Making most of your brand
COMPANIES IN the North East lag a long way behind their southern cousins in recognising and capitalising on the value of their brand, according to an award winning Tees-based design agency and one of the few brand specialists in the region.
Middlesbrough-based Attention Design, which won two of the three main gongs at last week’s BluePrint awards presentation at Tees University, was founded just six months ago by two graduates to help companies make the most of their brand.
Partner and former mature student, 32-year-old Louise Skelton, who founded the company with fellow graduate 22-year-old Alison Jones, said many bosses didn’t understand that the brand was the family silver.
“It isn’t a logo or a colour, it’s about them, their business, what they want to say and how they want to be viewed by clients.
“Many people who have come to us think they need to reinvent themselves, but most of them just need to look at the brand they have and identify why it’s not working and turn it into something more flexible.
“You need a brand that’s adaptable with room to grow,” said Louise.
The company, set up six months ago on the back of a £10,000 personal investment plus start-up funding from CVB, Middlesbrough Council and Redcar and Cleveland’s LEGI fund, works principally with SMEs.
Max Freer, director of Middlesbrough’s We Do marketing company, said when it came to branding the advice was keep it simple, stupid.
“If you think about Richard Branson and Virgin, it has kept the same distinctive branding since the 1970s, but has just evolved the identity.
“The brand is the uniform and communications is your voice. Keeping a clear brand identity enables a business to connect much more effectively and in a more emotive way.”
