Bringing back an old brand to life

[Frenchsalesadministrator]

Hello,

We acquired a brand of fire signalling devices and its products a few years ago.

That brand was created in the late 20's but in the past 10/15 years it has slowly died out, this was the reason we bought it in order to spring it back to life.


We will be taking part in a fire safety exhibition show next year to feature this brand and our products.

Many people there will know about this brand but they have probably forgotten about it. We want to make a clear statement that this "old brand" is BACK in the industry.

I would like to get your thoughts on stand design, straplines or artwork to make this clear statement.

Many thanks
Fabien

 

[Mark T Jones]

Hello,

We acquired a brand of fire signalling devices and its products a few years ago.

That brand was created in the late 20's but in the past 10/15 years it has slowly died out, this was the reason we bought it in order to spring it back to life.


We will be taking part in a fire safety exhibition show next year to feature this brand and our products.

Many people there will know about this brand but they have probably forgotten about it. We want to make a clear statement that this "old brand" is BACK in the industry.

I would like to get your thoughts on stand design, straplines or artwork to make this clear statement.

Many thanks
Fabien

That's really a job for a brand/marketing strategist rather than forum advice

@ethical PR might be able to point you to one

 

[JEREMY HAWKE]

That's really a job for a brand/marketing strategist rather than forum advice

@ethical PR might be able to point you to one

As long as its not called Rumbalows you should get away with it

 

[Mark T Jones]

As long as its not called Rumbalows you should get away with it

Believe it or not I was in a pub recently that sold Watneys beer - apparently they've decided to relaunch the brand.

If ever a brand deserved to die, that was it...

 

[IanSuth]

Hello,

We acquired a brand of fire signalling devices and its products a few years ago.

That brand was created in the late 20's but in the past 10/15 years it has slowly died out, this was the reason we bought it in order to spring it back to life.


We will be taking part in a fire safety exhibition show next year to feature this brand and our products.

Many people there will know about this brand but they have probably forgotten about it. We want to make a clear statement that this "old brand" is BACK in the industry.

I would like to get your thoughts on stand design, straplines or artwork to make this clear statement.

Many thanks
Fabien

Others are experts

Me - I would try and make the shell of your stall represent the history of the brand with replicas of old marketing signage and even old bits of kit around the back to draw in the "oh i remember them" crowd - but then a big shiny modern looking display out front with the "here is the spangly new stuff - built on the heritage you can see behind but totally cutting edge and modern"

 

[BusterBloodvessel]

I would agree I would strongly recommend involving some specialist help either from a marketing agency and/or a design agency. I have some experience of this from my previous job. As some things for you to think about I would say, in no particular order whatsoever;

• There is a difference between showcasing that you have heritage, and looking old fashioned. Try and use the brands' past achievements to highlight all you've done but don't look like you're stuck in the past. Focus on why you've been around so long but also why you will continue to be around and continue to be the market leader/innovator/whatever.

• Perhaps focus on a mixture of things that HAVE changed but also some things that HAVEN'T. Something like "Our Technology May Have Changed, But Our Commitment To Customer Service Hasn't" or similar. That;s a bit cheesy and well used but you get the idea (I don't know your industry or the brand so difficult for me to be specific)

• Consider what the company was known for previously and how you capitalise on that. Not just the good things, but also bad! Is there anything they were known for being crap at that you could address head on (that worked very successfully for Skoda many years ago!)

• Consider what you do with the logo/branding. Not sure if you plan to rebrand or update but I would advise against throwing the baby out with the bathwater. Perhaps sharpen the original logo up a bit, or if it does need a complete refresh, try and keep a nod to the original in the new one in some way. Our brand had a really well known and distinctive logo with the brand name formed into a triangle shape. To be fair, it did look hideously old fashioned but we had used some variation of that logo since forming in the 1910's! At very top level management they decided to ditch it completely and went with a modern capitalised text for the logo. The number of customers that said it was stupid or people in the industry who weren't even sure if it was the same company was unreal. At the very least if they'd integrated a triangle somewhere into the design or something it would have given a nod to the past.
  
  Another option might actually be to go backwards and go with an old fashioned logo - did the brand have an iconic logo that was ditched for a "modern one" (see above!) and you could be seen as the guys to bring it back? Look at Burger King a couple of years ago, and Pepsi more recently.

• Be prepared for how you answer questions about the original brand/business and availability. If you have just bought the brand name but changing the product line, will people be expecting that you are also manufacturing the same products as previously? If you aren't, how do you explain why they now can't buy the widget that they always used to? Why have you changed and how is that better for them?
  
  Along those lines how do you reassure people that you haven't just bought a well known brand and are putting any old crap in the box? Think about the likes of Morphy Richards etc.

• Be prepared for random phone calls asking for a replacement grub screw or bakelite component for an alarm unit last manufactured in 1967, and dealing with indignant people who can't understand why you can't supply it for them - if you haven't got them in stock, why can't you pull out the original tool and run a few off, or send them a technical drawing for them to recreate something?? ? I ended up with a stock answer for this, our company had moved to a brand new purpose built premises in the early 1990's so I just used to say "It saddens all of us here but previous management at the time of this move decided it was uneconomical to transfer any toolings or drawings that had been retired at that point, so unfortunately the majority of tools and drawings were scrapped". It was a slight stretch of the truth but at least it have a justified reason and put the issue to bed!

• Think whether you want people to know that the brand has been acquired and relaunched, or do you want to maintain the illusion that the original company still exists? Is there a benefit to say "Now Part Of XYZ Group" or will that cause more issues?
  
  In our industry a very well known established brand (also 1920's I think) collapsed around a decade ago and the brand was bought out. The new owners were incredibly blase about coming out in various interviews and to customers saying how they had got the brand for it's great brand awareness, everybody knows it, they've got loyal customers for the brand, it will never die, etc etc. They forgot to focus at all on the product, other than coming out and saying they wanted a fresh start and that they would be using all of their own product, none of the original manufacturing or products that the brand previously had. With they way they went about it, they may as well have come out and said "we could put any old shite in these boxes and you gullible idiots would buy it". Naturally the industry didn't like that and the relaunch was a major flop.
  
  
• Try and avoid the obvious and easy thing of just finding a load of old black & white pictures of the company and the product and sticking them randomly on an advert or an exhibition booth. It's just very old hat and so obvious, in my opinion. That can work but try and make that part of a bigger story/message.

Sorry, waffled on a bit there but hope that helps! We might be able to give some more specific ideas on here if we know the actual brand(s) in question.

 

[ethical PR]

Hello,

We acquired a brand of fire signalling devices and its products a few years ago.

That brand was created in the late 20's but in the past 10/15 years it has slowly died out, this was the reason we bought it in order to spring it back to life.


We will be taking part in a fire safety exhibition show next year to feature this brand and our products.

Many people there will know about this brand but they have probably forgotten about it. We want to make a clear statement that this "old brand" is BACK in the industry.

I would like to get your thoughts on stand design, straplines or artwork to make this clear statement.

Many thanks
Fabien

What's your thinking behind bringing this new brand back to life - from what you say it's not a brand that has been popular for some time. Why do you think potential customers will care? What sort of heritage/reputation does this brand have currently?

Whether you decide to focus on the old brand or not, you need to focus on the brand benefits and what makes you different/better than your competitors.

Speak to a design agency with marketing expertise who can help you develop a look and feel for your brand which will include a strapline and artwork for whatever marketing materials you want to develop such as exhibition and stand design/website etc.

 

[Chris Ashdown]

Look at three companies who have changed owners and seemingly died a few times
Lotus cars, never actually died
Triumph motorbikes
Norton motorbikes
Look for how they use their past to market the future and present

 

[Paul FilmMaker]

Hello,

We acquired a brand of fire signalling devices and its products a few years ago.

That brand was created in the late 20's but in the past 10/15 years it has slowly died out, this was the reason we bought it in order to spring it back to life.


We will be taking part in a fire safety exhibition show next year to feature this brand and our products.

Many people there will know about this brand but they have probably forgotten about it. We want to make a clear statement that this "old brand" is BACK in the industry.

I would like to get your thoughts on stand design, straplines or artwork to make this clear statement.

Many thanks
Fabien

Helping you protect your future.

I'm in video production so think about this from a video perspective because that's what I do all day! What about a video on the stand showing the history? Showing everything from the heritage and products from the 1920s, 40s, 70s and finally the latest tech. And even something a little futuristic at the end to show your brand is here to stay and will fit with the tagline.

The vid could go from black and white to the different colours / looks / products from the 40s, 60s, 80s until finally showing off the latest tech from today and beyond.

A mixture of heritage and state of the art.

Your stand graphics / background could be the same. Shots from the 1920s, 40s, 70s, and finally today and even some futuristic ideas (again, fitting the tagline).

And apologies about focusing on video but that's my business so that's what I know!