A corporate brand should help build and establish a company’s identity. It should also be appropriate for a variety of different applications.
At The Pool Doctor of Rhode Island in Coventry, R.I., the firm’s brand has evolved over 22 years to better reflect what the multi-faceted business does.
“We were branded as a service company pretty much from the beginning,” says vice president Debra LeClerc. “Pool Doctor screamed service, but it didn’t indicate a retail store or a pool builder.”
So beginning about five years ago, company management sought to modify the message. Advertising materials increasingly showed a neatly landscaped storefront, as well as a bright, smartly stocked interior showcasing the store’s selection of spas, backyard items and more.
LeClerc’s staff also began including a corporate brochure in every new pool packet.
“Your brand has to evolve as you do,” LeClerc says. “You need to look up-to-date. As you go into something new, your brand needs to incorporate that. We needed to let people know we did a lot more than just pool service.”
It also stands to reason that because Pool Doctor had such strong brand recognition to begin with, its evolution was that much easier for customers to follow. After all, experts say, high brand awareness among a target audience allows a company to introduce new products and services without having to first sell itself.
