BRANdING YOUR mUlTI-mIllION dOllAR cORPORATIONMetrum Group, clearly set this company apart from the competition
90% of which ended with “Build” or “Builder.” A new modern logo and
corporate style followed the name change and expanded across all four
divisions of the company.
To this day, CEO Vadim Patapov in charge of the new Metrum Group keeps
us current and happily shares their progress. The first fiscal year following
rebranding, Metrum Group had more than doubled their sales and continues
to grow at a more than healthy 50% a year rate. You can view and read more
about Metrum Group on our website at: http://www.Stayfirst.com/work.
On the other hand, as of the writing of this chapter, the most recent story
in the news was Hostess closing down their Twinkie factories and lay-
ing off 18,000 workers. Initially trying to blame the unions, CEO Brian
Driscoll wrote in recent court filings that sales have been declining year
after year since 2009, and further analysis by Business Insider maga-
zine showed that even though knowing full well about the importance
of reinvention, Hostess stubbornly kept manufacturing their obsolete
products that brought them to their knees.
As sad as this Twinkie finale may sound, we need to move on to our
next point – Brand Security. Contrary to European markets, in America
we believe in proven systems vs. innovation (that could have been the
reasoning behind Hostess decision-making that obviously didn’t work,
who knows). That is why this following simple exercise is so effective:
When you have a moment, Google your competition plus the word
“logo” at the end. Take the images and make a 4x4 grid with any
image processing software including your brand logo in one of the
spaces in the grid. Once done print it black and white.Even without printing it in black and white, you’ll be able to see a clear
distinction between the market leaders and “others.” Even without a
trained eye, one can easily spot the unconventional font in the logos or
some unique symbolism or even a whole hidden message. An argument
can be made that this is “useless” or it serves no purpose, but if you’re
not familiar with this process of branding let me elaborate a little.
In reality, the message you see in the logo reflects the whole philoso-
phy behind the company. This message is exported over to a corporate
style that talks to employees, management and customers alike in one
single voice. There are interior navigation systems made, communica-