Rebranding the Family Business to Cruisemaster
So I thought last year was busy! 2018 is already shaping up to be a big one for Cruisemaster. Amongst the normal product development cycles, staff movement and all the other challenges that face business, we decided to re-brand the company.
After 18 months, three marketing agencies and lots of indecision, we took the plunge late November 2017 to change the name, logo and attitude of the business. For a family business of 40 years this upheaval of brand and identity was not an easy decision to make, as the infamous third generation there was the additional pressure to not make a mess of it.
I could go into the laborious discussion of using marketing/branding agencies and whether they help or hinder this process. Suffice to say even with expensive “expert” advice, the decision for name, logo and tag line came down to a one hour discussion between myself, my father and newly elected internal marketing guy Nathan. At this pivotal point Vehicle Components became Cruisemaster, the Stag nailed the Koala and our “without limits” attitude was set.
For the marketers out there, moving to Cruisemaster simplified our master and sub-brand architecture that had become needlessly complicated. Our hope is that it will foster clarity of product and company branding for our customers. The Stag logo originates from the Goddard family crest illustrating the link back to our founding family. Finally the “Without Limits” tagline describes our attitude to product development, quality and customer service. Our vision is that these two words define the trajectory of the business, in a simple form everybody can relate to.
As an Engineer, this emotionally creative roller coaster was challenging, so what did I learn?
- Trust your instincts, nobody understands your brand and what you want from it like you do
- If done right, this journey redefines your business and its culture
- A cool new logo, colour scheme and Tagline can re-engage the workforce
- Make sure you own your logo and all creative construction evidence that was used to generate it
- Everybody wants a black t-shirt with a bright orange stag logo on it!
In a short three months (including Christmas!) we managed to go from Vehicle Components to Cruisemaster, complete with a new website, new product videos and an entire new look. With a lot of hard work and late nights we launched Cruisemaster at the Melbourne Supershow in February with great success.
All that is left to do now is the workwear, rebrand every document we have, re-paint the building, change the product stickers and much much more. I love showing off the new brand so if you are coming to the Caravan Industry National Conference, come and have a chat at the business lounge (posh name for the bar) or find us at the Brisbane show in June.