The Iowa landscape, and particularly the Corridor, is peppered with a rich mix of legacy businesses that play a significant role in the state’s economy.
Many of these companies have remained locally- or family-owned for generations, while others have been bought and sold several times since their founding. Whether facing transitions or not, many are asking questions about the state of their brand and how well it’s connecting to audiences and telling their story.
In this fast-changing, digital-first marketing environment, brands have to be stronger than ever. They have to be engaging, and they have to build trust through consistency and authenticity while having the agility to put their best foot forward on different platforms and in different places.
For a brand to do all of that well, it needs a strong foundation. When this exists, companies can drive their marketing forward faster. But in many cases, the brand itself hasn’t been evaluated for years. It’s like an old muscle that’s still functioning but has lost strength. Often, what it needs is to be assessed and put through a targeted strengthening program so it can evolve and perform at a higher level.
Every day, I have the pleasure of talking with company leaders who share what keeps them up at night about the state of their brand. Here are some things we’ve heard:
- “We’re looking for new ways to stand out against increasing competition.”
- “Our logo used to look so good. It doesn’t seem to work well on digital channels.”
- “We’re not all on the same page about what our brand stands for.”
- “We don’t know if our brand is connecting to the right audiences.”
- “Our customers want our brand to be more responsive. Not just in selling our products, but in talking directly to them.”
- “We have limited budgets and resources and can’t compete with big brands. We need to find smarter ways to build brand awareness and get results.”
- “We know what we need to do. We just don’t know how to get started.”
Our team recently worked with Hometown Restyling in Cedar Rapids. The company was founded nearly 40 years ago by Wayne Winn in Hiawatha. Two years ago, five local owners took the helm, a mix of family and non-family members. They all had different aspirations and allegiances to their brand. After walking alongside them to rebrand their company, I asked what advice they would have for others. Here’s what co-owner and marketing director Dave Wilslef had to say:
Q: What were the first three things you thought of when you considered rebranding?
A: How will the public/our customers react to this change? How much time and effort is this going to take? Are we really going to be able to come up with something better than what we already have? I had my serious doubts and was completely wrong!
Q: What was the tipping point in pursuing a rebrand?
A: It all came from our co-owner and sales director, Dave Wageman. He convinced us we needed to move away from the old logo and be more forward-thinking — rebranding was a big part of that. If it wasn’t for him, I don’t think the four of us would have considered it.
Q: What advice would you give others considering a rebrand?
A: First, hire the best team to do this for you. By no means try to tackle this yourself. Second, plan on this being a long process and don’t let yourself get overwhelmed. Let the experts guide you. Third, it’s all worth it in the end when it comes together. We have a refreshed brand we are all thrilled with.
So, how do you take the first steps toward determining if you are due for a rebrand? And what would that process look like? What I’ve learned is that like any major decision within a company, the most important thing is to ask the right questions, get the right partner, embrace a framework, and infuse a healthy dose of change management into the process.
Melinda Pradarelli is CEO of Meld Marketing in Iowa City. She has helped dozens of companies assess and drive their brands forward.
