Branding: Helping Clients that Can’t Help Themselves

Posted December 14, 2020 by Jonathan Galbreath

I’ve been creating and re-vamping brands for over 20 years – quite a few have been Fortune 100/500. It’s been very rewarding. However, the most enjoyable projects have been with start-ups or small privately owned small to medium size business looking to take their brand to the next level. They are largely more open to change and often can be shown a version of their company that they never could have imagined. Creating evocative brands and brand ethos is something we are very vert good at here at Brightly Creative

There are all types and sub-types of clients. After 2 decades of psychoanalyzing a large pool, I can change my narrative to direct a client in the direction where we think they should go. Here are some seemingly harmless comments that can turn ruin the direction in a hurry:

“I trust you to do what’s best.”

“I don’t know what I want until I see it.”

“I LOVE ALL THE OPTIONS! Let’s take this piece from option A and B and add them to options C.”

“I want to be the Apple or Google of _____.”

Probably, the most counterintuitive and dangerous comment is:

“I know exactly what I want.”

I’m willing to try it again, and again and again. It’s kind of like a hangover. I’ve done it before and I know how it’s going to turn out, but let’s see what happens.

As a creative person, accepting direction is fine, but trying to control my brain or even fingers in some cases is simply paying for someone that knows how to use computer programs.

This scenario has historically been a spectacular fail. So, here is some advice I offer to potential clients who find this post:

1. Trust your agency by their work, attentiveness, experience and candor.

2. Do your research, ask for examples and trust the process.

3. Ask yourself if you are willing to change.

4. Ask yourself and others if what you want is what they think is also best.

With any client, large or small, we know the work that we do is exceptional, and our customer services is the best in the marketplace. We work hard and at the end of the day, if the client is not satisfied, we take that to heart. The saddest part about these scenarios is creative work never gets seen.

Here is a recent project that went three rounds, with a half dozen + calls. We stand behind all the work that we do, and are proud to display it.

Round 1: “I want something that encompassed all our ingredients, but isn’t just a watercolor of them. I want it to stand out from other product labels in the aisle.”

Round 2: I love XXXXXX brand and I want something looks like it, but isn’t XXXXXX. I want labels that look similar, but different, but all look like they are from the same brand.”