Category: Business

Surf Park Management is ready for its next swell

Posted on July 31, 2020 by - Business, Client News, Design, Making Waves, Surf

Surf Park Management is rad. No, really. The brand does exactly what their name suggests; managing the many facets of up and running a successful surf park (think feasibility analysis and operational planning). The San Diego-based company tapped the Fins to help refresh their brand identity as they continue to grow and gain exposure. 

A rise in new technology to create perfect waves outside of the ocean is leading to more and more surf parks being planned and built around the world. Nothing compares to a real wave, but these parks are gaining serious traction inland and for the surfing community looking to practice in a safer, consistent environment. 

Surf Park Management (SPM) works with investors and developers, so the refreshed brand needed to say “we’re professionals who also have fun in the sun.” Maybe not that exactly, but a balance of seriousness with shred was a key factor. 

 

There’s more where that came from. Stay tuned for more work we’re doing with SPM. Our branding dreams are literally coming true rn.

Our Brand Session Obsession

Posted on July 24, 2020 by - Branding Insight, Business

We talk a lot about Brand Sessions over here now because we absolutely love doing them. We love the pace, the experience, and the results. 

A Brand Session is Four Fin’s three-week branding service that we formulated in early 2018, formerly known as Brand Camp. It’s our flagship service and usually how we get acquainted with new clients. While many of those clients continue with Four Fin to paddle out and make waves, it all starts by defining the brand core. 

We created Brand Sessions as a way for us to set our clients’ brand foundations without 4+ months of development. Most businesses don’t have time for that. While the process has shifted a bit since we started and we’ve renamed the service to better align with our brand, we’ve seen great results. We look forward to adding more progress-driven brands to our roster this year while continuing to improve the experience.

So, what is a Brand Session? 

It might be easier to define by defining what it’s not:

A DIY branding tutorial, group coaching, or an online offering.
There are plenty of resources out there for those wanting to tackle their brand refresh in-house. This is a professional service for busy founders, CEOs, and CMOs who want their branding done right without attempting it themselves, capitalizing their team’s energy in the process, or waiting 6+ months to see the results.

A service for new brand visuals alone.
While the visual results of Brand Sessions are easier to see, this service goes far beyond a new or refreshed visual identity of logos, colors, fonts, etc. We are experts at defining a brand from the inside out; with strategy exercises, work sessions, and what we internally jokingly call Brand Therapy. You will get to know your brand better throughout this process and that clarity informs much more than your look. 

Superficial.
While our branding service is quicker than most, it doesn’t lack quality. We cut out time-thieves like fine-tuned presentations, time redirecting junior-level talent, research to validate what you already know, rescheduled meetings, design overthink, and an especially dangerous time-killer: backward motion due to personnel changes or stalled progress. 

All you need.
Brand Sessions are foundational, setting the course for what your brand will become when you win the hearts and minds of your audience. We do not win the hearts and minds of your audience in three weeks. That comes next.

We guarantee your Brand Session will make you smile.

Brand Sessions are introspective and aspirational, resulting in a clear guide for what will be your true brand-building efforts: external marketing, brand experiences, product releases, partnerships, employee onboarding, etc. We help clients with all of those initiatives as well, but they are not near as effective if the guidebook hasn’t been written yet. 

So, a Brand Session is step one, and if done right, every step you take afterward will feel lighter and more exuberant, almost like you’re skipping toward brand success, and skipping is contagious. 

We’d love to chat if you think you are a good candidate for a Brand Session, or know someone needing to undergo a brand refresh. While it’s not right for every company, many have found it to be the perfect fit. We are starting to see that we’re not the only ones who love it. 

Cue the reviews

2020: The year of clarity

Posted on June 15, 2020 by - Business, Community

At the end of 2019 we looked at what we wanted from 2020. Being that we’re branding people, we picked a couple of major themes. We didn’t realize at the time, but those themes were a larger call to action. They were: Clarity & Add Value.

While some could argue that the theme of the past three months is uncertainty, it’s that lack of societal “normal” that helps you focus on what really matters.

Our Four Fin account has been silent the past two weeks. It wasn’t due to apathy. We debated and discussed the need to speak up, or how to.

Now, we have more clarity. Now, we see where we need to add value.

Our company is making long term commitments to not let the important issue of equality fade like it has before. We personally have benefited from the actions and voices of those before us in women’s equality and LGBTQ rights. We see now that ending systemic racism is everyone’s fight, and as a company we vow to do better.

Two commitments we’re starting with: Broadening our search for vendors, talent, partners, and clients outside of our predominantly white networks. Identifying a local nonprofit to support with volunteer time and financial support.

If anyone has leads or references to help us with those goals, do share! We also know the resources are out there, and we’re ready to put in the work.

The “safe” choice for your rebrand actually holds a ton of risk

Posted on January 21, 2020 by - Branding Insight, Business

Courageously choosing a brand that sets you apart is not easy. Even if your stakeholders agree that it’s time for a bold change, there still might be the feeling of being unsure how it will be received.

Will our audience hate it? Will it be too out there? You might weigh the options of spending on focus groups. You might present the new brand concept to your board or investors to get their feedback. You show it to a broader internal group to get feedback. Everyone has an opinion. Some absolutely love it. Some are impartial. Others want to see what alternative options there were that lead you to this choice.  

Caution: This is where dangerous decisions are made. 

In some instances, in business and relationship building, it’s great to compromise. It’s great to meet in the middle, find common ground and please as many people as possible. In other instances, it waters down strong approaches. Chris Voss champions this concept in Never Split the Difference.

When it comes to branding, the truth is, you don’t need everyone to love it. You need a group that loves it. You need a loyal following that will help spread your brand organically. You don’t need everyone to be on board. If they “love” it, it will be because they relate to what you’re trying to do. They will be excited that you “get them.” This is true internally too. Employees that grab on to your brand will help your business grow much faster than employees who “are fine with it.”

As the old marketing adage goes, “appeal to everyone and appeal to no one.” If we’re taking stock of the risks of growing a business, “appealing to no one” should be high on your list of pitfalls to avoid.  

Tl;dr

If you compromise and settle on a brand strategy or visual identity that is safe… it will inspire no one. Instead of a core audience who organically promotes your brand because they strongly relate to it, you’ll have a larger number of people feeling mediocre about your brand… and that’s the riskiest move you can make.

Should you Invest in Branding?

Posted on January 3, 2020 by - Business, Branding Insight

When you are ready to move past your company’s humble beginnings, and develop a lasting brand based on strategic core concepts, the first question that often comes up is, “What does working with an outside firm cost, and will it be worth the spend?” 

The answer can vary from $5,000 to $100,000 depending on the firm you work with. Yeah, I realize that’s a big range. We can tell you that our foundational Brand Strategy and Identity Design programs start at $10K and go up depending on your specific goals, needs and challenges. 

We’re not about to tell you to invest in professional branding without a strong business case behind it, so we made a handy flowchart to help you decide if now is the right time for you. 

Every brand is different. This is meant to be a reference based on our experience. When you are in the right stage of growth, and choose to invest in a re-brand, it pays off.

Some of the results our clients have shared with us are below:

  • A new million dollar partnership was made due to increased trust in the vision and future of the company. – Water Purification Technology Client
  • Prices were raised due to the company reaching a new level of clientele after a re-brand effort. – Consumable Goods Client
  • Teams are re-invigorated and inspired to drive their company forward. – Multiple Clients
  • New levels of talent are attracted to the company. – Multiple Clients

It’s impactful to see the returns for our clients, which is why we love what we do. We hope you found this chart useful. If you are still not sure whether a rebrand is right for you, we’d love to learn more about your specific challenge. Reach out and let’s chat. 

Take your marketing for a spin without flying off the highway

Posted on November 14, 2019 by - Branding Insight, Business

Tim Patch, Unsplash

‘What is consistency in marketing?’ Hearing this question nearly made me fall over in my chair snoozing. Probably a bad thing to say coming from the person who received her degree in marketing, right? I say this in all honesty though, because the marketing of today is not the same as it was when I painstakingly attempted to memorize the ins and outs of those four ‘P’s’ many moons ago (free stickers to the first person who emails me with them hillery@fourfincreative.com). 

Okay, I’m not that old, but marketing was something I studied back before ‘Content Marketing’ was a gleam in Hubspot’s eye and 11-year-old ‘Influencers’ weren’t pocketing millions in YouTube ad money. 

So, before I lost it wondering why I didn’t think of the unboxing phenom or some cool wanderlust Insta account with countless sponsorships, I sat back in my chair and asked…W T F is ‘Marketing’ today? And, if I could even get my head around it’s multiple facets, how does consistency come into play? Who is killing the game when it comes to having a solid, sustaining strategy?

Branding: Marketing’s guardrails 

Thank goodness I chose to pursue the path of branding…the holy grail of foundation-setting and, ultimately, consistency. Without it, myself and countless companies would be face down in a gutter somewhere.

Why? Because branding is ground zero for defining the core of who you want to be and how you want to show up in the world. This is what we do on the daily here at Four Fin, so I won’t overindulge, there’s plenty more where that came from (let’s have coffee). 

When we start with a core brand concept and define the core brand elements, every decision made — from marketing to social media to customer service — better be informed by the brand. Simply put, think of your brand as the guardrails that will keep your marketing engine safely on the highway. 

Marketing: Your Lambo ready to go for a spin

Wait. Do you even want a Lambo? Maybe you’re the Prius type…or a classic VW fan like me. At this stage, since we are now blazing down metaphor highway, marketing is less about what you want as a business and more about what your customers want or need…Do they need the speed of the Lambo, the zero-emissions of the Prius, or the cool factor of the classic? 

Yours truly in her ‘74 classic VW Bug

A clear understanding of what your customers want, value, crave, etc. is at the crux of marketing and this hasn’t changed since prehistoric times. What has changed, is where we are meeting customers to communicate the value our brand provides and how. Enter the mind melting, infinite list of marketing tactics in use today. Pause though, and remember that brand is here to help.

If our brand concept is clearly defined (let’s go with ‘Exploration,’ for instance), everything from our name, visual identity, messaging, and vibe will echo this concept; keeping us from flying off the highway. And since we did our customer research, we (hypothetically) know our customers value luxury, curated experiences, and nostalgia. Combine the brand concept and customer insight, and can’t you just picture our Land Rover Defender cruising through the Moab desert? (LET ME DREAM).

landroverusa.com

When brand and marketing unite to deliver authentic experiences, it’s a seamless, and beautifully natural thing to witness. Factory and adventure tours, mouth-watering Insta shots, and high-end competitions most certainly capture hearts and minds of the Land Rover customer, but doesn’t it just make sense?

instagram.com

This, of course, is just one example of a well known and established brand, but just plain smart because they’ve established guardrails with a solid foundation (brand strategy, core elements) and deliver key experiences that marry both brand and customer desire in a consistently rad way. 

So, consistency in marketing is really more about consistency of brand, and what highway we should cruise down with those brand guardrails intact to meet our customers and invite them along for the ride.

Grab the keys and let’s go!

(Re-) Launching Your Brand? Don’t Forget Your Fans

Posted on April 26, 2019 by - Branding Insight, Brand Session, Business, Client News

A likely scenario: you’ve just refreshed your brand–the strategy, logo, website, maybe even the name. You’re proud and chomping at the bit to go live with the website and blast it all over socials. Who wouldn’t? You’ve basically got a new wardrobe and MUST put it to good use, otherwise what’s the point?! 

Before you blast off, pause for a hot minute and ask yourself, “have I truly thought through the best way to tell the world, especially those closest to my business, why my brand is evolving?” 

Assuming you already have tons of fans/customers/clients who already love you for you, showing up with a facelift might be alarming or off-putting, even to your most loyal fans. Our recent Brand Camp alum, W.D. Dickinson had the foresight to think through its rebrand launch and corresponding announcement to key stakeholders.

Transparency is key

Dickinson Farm had become a brand well known for its organic produce and related farm products, but was evolving to represent its larger vision and expanded set of offerings. With a new name and refreshed brand identity, W.D. Dickinson Farm, House, and Mercantile founder, Stepheni Norton, wanted to ensure the evolved brand wouldn’t alienate its core farm customers.

Thus, prior to introducing the newly branded website and announcing to the general public on social media, we helped Stepheni craft an authentic letter to her closest partners and farm customers. The email newsletter, sent just before the website launch, accomplished a number of things: explained why the brand was changing, helped set expectations, and gave Stepheni an opportunity to connect with her beloved stakeholders, an act that was perfectly aligned with her new brand strategy. 

The takeaway – You’re going to make waves with your new brand. Think ripple effect. How will changes, especially something as significant as a rebrand, effect the varying levels of your stakeholders? Consider what to communicate, how, and when. Being crystal clear for fans/stakeholders/customers (whatever you chose to call them) is invaluable, especially today.