Will the Change Help or Hurt?

A former client of mine that I’ve worked with for quite a while decided to update their brand. They had talked with me about it while I was there helping them out as they looked to hire a VP of Marketing. They had recently received VC funding and they were planning some much needed expansion of the marketing organization. My assumption was that they would refresh the image but keep the fundamental style, as after four years, their brand had an awareness in the computer security market.

Rapid7 - Original Logo

As you can see, the new logo is quite different from the original. Don’t get me wrong – I don’t dislike the new logo. But my first impression is that they took a distinctive logo and changed it into something that looks very similar to other high technology company images. The original logo was created to project speed and agility and among a sea of vendors on web sites and tradeshow signs, the logo stood out and was noticed.

Of course, I may not be too objective as I was involved with the original logo design. But you tell me if you think changing their logo will help them or not.

Rapid7 Updated Logo

And it’s ok if you like the new better than the old. I’m looking for opinion about changing your brand drastically and whether this change is for the best. There are definitely times where companies need to do so, but this company was doing well, have a great reputation and are growing rapidly – all reasons why not to change.

So let’s start this conversation. Give me your opinion on the new brand.

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Knowing What You Should and Should Not Do Yourself

Entrepreneurs and independent professionals love to do it themselves. I know, I’m one of them. But coming to grips with what you can do yourself, what you should do yourself and what you should stay completely away from is a great learning experience that will benefit your business far better than learning how to execute the best direct marketing campaign.

But many of us entrepreneurs and independent professionals also need to watch how much money we spend so we continue to have a business. But there are ways to cut costs while getting expert professional help.

I have been given the opportunity to write a monthly column for a publication, and in return they have given me a quarter page ad. I didn’t want to spend a lot of money on the ad, so I opened my trusty Photoshop and proceeded to create the ad with the copy I wanted. The image below is my rendition.

Then I sent the ad I created to my designer to make it better.

Now why didn’t I think of that design? Because I’m not a designer. And, as you can see, the ad created by the designer is, of course, far better than what I could do. Where I saved money was by providing the designer the copy and overall theme for the ad. She applied her expertise and tweaked the copy to make it stand out more.

As a business owner, you can save money in marketing doing the things yourself that you do well and bringing in an expert to do the rest. If you can write, do your own writing for the Web, brochures, articles and other materials and engage designers, web developers and other specialists to take your ideas and make them stand out.

©2010 Masterful Marketing. All Rights Reserved.

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