There are many reasons to go through a rebranding exercise. Most common among them are a merger or acquisition, change in corporate direction, desire to change a negative attitudes about your brand, or simply start over and hope to convince the market that something is different. All of them can be very valid and create a great opportunity to go through the exercise to create a logo, visual identity, new corporate name, positioning statement or color palette. As all companies are different, there is no one size all fits approach. There is one thing, however, that can really derail the process. That is losing sight of the original goals for going through this exercise. A rebranding exercise is not a cure all to solve a company’s problems. It should be done swiftly with clear goals and responsibilities so it does not get in the way of your business to execute. If something is not working, it is unlikely that a rebrand will fix it. That is why keeping your goals in mind and pressure testing every step in the process against them is so critical.

Here are five recommendations to ensure that you don’t lose sight of your goals to ensure a successful rebranding process:

1. Focus on the big picture in terms of messaging and meaning. No external audience will spend as much time as you or your management team thinking through the machinations of the messaging and meaning. Customers and prospects will often ask once but then will go back to focusing on your product, service and delivery.
2. A great logo and corporate visual identity can go a long way toward sending a strong message to the market. It is a design driven world, so don’t spend so much time focused on the message and lose sight of a great logo and corporate visual identity. Visual storytelling through a simple yet powerful logo with the right color palette, right imagery, right iconography, and right fonts can make a major impact for a brand to create the right position in the market.
3. Branding is a team effort. Get your employees involved. They are the ones out delivering your message and brand to the market. If employees fell invested in the branding process they are much more likely to help you sell the new name, brand and message to the market.
4. Don’t Do It Halfway. Once you commit to launching the new brand, ensure that your old logo does not show up anywhere. Assuming that the corporate website is the first place where the new brand shows up, ensure that the new branding is quickly rolled out at events, tradeshows, office locations, ppt templates, ad campaigns, etc. Your audience can only be as committed to your brand as you are. Take the time and spend the money to do it right.
5. Don’t let the process drag. Remember, a rebrand will not automatically fix your problems. You have a business to run and marketing campaigns to execute. The market is not going to wait for you take your time. Competitors will seize the opportunity if there is a market void.

At Bluetext, we have a proven process to ensure that every attitude and viewpoint is considered. But we follow the recommendations outlined above. We often rebrand companies in a timely manner, helping them focus on their goals to ensure they can focus on corporate priorities. From logo development to corporate visual identity to responsive web design to trade show booths and new collateral, we have the resources and expertise ready to tackle whatever challenge you are facing with your brand.

It is not hard to quickly discover, when sitting down with a client or prospect, when they feel that they are not executing efficiently. A few simple questions and they get that look indicating that they know they need help. This blog post is not another list to make you feel badly about your marketing efforts. This is a list of 10 signs that you are doing marketing right. This is by no means an exhaustive list, and is in no particular order, but hopefully when scanning you can mentally check off a handful of these to show you are taking your marketing efforts in the right direction.

1. You have an editorial calendar to align marketing efforts for thought leadership, product launches, news, events, and other corporate activities. An editorial calendar helps deliver a consistent message across all channels.
2. You are part of the right conversations. Conversations about companies, products, services, technologies, etc. are happening everywhere. It is important to be part of these.
3. Social media is integral to your marketing operations.
4. When a prospect visits you at an event, they get the same brand look/feel/attitude from your booth as when they visit your website or scan your social properties.
5. Your website is responsive, and you are starting to think of the mobile user experience first. The trend is your friend here – several recent studies show that more than half of web traffic is now coming from mobile.
6. You “own” your website, and
   don’t need to rely on IT or an outside vendor for consistent updates.
7. You are leveraging Google Analytics to ensure website content is most effectively displayed to deliver a solid experience for a variety of target personas.
8. You lead your business or marketing reviews with actual statistics on your results pulled from various tracking systems.
9. You listen to your customers. They know what they want and can be a fickle bunch across any industry.
10. Your brand tells a story. From the logo to the look to way your employees talk about you company, everything is aligned and powerful.

This list may be missing many tell-tale indictors, but it’s a good place to start. Please feel free to throw out other ideas, and we will add to this on a regular basis as markets and marketing efforts continue to diversify.

Last week it was announced that software company Synopys would acquire Cigital, a leading provider of software security services to help software developers build security into their application development process.

Here is the news:
http://www.darkreading.com/perimeter/synopsys-expands-software-security-with-cigital-codiscope-acquisitions/d/d-id/1327434

In 2015, following an exhaustive search Cigital selected Bluetext for a full scale rebranding effort, including logo, corporate identity, and fully responsive website.

At the time, Cigital’s challenge was a common one we hear from many of our prospects. To paraphrase, “our services and people are so far superior to our main competition, but our brand is holding us back and we are getting out marketed.”

This assignment was directly in our sweet spot.

We worked with the Cigital team to create a powerful brand that was differentiated and visually appealing to send a message to the market that things are different at Cigital and now is the time to take notice. The rebrand created a swagger for the company that clearly led to success as judged by last week’s news.

We were not specifically hired with the assignment of positioning the company for sale. But this is another instance in a long line of rebrand efforts, including Acentia, Altimeter, Force3 and several others, where the company successfully sold shortly after our rebranding effort.

Every client has a unique challenge.

Rarely does a client call saying that they want to sell and need to rebrand now. But when engaging with a client, it is always in the back of our minds. Our goal is to take a seat at the table with our clients, understand their unique challenges and ultimate goals, and help them execute a campaign to achieve this goals in the most efficient manner possible.

Kudos to Cigital, Jim Ivers and the entire team. We could not be more proud of the work we did to help successfully position you for this exciting news. To read more about our solution check out our Cigital case study. To learn more about the importance of a strong brand, read our latest:

Planning for the New Year? Is Your Branding Up to Snuff?

With a new year comes new expectations. More qualified leads. Better content. More PR coverage…just some of the areas that b2b marketers are measured against.

The New Year marks a great time to unveil a new brand identity to the market. Usually in January there is the company wide sales kickoff meeting where the team is hungry for something new. Out with the old and in with the new. A new look is always a smart way for b2b marketers to kick off the year in style.

A lot goes into creating and launching a new brand. Determining the new brand identity, then doing all the steps to launch it are critical for success. How well you handle the transition process from the old to the new and how that plays out can go a long way toward determining the success of your launch. As you only have one chance at a first impression, every step you take in in the process must be executed flawlessly.

So let’s think about audiences. First and foremost is the internal audience. They say that more than 50% of the success of a rebranding effort is determined by how well it is received by your internal champions. These are the people that will be the first line of defense when presenting the new brand to their customers and partners. They should love it. They should feel inspired. They should be prepared to scream about why you did it and what it means to the market from the mountaintop.

To best do this, they need key messages delivered on a silver platter. And they need to be easy to communicate. Having a consistent story to tell is critical. Think of it like a game of telephone. Once you tell them why you did this you have no idea where the message will go. By the time it reaches a hot prospect it may lose its impact. And remember, you only have one chance at a first impression.

Once key constituents understand why you did it, the next critical question for b2b marketers to answer is how will the news and message get communicated, and when can people talk about it. From the smallest requests (when will by new business cards arrive) to the most critical brand story telling channels (when will the website get updated), no detail should be overlooked. A detailed rollout plan is critical for success.

Say it Loud and Say It Proud
Many brand marketers don’t get the respect they are due. Their efforts are reduced to simple questions from others such as “what hours do I need to be working at the tradeshow booth?”

A new brand identity is the time to make a splash, and what better time than the New Year when we are done celebrating past years’ success and are now ready to move forward with the new branding. If you are like most b2b companies you have a big sales kickoff where everyone is hungry to see what is new for the near year. If you coordinate efforts well, all materials are ready, all messages are crisp, and you have the perfectly captive audience of internal influencers to get behind your efforts. Leverage the promotional opportunity the kickoff presents to make it memorable.

You Made the Splash, Now What?
Let’s face it. Launching the new brand is just the top of the iceberg. There are a million things to do and pieces of communication to coordinate. People have questions, and you should have answers. Now is the time to move back into your measured marketing roll and create a perfect spreadsheet to show the team how things will roll out. Use the rebrand as an opportunity to create a cadence of messages for partners, prospects, and customers. This is your new brand platform to deliver a new message for 2017. The market should experience it in everything you do, from your tradeshow booth to your website to your lead generation campaigns. A coordinated effort will enable you to get rewarded for your efforts while successfully launching the new brand identity to the market.

Don’t forget What Got You Here
If you are thinking about rebranding for 2017, you have been successful in your job in 2016. That means that you had something valuable for the market and did a good job delivering it. Now is a good time to meet with your core audiences to get their feedback. What is resonating about the new branding and message? Have you and your team done a good enough job clearly explaining why you did this? Does the identity fit the company you want to be? Does the market understand the meaning behind the new brand?

Ready to Get Started?
At Bluetext branding is in our DNA. We work with organizations across many industries to help them create and launch new brands to the market. From logo development to corporate visual identity to responsive web design to trade show booths and new collateral, we have the resources and expertise ready to tackle whatever challenge you are facing with your brand. Now is the time – the New Year is just around the corner. Do you have the platform to deliver a powerful message to the market? Reach out today to find out how Bluetext can elevate your brand.

When I meet someone and they ask about Bluetext, I often reply with a simple “Bluetext is one of the top branding and marketing agencies in Washington, D.C.” That usually leads to a conversation about our team, our services, our clients, and eventually their needs and challenges. People generally understand branding and marketing, and therefore are able to talk about their business challenge in the context of the services we deliver.

I was at a dinner last week with a group of agency leaders from the top branding and marketing agencies in Washington and something that someone else said really struck a chord with me. He talked about solving problems and addressing challenges for his clients. As a leading marketing agency, I believe our clients think of us in a similar manner. We are more than a branding firm. We do more than design and build award-winning websites. We do more than execute PR and content marketing campaigns for our clients. At the end of the day, every company has some sort of marketing challenge they are trying to overcome. At Bluetext, that is what we do for our clients. We solve their challenges through a mix of strategies and tactics, and there is no one size fits all approach.

As you start to think about 2017, I would strongly suggest not specifically thinking do I need a new website or do I need to get more articles, but instead think what are the challenges my business faces and what type of agency is required to solve them. Does that agency have the creativity, passion and expertise to get their hands dirty and help me achieve my goals? Does that agency have the resources to think about new channels? A PR firm will tell you that you need more PR. A website agency will tell you need a new website. At Bluetext, we will analyze your challenge and recommend a campaign, solution or strategy to help you achieve your business goals. In my view, that is what a top marketing agency does. To learn more about what makes us a top agency, reach out today.

As companies mature and think about how to take their business to the next level, invariably one of the toughest questions to answer is when is the right time to hire a marketing agency. Every company is different. As one of the top marketing agencies in Washington, Bluetext meets with companies of all shapes and sizes, and it is safe to say has seen it all. From the CFO who is dabbling in marketing to the head of business development to the person who just graduated last week, companies tackle marketing in different ways. So when someone asks “when the right time to hire a marketing agency is?” I pulled together some telltale signs that would suggest it is time to call in the professionals.

1. The only money you are spending to get your name out there is the same industry tradeshow you have been attending for years, and you only go because “everyone goes.” I would be willing to bet that the money spent on that show could be spent on some much more effective tactics
2. When someone says that they went to your website and has no idea what you do. This is a problem. You need clarity. You need a digital platform that delivers for your business. Prospects need 6-7 touches as a minimum before they want to engage with your company. The message, design and impact of your website needs to be clear and differentiated. If not then it is time to call a top digital marketing agency.
3. You have no plan. How do you expect to grow a business with no marketing plan? Too many times we hear people say that they need to get around to focusing on marketing. That is likely a sign that it is too late. If you are selling a B2B product, a b2b marketing agency should be able to help you create a plan, determine the resources required to execute it, and then help deliver results with impact.
4. You think of marketing and business development as the same department…enough said.
5. You have to pinch to view your website on your phone…enough said.
6. You are constantly looking at your competitors and talking about how great a job they are doing with their brand and positioning. We hear this all the time.
7. Every vendor that calls with a marketing idea sounds like a smart plan. A good b2b marketing agency can not only help you craft and execute a plan, but also help you sort through all of the opportunities that exist for promotion and help you point your arrows in the right direction.

So there you have it. Seven signs that it is time to hire a marketing agency. I am sure that this list can go on and on. Please share other thoughts in the comments zone and I will update the list accordingly. And if you don’t know what to do, give us a call. We have worked with companies across many industries to tackle many different marketing challenges to help them take their business to the next level.

When people ask me about Bluetext, I often find myself calling us of the region’s top B2B marketing firms. We work with world class global enterprises. We are on the cutting edge of branding trends and focused on leveraging emerging marketing channels. And we have a world class team of people focused on delivering great results for our clients. So here is my take on what makes us one of the top B2B marketing firms:

1. A top B2B marketing firm works across a wide variety of industries. In my view, focusing on just a few industries can be limiting and lead to tired tactics. Instead, taking the learnings from some industries and applying them into adjacent markets can be valuable to clients.
2. A top B2B marketing firm can tackle a wide variety of marketing assignments, delivering integrated solutions for clients. Clients like integrated service offerings. They like to work with clients who create a strategy then are able to roll it out via many channels.
3. A top B2B marketing firm is working at the forefront of emerging delivery channels. See our recent work for Varonis at bluetext.com/varonis
4. A top B2B marketing firm gives guidance versus simply taking orders. Challenging assumptions, doing things differently, and looking at ideas through different lenses can be incredibly valuable.
5. A top B2B marketing firm starts with goals versus focusing on channels. Understanding where a client wants to go before deciding how to get there can be quite valuable.
6. A top B2B marketing firm should have a seat at the table with you during key strategic meetings.
7. A top B2B marketing firm should push your internal team to think beyond traditional channels and programs to reach prospects in new and unique ways.
8. A top B2B marketing firm is part of the community and recognized for its great work
9. A top B2B marketing firm is able to adjust strategies mid-course.
10. A top B2B marketing has a client roster that you immediately recognize.

So that is my list. That is how I define a top B2B marketing firm. What did I miss? Please share other ideas and I can update the post in the future. And for more insights on B2B marketing, reach out to Bluetext today:

Attention all you marketers out there…ever sat in a meeting not wanting to raise your hand to ask someone for clarification on what they mean? Concerned that your colleagues or manager will think less of you? Gearing up for your next marketing campaign and need to include some new thinking?

Let’s face it – you are not alone. No one wants to be that person who raises their hand in those situations.

The world of digital marketing is moving very fast with new terms and concepts emerging everyday. From SERP to lead scoring to SEO to responsive design, it is getting harder to keep up.

If you are paranoid that your boss will catch on, we have a solution for you. As one of D.C’s top digital marketing agencies we are constantly exploring new trends and techniques to deliver award-winning creative agency work to our clients. So don’t pass go and immediately download our ebook on marketing lingo. We have updated it with some emerging terms. It is sure to give you the confidence to jump into your next marketing campaign with your eyes wide open.

Time to Write My Blog…I Wrote My Blog…Time to Write My Blog

Remember the iconic Dunkin Donuts campaign from the early 80s featuring Fred the Baker?

What a classic campaign. 30 years later the lessons we can learn from Fred are relevant and applicable to modern content market.

It is hard….It is time consuming…but it can really pay off when done right. In my estimation a disciplined approach to blogging and content marketing can be a relatively low cost way of tilting the playing field for your products or services.

We have built one of the strongest content marketing practices in D.C. by working with our clients to create aggressive, consistent content marketing campaigns that ensure they have a strong presence across the web with their key audiences. We create quarterly editorial calendars that align with key company and product milestones, as well as industry events where we can help amplify messages. We instill content marketing into the DNA of our clients so that they can experience the benefits of a disciplined approach.

Content marketing, however, is not something you can just set and forget. It takes care and nurturing. It takes discipline and an entire team effort. And it takes some creativity.

So the next time someone says they don’t have time to write a blog or are too busy, tell them to give me a call. We can share war stories and I can show them significant results. I think it will make them think twice and find that extra 30 minutes each week.

A few months ago my partner Don Goldberg got a Google Cardboard viewer and was showing it off around the office but was not getting much of a rise out of the team. Maybe we all thought Virtual Reality was too far out there and the hype of Oculus Rift was overblown. Fast forward to early November and I got a Google Cardboard viewer packaged with my Sunday New York Times at home (yes, we still get the Sunday Times!). I downloaded the app and was immediately transformed. Being in the visual storytelling business, I knew that a seismic shift was beginning. Video was no longer just video. VR transformed the story, brought the user (me) into the story, and created an experience that everyone in my family was amazed by. With the price point of the Cardboard viewers it would not create a barrier for marketers to reach their audiences, even in the b2b world.

To quote Google’s news release from October: “Google Cardboard is bringing virtual reality worldwide. Starting today, the Google Cardboard app is available in 39 languages and over 100 countries on both Android and iOS devices. Additionally, the Cardboard developer docs are now published in 10 languages to help developers build great VR experiences. With more than 15 million installs of Cardboard apps from Google Play, we’re excited to bring VR to even more people around the world.”

The conversations inside our agency quickly moved to figuring out how to make VR a reality for our clients. Virtual reality could be the next medium for us to do creative storytelling. As a company focused on visual storytelling married with advanced development (see our work for brands like Workday, Adobe, and Jones Lang LaSalle), it was the perfect storm.

Fast forward two months and today we are designing a digital briefing center in Virtual Reality. We are marrying up our creativity, advanced video capabilities, and cutting-edge app development to help an enterprise software company more effectively tell its story. We see virtual reality as more than games and entertainment. We see it as a platform to tell stories in a fun and engaging way.

From what I can tell there are very few agencies doing virtual reality. We are diving in headfirst. With the launch of Google Cardboard we have an opportunity to help our clients tell their story like never before. That is the business we are in and that is what sets us apart.