What A Branding or Rebranding Service Shouldn’t Be

Next week I’m launching the kind of branding and rebranding service I wish was available when I started my business in 2005, and then again when I refreshed the Azrights brand in 2014.

On both occasions the agency/designer I was working with got me to answer a load of questions to better understand my business.

Indeed, I had a few meetings with the designer in 2014 and she even spoke with other members of my team. Invariably, there were designs for me to view at these meetings.

While the agency/designer got insights out of the exercise I certainly didn’t get greater clarity about my business. I’d have welcomed more guidance, especially in 2006.

In the early days of my business, I was a lawyer with expertise in commercial and intellectual property law. I’d worked with international businesses like Reuters, and while I knew a lot about law, I was totally clueless about business and how to attract clients. So, I needed business guidance more than designs.    

However, on both occasions, all I essentially got were pretty designs.

Maybe in 2005 the agency didn’t really understand my area of expertise – intellectual property – so didn’t feel able to give me business guidance? This is something I’ve often pondered about.

In 2014, I hadn’t expected anything more than design work. I certainly hadn’t expected to be rebranded!

The brief was simply to make my visual identity hang together better. That’s because I’d incorporated a new tagline - Easy Legal Not Legalese - and a ‘visual hammer’ into the existing Azrights logo. Although I’d got help from a graphic designer to do it, I wanted a branding expert’s review of the designs.

Instead of ‘refreshing’ the branding though, the designer changed everything: my logo, fonts, colours, the lot. She didn’t give me the ‘visual hammer’ I’d told her I wanted, and she even replaced my tagline which was a registered trademark, with ‘Lawyers for the digital world’. Presumably this was to reflect the repositioning she had decided for us.

If I’d let her, she’d have changed our name too, but I put my foot down when she suggested it, pointing out that I had nearly 10 years in business and would lose the name recognition I’d built up for Azrights if I changed names.

But what’s surprising, looking back on it, is that she didn’t explain why she made all these changes. She didn’t mention how I was supposed to run the business in line with the new positioning she had assigned for us either.

Back in 2014, I hadn’t yet started my Brand Tuned podcast and interviewed all the luminaries from the branding industry that I’ve discussed branding with since.  

Nor had I yet written my book Brand Tuned - the new rules of branding, strategy and intellectual property. And I hadn’t yet attended the numerous courses and training programs I’ve been on to learn all about brand strategy, brand management and brand creation.

In 2014, I chose to trust this branding ‘expert’ assuming there were intrinsic reasons why my visual identity needed to change and that a visual hammer was inappropriate. I accepted the designer’s decisions as I knew no better.

Having worked with many business owners around trademarks, I know what kind of branding services people receive. Invariably intellectual property considerations are missing from the decision making.

So, I’m intending to do a podcast series on small business branding. 

If you’re willing to discuss your banding experiences with me on the Brand Tuned podcast do let me know. It doesn’t matter what stage your business is at. I’d love to find out about your experiences.

From my second- and first-hand experiences of branding, I’ve formed a good idea of the type of branding and rebranding service that the market needs, and I’m going to offer it.

More information coming next week.  

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