Grace under fire. We’re happy to handle pressure, change and setbacks beyond our control. We live to execute – sounds funny until we do it for you. Then it’s simply amazing. Grace is like that.
Sometimes, a client’s brand just doesn’t reflect what the company is really about. When USFI undertook a total rebranding of BuyEfficient, the nation’s fastest-growing purchasing consortium serving the hospitality industry, we discovered a brand that wasn’t reaching its target audience, much less presenting a compelling reason to choose the client’s services.
There was trouble on the “Ranch,” a new residential resort on a beautiful lake just west of Fort Worth. The development appeared to be on its way to becoming an “all plans, no construction” sort of non-development. Everything was in place to create a wonderful community, except actual houses and residents. How to sell the Ranch but avoid the expense of building model homes on spec?
Very rarely does a client ask for a total branding makeover. More often, our partners have some components of their brand in place, but lack a compelling visual context for them. Johnson Properties, a major resort realtor, had invested in a strong logo design, but placed it in contexts such as “pub-set” ads, co-op brochures and rudimentary outdoor. Strategy, mission, even tactical direction seemed lacking.
Thousands of companies roll out millions of innovative products every year, but only a tiny percentage succeed. Why? Rarely is a company in sync with both the marketplace and technology. So when a southern California research and development company with both advanced products and market smarts approached USFI to craft a complete brand identity from the ground up, we knew the challenge of communicating its identity, USP and mission would be significant.
As a rule, premier hotel management companies don’t like to talk about their success on behalf of investors in hard numbers. But one USFI client is a major exception to that “rule.” SHM's success, year over year, was a growing phenomenon that would have attracted new investor groups by the dozens – if the client had managed to let anyone know. But the company’s branding had grown stale; hey, it happens. The logo, the surrounding messaging, the printed materials and website – all were irrelevant to the company our client had become.