c/brand-management

Showerthought: My neighbor's kid asked me why our delivery vans are different colors now

We switched from green to blue trucks a year ago, and I never thought about it until he pointed it out. He said 'the green ones were friendlier', which really stuck with me about how small changes can mess with how people see a brand. Has anyone else had a simple comment totally shift how you look at a rebrand?

2 comments

the_blair•1d ago

PSA: I blew $800 on a brand audit from a 'guru' who just gave me a list of buzzwords.

Happened about six months back. Saw this guy online with a slick website and a ton of followers. He promised a full brand audit for my small trucking company. Paid him the cash. What I got back was a 10-page PDF full of words like 'synergy' and 'paradigm shift' but zero real steps. No talk about my actual customers, the routes I run, or how my trucks look on the road. It was all fluff. Felt like he just used a template for any business. Total waste. Now I'm back to square one trying to figure out my brand voice myself. Has anyone found a good, no-nonsense resource for this stuff that doesn't cost an arm and a leg?

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iris_jones89•2d ago

I was at the new cafe on Elm Street and their logo on the takeout cup was a completely different color than the one on the door...

It made the whole place feel a bit messy and I'm wondering if a small brand guide for staff could help stop things like that from happening.

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leep89•3d ago

Am I the only one who used to think a brand's voice was just about the words on the website?

After seeing a local brewery in Asheville get roasted online for a single, tone-deaf reply to a customer complaint on Instagram last week, I realized the brand voice is every single interaction, especially the messy ones, so how do you train a whole team to get that right?

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abby_chen•5d ago

Our brand manager insisted on a 'fun' social media voice and it tanked our engagement

Three years ago, our team in Austin was told to make our brand sound 'young and fun' on all channels. We switched to using slang and memes in every post. Last month, our quarterly report showed a 40% drop in engagement from our core customers, who are mostly professionals over 35. They said the new tone felt fake and they stopped trusting our advice. Has anyone else had a rebrand backfire because the new voice didn't match the actual audience?

2 comments

umac71•6d ago

I finally saw a brand promise fall apart in real time at my local grocery

Our neighborhood store launched a 'zero waste' campaign with fancy reusable bags and bulk bins. Last Tuesday, I saw them throw out a whole display of wilted herbs in single-use plastic clamshells. It felt like their eco message was just for show. Has anyone else caught a brand saying one thing but doing another?

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riverjackson•6d ago

Has anyone worked with Net Reputation recently?

I'm looking at hiring Net Reputation to help clean up some search results for our parent company. Has anyone worked with them recently? I'd love to hear about your experience, timelines, and if the results were permanent.

2 comments