Not just a new logo: The real lessons learned through our Brand Refresh.
For those of you who know me, you know that the last thing I’m doing is worrying about whether our company’s logo is in line with our mission and vision. I wake up early every morning and the first thing on my mind is the list of outstanding projects we’ve got on and how we’re going to get the jobs done right. (I also feed the dog, but that’s beside the point.) During the week, I’m the guy out in the field directing our teams, and I usually leave a lot of the other details of the business to my better half!
When Karen came to me about the possibility of refreshing our brand, I had no idea what she was even saying or why we needed it! But, as she worked on it, I slowly began to understand what she was getting at, and it started to make a lot of sense to me.
You might wonder why we’ve decided to refresh our brand. Why now? Why does it matter? While the logo is probably the most visible part of a brand re-fresh, it’s like the tip of the iceberg. There was so much more that went into this process that you just can’t see.
Because we offer such a broad range of Landscaping services (our team is amazing and we are thankful for our ‘work family’ every day) it was a real challenge to describe all that we do easily. I even found myself challenged when I tried to explain it all to people in one go.
But, we didn’t want to change things up so much that our long-established company would be unrecognizable to our existing clients. Also, we needed to be cost-effective (landscapers operate on thin margins!); not only was the cost of a full re-brand out of our reach; it just didn’t make sense for us.
What did make sense for us was that the idea of ‘Aesthetic’ is actually a huge part of our business, and it was time for us to look at what we were doing. I mean, if you hire us to create a visual strategy for your yard, then why shouldn’t we have integrity in our own aesthetic, the one that you see before you even meet us in person! Also, Karen and I are hugely proud of our heritage, born and bred right here in the North Shore, and that was missing from our old logo. The new visual strategy was inspired by the historical references found throughout the town we grew up in and love.
Working with Natalie Bowers from marketing consultancy Acorn Communications and Brent Leland from Leland Creative, we began the hard work of bringing TM ‘s brand identity into the 21st century. In the same way that we partner with our Landscaping clients, people who are passionate about their land and their lives, we wanted to collaborate with local experts who are passionate about helping local business thrive and connect with their authentic voice.
The portfolio of our services has grown consistently over the 25 years we’ve been in business, and with over 40 services on offer today, it was getting hard to communicate. We needed to find a way to let people know our whole portfolio in a clear and concise way. We don’t want folks to just use us for spring and summer lawn mowing - we want our clients to partner with us for year-round care of their land so that we can adopt their priorities and help make their dreams come true over the lifespan of their homeownership. That’s a 20-30 year relationship!
Over eight months of weekly sessions, we took a deep dive look at understanding what really motivated us. What did we stand for? What was our biggest strength? What deeper answers did our clients look to us to provide? These aren’t easy questions to ask, or questions you might typically associate with a branding project but we realised that they were the right questions for us.
We don’t see ourselves as just a Landscaping service provider; we help people achieve a higher quality of life through experience with their land, whatever that may be. Although subtle, there’s a huge difference between these two perspectives. And we wanted our clients to feel our shift into a more meaningful positioning with them.
It was tough to look at ourselves and our work in such an intense and honest way, but it helped us really tie down what we’re about. Karen and I have just worked hard everyday for 25 years trying our best to deliver what we think clients want - but somewhere along the way we knew we needed to stop, check-in and and ask ourselves, “Are we really delivering the sort of service our clients need?” As a young company, you just work hard, grow and evolve, but 25 years later, it was definitely time to check in and make sure we were still true to ourselves and our clients.
As we worked through the sessions, our shared understanding of where TM was and where we wanted it to go became more clear. We now had a crystalised message, and clear ways to begin talking about our expertise and services - now it was time to become confident to put our true selves forward, to be vulnerable and authentic. At its quarter century anniversary, TM Landscaping knows who it is and what it really wants to deliver.
The Insight: Bringing others into the process
Our eyes are always on the client, working hard to make them happy. Branding isn’t our specialism; working with land is. So it made sense to bring experts into the conversation - trusted friends with a wealth of experience in branding, operational process and communication. We asked Acorn Communications to help us through the process. We started by looking at how other companies were doing things, as well as both residential and commercial companies that we’d love to have as clients. We wanted to find out what they really wanted from their Landscapers, and what they look for in the way a Landscape company presents itself.
Through the research we conducted all winter long, we learned that clients need ease of communication with our team, and you love a fast turnaround when you request something. We learned that although you were mostly happy with our services, we hadn’t checked in with you to see if you needed anything outside of the regular scope in a while. We learned that while you might know your property needs ‘something’ it is likely that you also need an expert to spend some time with you and help you identify exactly what it is that would achieve your desire.
The logo design work actually happened after all the research was complete. We brought Leland Creative in to design an awesome brand that was true to our history but also aligned with our vision and goals. The new brand also helps all of our collateral exist on digital platforms in a new, exciting way.
Evolution and Change is Good.
Having come out of this process, we realise now more than ever that part of maturing into a successful company is being brave enough to see yourself as you are. You just cannot substitute the power of a solid internal review (both personally and professionally) to remind you what your company stands for.
By taking a moment to look within, analyze our purpose and positioning, we were able to re-visit spaces we overlooked and strengths we haven’t used. We see our brand refresh as a gift to both our clients and ourselves for 25 years of work; and we can’t wait to reflect our new knowledge back to you in the services we provide you. We’re ready for our new journey - are you?
-Tom