Recently, a potential client was sharing his background and mentioned that while he had studied advertising in college he knew that to support his family he needed to take a real job—not settle for some typical fly-by-night advertising agency. Mind you, he was talking about different times, so as the co-founder of my own agency, I didn’t take offense. But it did get me thinking about how, over a period of 25 years, Schifino Lee has managed to beat the ad industry odds to successfully remain one of the premiere boutique firms in the southeast? The secret boils down to constantly revisiting and redefining our brand’s value proposition in order to turn adversity into opportunity.
Years ago, at a time when most agencies serving the mid-market were focusing on design and aesthetics, Schifino Lee was focusing more on strategy and results. With that value proposition, our small firm was able to win major brands, such as AT&T and The New York Yankees. During our history we have constantly reevaluated our brand, going from Schifino Lee Advertising to Schifino Lee Advertising and Public Relations to Schifino Lee Advertising and Marketing, and last but not least, to Schifino Lee Advertising + Branding.
Today, the world of branding reaches far beyond traditional media to affect digital media, social media and even culture—and so does our agency.
There are many triggers for reevaluating your business’ brand. Here are just a few examples:
- Launch of a new product or service offering
- New competitor entering your space
- Your brand is stale
- Technology has changed your business
- Your business is experiencing significant growth
- Sales are trending down for a significant period
- Your brand no longer represents who you are
No matter the size of your company or its past success, achieving real longevity means refusing to lose by regularly evolving your brand to stay in step with the times.
