by Peter Cass 
A wholesale overhaul of your brand and marketing can be a daunting prospect, even for a creative agency. Here our Creative Director, Peter Cass, explains why inertia is the enemy of any good business and why the time was right to update the 6rs brand.
Why did you decide that the 6rs brand needed an update?
We’re always telling companies that they need to be thinking ahead and evolving their brands, rather than becoming complacent or stagnant. Don’t wait until you have a problem; stay ahead of the curve and keep offering your clients and team something new. I like to think we lead by example, so I felt the start of a new decade was the perfect time to give the brand and website a new look and feel to keep it fresh and interesting.
What inspired the new 6rs brand refresh and the design of the new company website?
Ideas are integral to everything we do and that’s the central theme. It’s all about being creative and having a bit of fun with it. I wanted our marketing to have some real personality and celebrate what’s unique about us. Trying to fit in is overrated and no one ever stood out by trying to blend in, did they?! The shapes, textures and graphics we’ve created are all about the creative process we adopt and the importance of it. It’s given us an opportunity to be a lot more engaging, especially on the website, where we wanted the experience with the brand to be more interactive and immersive.
Why do you think it’s important for brands to keep evolving the way they present themselves?
Inertia is the enemy of any good business and standing still will kill a brand. People can become disengaged with brands very easily these days and their faith can be shaken quickly if they perceive it to be offering the same old experience and not moving with the times, even if it’s a brand they have been loyal to in the past. We see a lot of companies adopt the ‘If it ain’t broke…’ mentality, only to discover they have suddenly been overtaken by their competitors while they were sleeping! Evolving the brand keeps the proposition fresh and that will engage clients and motivate staff. No one wants to buy from, or work for, a brand that doesn’t invest in itself or strive to be better.
You have to ask yourselves some tough questions and really be clear on what you want to achieve. The quality of the brief you set yourself will have a major impact on the end result.
What are the main challenges for brands these days?
Consistency is a big challenge. Branding is far more than just a logo; it’s how you communicate your values and culture, and there are so many touch points for companies to consider. From websites and brochures, to email footers and the office environment, it’s all brand. Getting a consistent tone of voice and house style going across all those channels is really important.
A lot of challenges can end up being great opportunities. For example, developments in tech are constantly providing new platforms for brands to market themselves and create dialogue with their customers. The brand just needs to be in a position to embrace these opportunities. I see a lot of businesses trying to shoe-horn their existing brand in to social media, without considering how it could be adapted to better suit the platform. Surely you want your brand to look at home on social media, rather than looking like it’s just trying to play catch up?
Is it harder working on your own brand and website?
Err, yes! Doing things for yourself is always a challenge and we see a lot of clients struggle with that side of things. You have to ask yourselves some tough questions and really be clear on what you want to achieve. The quality of the brief you set yourself will have a major impact on the end result. Of course, we have the added pressure of being a design agency!
When we talk about brand, what does that encompass?
I’d say the starting point is your values and culture. What’s your brand personality and what do you stand for? Everything has to stem from that. Once you have that in place, it’s a case of working out how you want to ‘sound on the page’. What’s your tone of voice going to be like? Are you formal or informal? What sort of language do you use?
Then it’s on to key components like colours and fonts and building a visual style that will work across all of your marketing platforms. We’ve created a lot of graphics and illustrations for our brand too. They help us tell the right story and get our personality across. These are the things that people begin to associate with your brand as you use them consistently on social media etc.
What would you say to people who are worried about refreshing their brand and website?
It’s worth the investment. Just consider the cost of doing nothing!
