We all change with time and Baby Squids is no different, since changing our name 3 years ago we have been ready for some bigger changes to our branding. It is such a big move financially and putting our reputation and that of our franchisees at risk! We know that making it modern and fresh with amazing imagery is an exciting new start following the tough couple of years we have had!

Baby Squids was 10 years old this year and we have had plenty of opportunities to learn all the tricks in relation to marketing but it always feels like an area that I have struggled to perfect my understanding in! I always feel like I should understand what colours, typography and logo should look like but it’s hard when you constantly look at something that you love!

Step in Paul at the Burge Agency who must get frustrated with my brief which is so simple it’s particularly unhelpful! However he worked his magic and the fresh, colourful branding that I envisioned he has managed to create. Following some research we found an excellent photographer in Natalie Evans to perform a gorgeous photoshoot with some lovely customers. All this has enabled us to create what we think and hope you agree is a fun and funky new website. Here are the steps we took and the hints/tips that I’ve learnt along the way!

What is it? Rebranding can be a really small change, and whilst it isn’t always necessary it’s clear that to stay on top of your game as a business you should be reinventing yourselves or improving yourselves as the decades roll on. I mean looking at the logos of some giant companies you can see that small changes every 10-20 years have been vital to growth and development as a company, modernising is especially key!

How big a change does it need to be? We’ve had small changes over the years and I think that the smaller the change the better to be honest, especially with franchisees who may feel drawn to the old way and need help and guidance with every step.

How does the process work? I highly recommend finding a really good designer who you get on with and who understands what you are looking for. Ask for an initial free consultation and a formal quote. These things can spiral out of control very quickly so you need a good and decent brief to ensure you are on the right track at all times. Keep communication open and budget for changes/tweaks through the process.

Be honest? Ok I probably bang on about this in every single blog but honesty is definitely the best policy. If you don’t like it and they haven’t got the brief then you must talk to them quickly, any change to colour or design that you are not comfortable with then give feedback even if it feels small and silly. That’s the only way to ensure you get what you want and that the designer understands what you want!!

And a last note on imagery, this is vital, if you use stock images then you will find them used by others. Do a photo shoot, we gave a 3 hour group of classes and our customers LOVED the photos. They got to take them home and we got the most incredible images for our website, it
doesn’t have to cost a fortune, find a local photographer you like or take the pictures yourself if you are good at this!

Now this really is the last tip – ensure your social media matches your new branding, it can be hard work to do this but it is so worth it. Keep it simple, set brand guidelines which you and whoever supports your social media can follow. Try to use products like Canva to create templates and Planoly to prep and schedule, there are so many tools out there that can make your life a lot simpler. Do your research!