Emily Schmitt is in Marketing & Communication Services at Smithbucklin and serves as the Marketing Manager for Brand Chain. The following story is told from her point of view.
In August 2020, the Print Services and Distribution Association (PSDA) leadership and marketing teams set out to solve a challenge that many associations face. Due to COVID-19, our membership and event attendance were difficult to increase, despite efforts to bolster both. Ultimately, we chose to move forward with a complete rebrand for the association. Here are some of the steps we took – and lessons we learned – to transform PSDA into Brand Chain, the essential community for the brand solutions supply chain.
Background
Throughout Smithbucklin’s years of partnership with PSDA, one thing was clear: the true passion PSDA members have for the print distribution industry. They made incredible strides to not only survive, but thrive, in a marketplace that has seen significant changes and consolidation over the last decade.
PSDA was comprised of two main member segments: print distributors and print manufacturers and suppliers. As a result of the economic fallout of the Great Recession and years of subsequent consolidation, PSDA distributors had to identify new markets to serve, shifting their businesses to not only deliver print products, but also promotional products, sports apparel, business services, and more. Essentially, distributors had evolved into problem solvers and solutions providers for their customers. This information was key for setting the stage for the initial phase of the rebrand.
Our rebrand consisted of four phases: brand health and market discovery, brand development, brand launch, and brand implementation.
Brand Health and Market Discovery
Before you can undergo a rebrand, you have to understand your market and competition. This information-gathering phase consisted of the following activities:
- Reviewing recent research that PSDA conducted for key trends, including membership pulse surveys and conference surveys
- Conducting a thorough analysis of the competitive landscape in the print distribution industry, including a benchmark and examples of competitive organizations’ offerings and audiences
- Leading multiple, segmented focus groups with key stakeholders to discover market trends, perceptions, and needs
Brand Development
The second phase of work included the creation of a brand platform featuring the new mission, vision, values, and brand positioning statements. The platform also defined the brand promise, essence and personality, which drove the creation of the extended – or visual – identity. We also made the recommendation to change PSDA’s name to Brand Chain in order to better align with our new brand identity model.
Brand Launch
Now comes the fun part: launching the new brand to our members, and market. Some of the steps we took included:
- Finalization of our brand platform
- New logo development
- Visual identity development
- Creation of brand identity guidelines
We hosted the official brand launch at our CEO Summit event in October 2021, followed by a number of communications to our membership and the marketplace, including a press release, a launch video that introduced our new brand, targeted emails, member FAQs, and talking points for our association leaders.
Brand Implementation
This final phase is the work we are doing to fully implement the new brand into all of Brand Chain’s programs and channels, and is ongoing.
Key Lessons
For associations considering a rebrand, keep the following lessons in mind:
- Trust is crucial. The marketing team worked closely with the board of directors and a special rebrand committee we created. We were taking a big risk, but we did it together. We knew that we had to move our association forward or risk being left behind. As a team, we decided the risk of moving forward was more important than the risk of being left behind.
- Involve the entire team from the beginning. While the marketing team lead and carried out the rebrand, we kept our full team updated on key milestones and developments.
- Take your time. A rebrand is a major undertaking, and you only have one chance to get it right. Agree to reasonable timelines with your stakeholders before you even begin the project.
- Document, document, document. Create as many reference documents as needed so your team can make sure everything is “on brand” going forward. Brand, style, and logo guidelines are table stakes.
The reception to the rebrand has been overwhelmingly positive by both Brand Chain members and the larger brand solutions community. We’ve seen our membership be tremendously receptive and positively encouraged by the rebrand. There’s more energy and excitement for the new path we’re forging, but our work continues. The entire Brand Chain team and leadership are now planning a completely revamped leadership event that better aligns with our new brand. It will be the first time our members will gather as Brand Chain, not PSDA, and our event needs to showcase to our members exactly what it means to be part of the Brand Chain community.