In this rollercoaster of a year our business re-branded. In this blog we set out to share what turned out to be an extremely valuable experience and our lessons learnt.

The journey starts

We had a perfectly serviceable brand with Crunchers. In many ways it was ahead of the competition in that it was friendly, distinctive and catchy. There were things we felt did not 100% represent us, for example the name emphasised the number crunching aspect to our service, but main reason for the change was something else. We didn’t own the brand, it was licensed from the Crunchers Network.

That was important in significant and subtle ways. As we invested in the business more, we wanted to invest in our brand. We had influence but not control on the direction of the brand and in small ways it was not really ‘us’.

There was a lot of trepidation to commit to a new brand. With hindsight it is easy to forget how unnerving it was to commit to leaving one raft without knowing we could build another that worked.

More than a Wrapper

One thing we were very clear on from the start was that a brand is more than a wrapper. We knew it needed to represent values and a mission. Without that it might look good but it would be hollow.

With that in mind we decided to work with a business coach, someone we had known for many years, Gabriel Flores to define the brand. We are proud of and exceptionally grateful to Gabriel for the work we did together over five months, because this was not a superficial inquiry. Whilst we knew early on the basic premise of our purpose, we tested and explored it through every aspect of the business, our clients, our team, our services and our metrics.

By the time we wrote the brief for the designers, we were crystal clear what the brand was.

The Design team

Alongside the work to conceptualise the brand with Gabriel, we were researching designers. One question we grappled with was on what basis to choose them. It seemed obtuse to choose a designer whose portfolio you didn’t like but clearly the interaction and the ability to interpret the brief were vital as well.

Again we are extremely grateful we chose WRB Design. A few things stood out for us apart from the portfolio. Every interaction was sensitive, professional and understanding of the journey we were on. Trust was built and that seemed essential for the process where so much was unknown.

Symbolic of this was the fact that we still didn’t have a name. We decided we needed a word-smith and it turned out that one of WRB Design’s talents was to bring in outstanding collaborators. So we commissioned copywriter Emma Hutton to join the project. Her contribution provided a turning point in the process.

The moment of inspiration

Something we knew to expect was a period of uncertainty in the creative process. We would need to try out ideas and reject a lot of them and we appreciated greatly the structure WRB Design provided to that process. But despite knowing this, it was an uncomfortable place to be, because there was no certainty we would arrive at the solution.

The day the name Co- appeared on a presentation, was the point at which the dynamic transformed. We had found a name that encapsulated the ideas of partnership, collaboration, community and business and everything clicked into place. We no longer doubted the raft could be built, it was there in the mind’s eye. In a growing list of people to be thankful for we are eternally grateful to Emma for that flash of inspiration.

Accepting being different

One thing we saw in the process of building the brand was the power and attraction of being different. Co- was the oddest name we considered. We spent some time worrying about the reaction it would get. At the same time we kept returning to it. It wouldn’t let us go. By the end it felt like it would have been a betrayal to ditch it.

A similar thing happened with WRB Design’s logo which to us is worthy of an award. There were other still excellent but blander options. There was quite a strong argument they would be more immediately accessible to our target audience but in the end, you just couldn’t get the power of the one we chose out of your head.

We suspect, for better or for worse, we have created a ‘marmite’ brand, one that people will love or hate. We are happy to live with that and play to its strength.

SERENDIPITY

In many ways our values have not changed in the new brand, we are still trying to provide a hassle free and high quality accounting service, we are still combining this with supporting business owners to have a successful business, we are working in partnership with business owners. However there is a new aspect to it, or at least one that we decided to put centre stage which is a commitment to community and everything local.

We knew this when we started the process in November 2019. What we didn’t know was that a pandemic would up-end the daily commute for Londoners and change their relationship to their neighbourhood. Even Google started advertising for people to support local business.

To us this was the slice of luck that something that has been worked hard at deserves. And another credit must go to Elle Benton whose pitch perfect photos of South London now grace the website.

the impact

Will Burton at WRB warned that the day the new website was published online would feel like an anticlimax. Whilst it is true there was little to mark the day, the switch to Co- is already having far reaching effects on our thoughts and actions. We are growing into the new space the brand has opened up for us.

We already have Growth Shares for employees, we have started a community programme for employees, sponsored Dulwich Village FC, started a free surgery service. It will only grow from here. We need the business club, seminars, apprenticeships, and much more.

Lessons learnt

Many have already been described above, but we will attempt to summarise everything we learnt along the way.

• Be prepared to invest. We can’t think of a more fundamental investment for a business than its brand. It is the foundation stone.

• Invest in conceptualising it. The good designers will tell you the same thing.

• Get a good team and choose carefully.

• Be prepared to be open.

• Be prepared for uncertainty.

• Done right, it has the power to transform your business.