The real cost of rebranding.
Recently there was an article in The Press and on stuff.co.nz regarding a company spending $725k on rebranding following an unsuccessful sales process.
If you have not seen the article, click here.
Now the article itself is a little misleading. Whenever a company starts up or rebrands there is an associated cost for signage, uniforms, vehicles etc. Naturally, the larger the company, the larger the cost.
So lets take that bit out of it. The part of that we want to focus on is the $187,000 spent on the professional services to come up with the new brand, and its sub-brands.
When you appoint an agency to undertake your work, what is it you are paying for? Experience? Totally. Market Research? Yip. Brand Development time? Sure. Client changes? Most likely. Other large Overheads? WITHOUT A DOUBT.
We have been in the industry for 20 years, and our design partner a similar duration. We like to think we know a thing or two about the industry and associated costs.
Based on the information that is at hand, and knowing the process pretty well, and including a contingency for the 'unknown' we struggle to see how this could have cost anymore than $70k, including the new website... so where did the other 62% go?
We will leave that to your imagination.
So next time you or your company are thinking of rebranding, sure you can go and jump in with the big fish, but don't discount the abundant number of quality independents that are out there doing good shit on a daily basis.
A non-exhaustive list of reasons to contract an Independent (other than the cost):
- They are just as experienced as big companies
- They have access to similar resources
- Many independents have worked both sides (client & agency), providing a 360 degree view
- A small client at a large agency is a large client for an Independent
- They have less overheads
- They are agile
- They become a true partner, even a part of your team
- When you contract an Independent, you are helping pay the mortgage and put food on the table
SC
