Lessons in (re)Branding - Part 1

By Mary Cukjati, CEO/Creative Director

Should I? Shouldn’t I?

It is with trepidation that I wade into the fetid swamp of comments erupting from the new Colorado Springs visual and editorial identity. The dread derives from three factors:

1.  Cukjati qualified as one of the final branding firms in the competition for the work. I don’t want my comments to be taken as disparaging to Stone Mantel, the process or the respected people involved.
2. My western Kansas Quaker upbringing: I’m more comfortable working hard and serving my clients in the background noise of the community than speaking out publicly. And finally,
3. Comments on visual and editorial approaches to branding are entirely subjective often reflecting the individual’s bias more than anything. Does the uproar about the new Colorado Springs logo and tagline merit a comment?

Yes, I finally decided I should comment — because there are lessons to learn.

Lesson Number One.

A logo, tagline and selection of colors do not make a brand.

Place brands encompass everything from resident perceptions to visitor experiences; from the way business is conducted to the tone and voice of its institutions as well as the environment and quality of life.

Credibly, our City’s brand may even include the way we mercilessly find fault with our private sector, nonprofit and governmental entities.  It’s our independent Western spirit boiling up and a true sign that residents love living here: people can be brutally honest about the things they love. In this case, residents are conspicuously pointing out that the logo, tagline, and colors don’t represent the Colorado Springs brand in their heart.

Branding is a long-term undertaking. The results take time, patience and commitment. It does not work automatically — as we’ve learned today. I hope the Mayor’s Branding Taskforce listens to the dialogue and continues to work on the visual and editorial representation of the brand.

The controversy is just about graphics and words, not the brand. Change the graphics and words until they represent the brand correctly. The process isn’t over. Let’s keep going.

Lesson Number Two.

Branding cannot solve internal problems in a company, nonprofit or government entity. Rebranding happens once you get your act together.

When Cukjati answered the Mayor’s Branding Task Force Request for Proposal (RFP) early last spring, we included the following cautionary statement in the introduction to our response:

“…But it is a sensitive time to undertake this process (branding the City).

With the City’s unemployment rising to 10.2% in January, the agency and the Mayor’s Branding Task Force (MBTF) must proceed with caution and constantly seek collaborative community input and consensus, so residents — citizens from all walks of life don’t come to believe:

 “…that the branding process is simply a tool to redirect attention away from actual economic and social problems such as local unemployment, diminishing public expenditure on key services and increasing social inequalities…”

—    Ashworth and Kavaratzis, Towards Effective Place Brand Management, 2010

To be brutally honest, I believe it was the wrong time to consider branding our community. Citizens are still struggling with a poor economy, one in five children lives in poverty and rapid change is occurring in our institutions. The Chamber/EDC merger, new strong mayor system, Memorial Health System controversy and new leadership in many community organizations are symptoms of great structural change. You brand at a time of focus and insight into your organization’s nature, abilities and limitations — at a time of internal alignment — not during a time of change.

So, yes, I believe the Mayor’s Branding Taskforce jumped the gun in taking on this challenge now, but I bet they have learned a lot about our community’s nature, our abilities and yes, limitations. Limitations came crashing down around everyone involved in the City brand process today. But it doesn’t mean we stop. Again, branding is a long-term undertaking. Let’s keep going. Work through the changes. Get focus. Gain understanding. We are just beginning.

Now we have the community involved.

Coming Soon on my Blog

Lesson Number Three.

Rebranding should make you swallow hard. The process can be full of pitfalls. If it doesn't scare you, you probably shouldn’t try it.