Implementix: A Physical Brand Activation Company

Your go-to resource for brand management and implementation tips, tools, and strategies

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Your Brand Conversion Game Plan & Checklist

Make no mistake. Customers will notice if your company has outdated branding. At the very least, they may become confused (especially if it’s during a merger), and at the worst, they’ll feel you’re not paying attention to important details and will have doubts about doing business with you.

That’s why we always recommend beginning your brand conversion with an assessment of all the places your logo and branding appears—so you don’t miss a single chance to make a good impression. (It’s also why we created a technology platform for collecting data and photos of every physical asset and creation of searchable database of those assets.)

To help you get started, we’ve put together a checklist of the physical—and even digital—brand assets our clients typically need to change.

Brand Conversion Checklist

Take a look below to get an idea of how many of these items your company will have to rebrand during a brand change.

Facility/Store/Branch Signage

Take this opportunity to increase your brand exposure. Don’t just automatically replace the existing signage—assess your competitors’ signage in the market.

Building Signs

Pylon Signs

Monument Signs

Doors (Hours of Operation)

Windows (Support Graphics)

Branded Interior Signs

Directional Signs (Customer Parking and Drive-thru Areas)

Digital Sign Displays

Customer Items

Be sure to communicate the benefits of the brand change to your customers while changing these items.

Customer Invoices and/or Statements

Customer Checks and Deposit Slips

Customer Credit and Debit Cards

Customer Loyalty Cards

Application Forms

Transaction Receipts

Branded Technologies

Your customers rely heavily on your branded technology sites, so coordinate with your IT team as soon as possible to allocate resources.

Company Websites and Landing Pages

Mobile Apps

Telephone Systems

Voicemail Messages

Email Signatures and Templates

Legal and Regulatory

Take this opportunity to standardize your regulatory communication notices and posting in coordination with your legal department.

Contracts

Regulatory Notices and Postings

Equipment

Often underutilized from a branding perspective, areas like drive-thru windows, ATMs, and kiosks are a great way to increase brand exposure.

ATMs

Mobile Banking Centers

Kiosks

Entryway Rugs/Carpets

Fleet Vehicles

Be sure to determine variables in makes and models that will affect deliverables and costs.

Count of trucks, vans, and other vehicles

Year -  specific years and age range

Vehicle Type

Mileage

Promotional/Sale Items

Look for economies of scale when ordering hard-copy printing and giveaway items.

Posters

Brochures and Sales Literature

Flyers

Giveaways (Pens, Mugs, Hats, Shirts, Coasters, Keychains, Bags)

Point-of-Sale Items

Displays

Branded Display Holders and Racks

Community Awards

Advertising Items

Consider channels you’re currently using and test out ones you haven’t to help generate new business.

Print Advertising

Internet Advertising

Social Media

Broadcast Advertising

Outdoor Advertising

Online Directories

Trade Show Items

Employee Items

It’s important to consider your internal stakeholders during brand changes. Staff aligned around a clear customer-facing message will make the publish transition go more smoothly.

Clothing/Uniforms

Name Tags

Security Badges

Employee Manuals and Handbooks

Human Resources Materials

Office Supplies

The perfect finishing touch for presenting a professional, trustworthy brand image.

Business Cards

Letterhead

Announcements

Envelopes

Mailing Labels

Thank You Cards

Folders

Notepads

Next: Store Information in a Comprehensive Database

Congratulations! Now that you have a list of assets, it’s time to organize them to keep track of the details you’ll need when getting quotes and updating in the future. The more information you track in your database, the easier the rebranding process will be.

Here’s an example of the kinds of data you can store in your database:

Location

Asset Name

Dimensions

Final Photo

Date Last Updates

Contact Info at Location

Vendor

Worried you don’t have the internal resources to take on research down to the asset level? Implementix can help you identify and document every physical asset in a database we create specifically for your company. Contact us at [email protected] to learn more.

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5 Mistakes to Avoid During Your Next Rebrand

Because consumers don’t just purchase your product or service, they buy what your brand stands for, your brand is an essential part of how customers and clients perceive you in the marketplace. A recognizable brand fosters trust and credibility, supports your advertising efforts, and even builds your company’s financial value.

If you’ve ever gone through a rebrand, then you know firsthand how difficult the physical conversion can be. With multiple locations and assets like signs, vehicles, and marketing materials needing updates, there are a lot of details and deadlines to keep track of.

After nearly two decades of planning, managing, and executing physical rebrands for our clients, here are five crucial mistakes we typically see and how you can combat them.

Old and new branding in the public eye. Losing track of which brand messaging is used at each location will be confusing to your clients. Create a database of every branded physical asset so you can ensure each one is changed out.

Blown budgets. The cost of new signage and branded materials aren’t the only things to budget for. Make sure to plan for the removal of old signage, the installation of new signage, and other “soft costs.” 

Missed deadlines. Start with the end in mind and set realistic deadlines for each phase of the rebrand. Pad timelines for the unexpected: bad weather, additional manufacturing, and change orders.

No ongoing brand management. After the rebrand is complete, keep track of what assets are used at each location, when each was deployed, and get regularly scheduled updates. 

Executing with a lack of experience. Trying to carry out a rebrand on your own without having any prior experience or the guidance of experts is bound to cost your company more. Partner with someone who knows how to overcome the challenges.

Outsourcing the physical conversion and vendor management to a company like Implementix can enable your team avoid costly delays and missteps. Contact us at [email protected] to see how we can help you with your next project.

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Day 2 of our office #rebrand has been underway today! Can’t wait to show you the final finishes on Monday... stay tuned! #fridayfunday #friyay #tgif

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How to Manage Your Brand Conversion Supply Chain

Executing a physical brand conversion can be a difficult task, especially without the proper vendors to help. But even with the best team in place, pulling off a successful rebrand is nearly impossible without proper supply chain management.

We understand that managing multiple vendors – like signage manufacturers, graphic production companies, and installation and removal crews – can be a challenge. That’s why we’ve developed a list of best practices to help transformation teams manage their supply chain to ensure the success of their brand conversion projects.

Develop clear and detailed application guidelines for each individual asset. This will help your installation crews know the exact specifications of how a graphic should be installed on a vehicle, or where a sign should be placed on a building.

Assign a single point-of-contact to be on-call with installation crews. During the physical rebranding, surprises could pop up at any time delaying the work of your supply chain. By supplying a point-of-contact that is available to your vendors, problems can be addressed and fixed as quickly and efficiently as possible.

Have vehicle drivers, facility managers, or installation crews record removal and installation photos as they work. This gives full transparency into the progress of the physical rebrand. By documenting photos of the conversion in real-time, the transformation team can ensure the project is on track to be completed by the deadline.

Have daily status meetings with vendors on the progress of the conversion. While receiving photos of the conversion progress keeps your transformation team up-to-date on the rebrand, it’s best to schedule a daily status meeting with your vendors to go over the work done. Did any problems occur? Are they behind, on time, or ahead of schedule? When do they think they’ll be done converting assets at a specific location? Communication needs to be a priority to ensure the project is completed on time.

Outsourcing the physical conversion and vendor management to a company like Implementix will allow your transformation team to stay focused on other aspects of the rebrand. Contact us at [email protected] to see how we can help you with your next project.

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When going through M&A or rebrand activity, don’t make the mistake of handling it alone! It’s important to build the best supply chain that will help you complete the physical brand conversion to your standards. Not only will you benefit from having an experienced team working to complete your project to your specific standards, but you will likely reap the benefits of saving time and money as well. #projectmanagement #supplychain #teamwork #rebranding #acquisition #merger #wednesdaywisdom

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Exciting changes are happening at @implementix! After merging with our sister company, DI Graphics, we’ve been working hard to revamp our look. In honor of #transformationtuesday, here’s a sneak peak of some of the changes going on at our office! #design #rebranding #branding #conversion

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Upcoming M&A activity? Focus on planning to ensure the success of your physical rebrand. Connect with us in our bio for help with your next brand conversion project. #mondaymotivation #planning #rebranding #merger #acquisition

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5 Steps to Developing Your Physical Brand Conversion Budget

When planning a rebrand, one of the most important details to consider is the development of the brand conversion budget, specifically for all physical assets. Because there could be so many moving pieces and hundreds of physical branded items throughout a company, it can be hard to estimate how much the physical rebranding will cost. To help you understand the costs associated with a physical rebrand, we’ve outlined the five steps we take to develop a brand conversion budget for our clients:

Develop a list of assets. To even begin estimating how much it will cost to rebrand your physical assets, we recommend you create a database of every branded asset your company owns. Include details such as asset type (vehicle, sign, sign type, etc.), color, size, message, etc. This way you’ll know exactly what needs to change.

Review project scope. After you document all the physical assets that will need to be rebranded, find out if any of them are retired, expired, or plan to be decommissioned. There’s no need to spend extra dollars rebranding assets that are out of commission. Also, make sure you include both the removal and installation costs in your budget creation.

Prioritize visibility. This goes for both your assets and your locations. Do you have facilities that have heavy foot traffic? Are there facilities in rural areas? Determine which locations are most important when it comes to brand visibility. By doing this, you can start prioritizing which assets need to receive the most impactful brand treatments and which assets aren’t needed due to poor placement.

Plan for soft costs. While signage, vehicle wraps, and new marketing materials may be the greatest expense to make note of during a physical rebrand, don’t forget to plan for the unknowns. Will you need additional manufacturing? Will bad weather push back the conversion timeline? Have your facilities been rebranded before and the façade needs to be repaired? Cushion your budget in case any surprises pop up.

Standardize. One of the biggest cost savings you can provide for yourself is to standardize rather than customize the manufacturing of a sign. The size, materials, illumination, and construction of a sign can all influence the price. By standardizing the specifications, you can lower the cost and optimize the ordering process for brand compliant signage for any future conversion needs.

If you find that you need help crafting your physical brand conversion budget, reach out to us at [email protected]. Author: Caylin Asehan Created: 5/10/2018 Category: Brand Conversion

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5 Mistakes to Avoid During Your Next Rebrand

If you’ve ever gone through a rebrand, you know firsthand how difficult the physical conversion can be. With locations spread across the country and thousands of different signs, vehicles, and marketing materials needing to change, there are bound to be a few rebranding slipups that occur.

After years of planning, managing and executing physical rebrands for our clients, we’ve made note of the five crucial mistakes we typically see and how we would combat them:

Old and new branding is still present. One mistake we see time and again is companies that have both the old and new branding out in the public eye. We recommend you create a database of every physical asset that has your brand on it to ensure each one is changed out.

Blown budgets. The cost of new signage and branded materials aren’t the only things to budget for! Make sure you take the removal of old signage, installation of new, and soft costs into consideration when crafting your budget. 

Missed deadlines. Many times, people forget to plan for the unexpected – like bad weather, additional manufacturing, change orders, and the like. When planning for the rebrand, start with the end in mind and set realistic deadlines for each phase of the rebrand.

No ongoing brand management. Losing track of what brand messaging is used at each location can cause for confusion with your clients. After the rebrand is complete, continue on with your brand management by keeping track of what messaging campaign is used at each location, when each campaign was deployed, and when each campaign should end.

Executing with a lack of experience. One of the biggest mistakes you could make during a rebrand, especially one that includes hundreds of locations and physical branded assets, is trying to execute it on your own without having any prior experience. We recommend you outsource the physical rebrand to a brand implementation partner, like Implementix, to ensure your project is completed on time, on budget, with no noise.   

Author: Caylin Asehan Created: 5/3/2018 Category: Brand Conversion

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Building Your Brand Conversion Supply Chain

Consider this scenario: Your company just announced an acquisition and, to prepare for the conversion, the executive committee develops internal teams to help complete the integration. They choose the legal, marketing, operations, and facility employees that they believe can best fulfill their integration objectives. These internal teams should take the same approach when managing their portion of the conversion process. This is especially true for the team that handles the rebranding of all physical touchpoints – like interior signage, exterior signage, vehicles, and marketing materials. Take the exterior signage for example. Many businesses like to use the local sign company or the sign company that they’ve always used. But are they the best fit for your project objectives? While it’s easy to turn to your preferred vendors, we recommend you thoroughly research and interview multiple vendors to make sure they best fit your project objectives. Find out what their strengths are, how many projects they’ve completed, how large of a project they’ve done – ask specific questions related to your project needs that will help you build the best supply chain. With our detailed planning process, we can do this work for you. Implementix has a best-in-class network of sign manufacturers and installers that we personally vet for you, while also taking your preferred vendors into consideration. Interested in learning how we can help with your next acquisition? Reach out to us at [email protected]. Author: Caylin Asehean Created: 4/26/2018 Category: Brand Conversion

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Otis is ready for this weekend’s fleet assessment in the chilly Colorado weather! Have a brand conversion project coming up? Check out our bio to contact Implementix (and Otis) for help! #rebranding #colorado #workdog #officedogs

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Franchises: The Importance of Brand Consistency

As a franchisor, one of the most important aspects of growing your franchise footprint is maintaining consistent branding across all locations. In an article on the International Franchise Association website titled, Consistency: The Key to Branding, it states, 

When a franchisee purchases a franchise, he or she is also buying the brand. Maintaining and strengthening brand identity, though sometimes difficult, is vital to franchise success. If the brand message is not consistent between units, the message can become confusing and unclear.

One way to do this is through repetitive quality marketing, or RQM. While the goal of RQM is to have consistent messaging that can be applied at all franchise locations, this can be difficult to attain if there are hundreds of locations in multiple markets.  How do you let all franchisees know about new marketing campaigns? How can you ensure that each franchisee is using your brand appropriately? How can you be sure each franchisee is updating their brand messaging during new campaigns? Our ix Touchpoint technology allows franchisor’s to easily distribute their new brand campaigns and streamline their quality control checks all from one centralized location. Eager to learn more? Reach out to us at [email protected]. Author: Caylin Asehan Created: 4/19/2018 Category: Brand Management

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Merging Company Cultures

For any company going through a merger or acquisition, there are a number of action items the integration team must take in order for the deal to be successful. While systems integrations, physical rebranding, and maintaining customer communication are essential, one of the most important tasks to consider is the integration of company cultures. When dealing with different cultures, values, or goals, it’s not uncommon for M&A deals to fall through. In a Deloitte article titled, Cultural issues in mergers and acquisitions, it states, “In one study, culture was found to be the cause of 30 percent of failed integrations. Companies with different cultures find it difficult, if not often impossible, to make decisions quickly and correctly or to operate effectively.” To ensure the integration of company cultures run smoothly, senior management should establish culture traits that both companies agree upon. This way, employees will be more apt to buy-in the new revitalized traits since the leadership team believes in them.  Outsourcing the conversion of all physical assets to a brand implementation company, like Implementix, allows the focus to remain on bridging the two cultures together. The duties that matter most - like maintaining culture, customer retention, and systems integrations - can remain front of mind. Reach out to us at [email protected] to learn how we can help you. Author: Caylin Asehan Created: 4/12/2018 Category: Brand Conversion

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How Planning Helps Streamline Your Healthcare Rebrand

As mentioned in previous blog posts, preparing for a brand conversion can be an overwhelming and time-consuming process, especially for companies that have multiple facilities within their network. In particular, healthcare systems are growing into complex organizations with a network of hospitals, urgent care facilities, specialty centers, and more.  As we continue to see more and more healthcare consolidations, what’s the most efficient way to plan for a physical rebrand? We recommend running the brand conversion planning in parallel with the new brand identity development. Depending on how many locations a health system has, there can be hundreds of physical branded assets – like external signage, internal wayfinding, vehicles, ID badges, etc. – that need to be converted. To help streamline the physical conversion, start documenting the details of these physical assets while your creative team works on the development of your new name, logo, and brand architecture. Through doing this, you can start creating a budget around how much each asset will cost to convert, a timeline of how long each asset will take to change out, and a supply chain of the best vendors to fit your project needs. By the time a new brand identity is created, your planning details will allow you to execute the brand rollout in a timely manner.  Our detailed planning process encompasses all the planning initiatives mentioned above and provides our clients with a guaranteed cost certainty for the entire physical rebrand. If you find yourself needing help planning your next rebrand, reach out to us at [email protected].  Author: Caylin Asehan Created: 4/5/2018 Category: Brand Activation

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Top 5 Planning To-Dos for Your Next Brand Change

Whether you’re going through a merger, acquisition, or brand refresh, executing a brand change can be a complicated task without proper planning. Understanding what branded assets need to change, how long the brand rollout will take, and within what budget will the work be complete, makes for a complex project.  To ensure that your brand change is successful, we recommend using these five planning to-dos before the physical conversion takes place: 

Document the assets that need to be converted. This will include all branded items like interior/exterior signs, vehicles, uniforms, marketing materials, company swag, etc.

Rank asset importance based on visibility and customer demographics. Highly ranked assets at locations with heavier foot traffic can use more brand awareness than those locations with a lesser customer base. Save money by reducing the costs of the lower ranked assets.

Set a realistic timeline to have all assets converted. Account for the unknowns as well - like bad weather, additional asset manufacturing, change orders, or unforeseen extra labor.

Determine budget based on the full scope of the project. Don’t forget the removal costs as well as the installation costs. To save money, we recommend you standardize the specifications of your brand treatments rather than customize each asset.

Select vendors based on your project needs. Do the due diligence of researching and interviewing multiple vendors to see which ones best fit your project objectives.

Our brand conversion management service includes a detailed planning process of Assessment, Scenario Planning, and Value Engineering. We can provide you with a guaranteed cost certainty for your entire brand change project. Reach out to us at [email protected] to learn more. Author: Caylin Asehan Created: 3/29/2018 Category: Brand Activation

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The Influence of Community Demographics on Brand Messaging

As consumers become more interested in connecting with businesses on a personal level, internal marketing teams need to come up with personalized ways to interact with them. While digital marketing and advertising helps with this, how can businesses connect with their prospects at their retail locations? Through location-specific, hyperlocal social marketing. In a Forbes article written by Steve Olenski titled Hyperlocal Social Marketing and What It Means for Brands, Sanjay Gupta, former CMO of Allstate, explains, “Hyperlocal social marketing allows brands to communicate to a group of individuals with similar interests in a specific community or neighborhood.” By understanding the community demographics of where your customers do business, you can create and tailor specific brand messaging that relates to them. For example, a Colorado community bank can have several branches located throughout the state, yet each branch could fall within a different county or city. Separately, these communities have their own unique demographics so different messages are needed to relate to the customers of the individual branches.

Our brand management software, ix Touchpoint, provides businesses with the ability to breakdown the community demographics at each of their retail locations. Marketing and retail executives can tailor location-specific brand messaging and manage future outreach campaigns centrally through our application. If you’re interested in learning how ix Touchpoint can help your brand messaging needs, reach out to us at [email protected].   Author: Caylin Asehan Created: 3/22/2018 Category: Brand Management

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Project Planning: Preparing for a Brand Conversion

For anyone that has gone through a merger, acquisition, or brand refresh, you know preparing for a brand conversion can be overwhelming. It takes more than hiring a sign company to change out the old brand with the new. For the physical conversion to be successful, upfront planning must be done. It’s important to document and prioritize specific details of every physical asset, keep open lines of communication with the entire integration team, and plan the conversion logistics ahead of time. Recently, we helped a client of ours plan for a large brand refresh of all their signage and fleet. Our project management team documented every physical branded asset across their 36 locations and suggested which items were most important to rebrand based on their role and visibility. Once the individual asset planning was complete, we engineered the new brand to fit across all vehicles, signage, and equipment to prepare for the physical conversion. Using our supply chain network, we were able to find the best installation and sign manufacturing companies that best met the timing and pricing objectives of the project. Our detailed planning process gives our clients access to a database of all their branded assets, helps generate budget options based on their branding objectives, and provides engineered renderings of how each asset is represented in the marketplace. If you find yourself needing help with your next brand conversion, reach out to us at [email protected]. Author: Caylin Asehan Created: 3/15/2018 Category: Brand Conversion