Timing: 4-8 months > Cost: $100,000-$200,000

Selecting a Branding Partner > Clear goals and outcomes > Do they understand our firm and industry? > Have they done it before? > Do they take their own medicine? > Can we try before we buy?