Hive

Posted on by Waypoint Writing

The Pitch

I always looked forward to the several times a year that Berta— my friend for ten years and counting—made the four hour trip from the Boston area to visit me in Saratoga Springs, New York. Berta had red curly hair that she sometimes spruced up with a purple tint and loved horses. She was twelve years older than me, but we seldom noticed the age difference. I celebrated her visits because I was granted a reprieve from my primary responsibility, which was to keep my two young children—Tyler and Brynn—alive. Berta enjoyed the break from her routine and was about as laid back a houseguest as a person could be. She had only one requirement—we needed to visit the farmer’s market before she left town on Saturday morning.

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Purple Reign – Why We Rebranded with a Royal Hue and Unexpectedly Ended Up Right

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“Right,” that is if you ask Pantone. For those of you who have somehow avoided a screen for the past week, you likely missed the announcement, regarding color of the year for 2018. According to Pantone, “Inventive and imaginative, Ultra Violet lights the way to what is yet to come.” I’ll take it!

Granted, in the process of rebranding, did I identify Waypoint Writing’s new color as “Ultra Violet?” I did not. But then again, neither did The New York Times, in its prescient, “The Future is Purple.” As a company, it seems we can’t quite escape further exploration of this rebranding theme… but the question and points surrounding this topic are worthy of sustained reflection and hopefully prove helpful for businesses and individual ventures outside of our own.

For example, how did I – how does anyone – determine the best colors for his or her business? Admittedly, I’m no expert on the subject. I just happened to guess right, provided you ask the good people at Pantone. But really, it was nothing more than a guess, a conversation, and something I knew could be changed if necessary.

Without further delay, here is the Waypoint Writing color story – the only one I can honestly speak to…

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Rebranding Redux: 3 Reasons an Actor Decided to Rebrand Himself

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Earlier this week on the Waypoint Writing blog, we talked about the prevalent research surrounding why companies and businesses decide to rebrand. Although the internet will return dozens upon dozens of lists and reasons to rebrand, I chose to focus on four in light of Waypoint Writing’s recent rebranding mission.

Coincidentally, while I was crafting that post, I was called upon by one of my colleagues, Victor Luce, a fellow actor friend, who had been considering changing up his look. His look most days is represented by a bald head, beard, fit physique, and a mural of more than 30 tattoos. Given his on-screen aesthetic, he has been featured in several movies and half a dozen major network TV shows, more often than not, as a criminal – either in action or behind bars.

No actor wants to be typecast and, in an effort to branch out to explore other roles he might fit, Victor decided to disguise his tattoos and redo his headshots.

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Rally the Troops When You’re Ready to Rebrand

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Rebranding is a concern shared by both fledgling and long-standing business owners. When and why to rebrand are consistently popular questions, regarding emerging and established brands. The steps involved in rebranding a business are really no different than any other kind of makeover. You simply evaluate what you’re working with and imagine how to make those materials better.

Waypoint Writing recently rebranded, after a mere eight months of existence. Founded in March 2017, the Waypoint Writing logo, colors, website, and marketing materials were completely redesigned as part of a total rebranding strategy in November 2017.

Why?

Simply put – the business itself had evolved to include more services, and those services were executed by new faces and talent, all of which deserved to be showcased on a newly redesigned platform. Plus, as some of you might remember, our initial logo had routinely inspired more questions than connections, culminating in this blog post, “Locos Logos – Does the Story Behind the Logo Matter? Sidebar: “90 percent of all information transmitted to our brains is visual. People remember 80 percent of what they see but only 20 percent of what they read.” In other words, a little graphic design assistance was in order.

But that’s just our story… how does rebranding work for other businesses, perhaps even your own?

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The Genius of #GivingTuesday {VIDEO}

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Like most holidays or days of note, #GivingTuesday snuck up on me. I realized it only yesterday after a friend posted about her favorite charity on Facebook. At the moment, I’m in the process of exploring in no particular order or reason, Tim Ferriss’ latest book, Tribe of Mentors. Having read Ferriss’ Tools of Titans, I picked up his latest work on a mad-dash trip to Barnes and Noble last Sunday in pursuit of gift cards for a celebration Monday night. See what I mean? Important dates creep up on me – my old school desk calendar with a thousand scribbled reminders, notwithstanding.

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