Meghan Coates You’re preparing to take the leap and rebrand! This is a very exciting (and hectic!) time, and the KickCharge Creative team is here for you every step of the way. We know that rebranding can feel daunting and even overwhelming, but trust us—we know what we’re doing!
We want to share some of our most important tips before beginning your rebrand. These tips come from our wise and talented account executives, the folks who lead our creative projects, guide our clients and have the most holistic view of our rebranding process. So before diving in and beginning the actual creative work, here are the top things our account executives really, REALLY want you to know.
When you decide to sign on with KickCharge, your proposal lays out the details of what is included in your project and what our team is going to accomplish for you. Our proposals are clear and to-the-point; we aren’t looking to trick or surprise you. That said, please take the time to read yours carefully and set your expectations for the future.
A common example of misunderstanding our team’s responsibilities occurs during the naming portion of a rebrand. While brainstorming name ideas, our content team will conduct preliminary searches of any potential trademark issues. However, our copywriters are not lawyers! Our proposals clearly stipulate that clients must consult a trademark attorney to confirm name and tagline availability. We’re responsible for the creative side because that’s our specialty. Providing legal advice on the availability and use of a trademark is not.
We are very upfront about the scope of our work, and we do everything in our power to provide a clear, step-by-step process for our clients. We ask that you please read your proposal thoroughly so that both parties are clear on expectations.
We would love to get your finished deliverables to you right away. However, our work takes time, and we want it to be at the KickCharge level you deserve. While we cannot rush the actual creative process, paying the expedited fee means that your logo kickoff call will take place within two to three weeks of signing the proposal. That will get things started and move your project to the front of the line. This does not, however, mean that your logo or any other deliverable will be provided at an expedited pace. Doing so would jeopardize the quality of the work—and we’re just not willing to go that route. We promise it will be worth the wait!
Something you may encounter down the line is the “plastic molding question” when it comes to your vehicle wraps. We’ve been in this business a long time, and we know the importance of an effective, branded vehicle wrap for your company’s marketing. Vendors will sometimes tell our clients that they won’t cover vehicles’ plastic molding with a wrap because of liability issues, and they’ll say it can’t be done. This is not true!
We always recommend wrapping the molding. Our designs are laid out in a way that gives you the maximum area to promote your brand—no space goes to waste! Not wrapping the molding could have a large impact on the layout of your design. If it’s a question of materials, installers we have worked with have the tools to pre-treat the area, use a high-tack wrap media, and “set” the area once wrapped. Speak with your vehicle wrap installer ahead of time about the materials needed to ensure they are capable of applying the full wrap design to your vehicle. This work has become standard practice for our recommended wrap installer, CL Visual.
Believe us—the value of being able to use the entire vehicle wrap space greatly outweighs any additional cost! You’ll be thrilled when you see how the designed wrap comes together for your fleet.
We want you to feel ecstatic about your brand! When we ask you questions about your preferences or follow up for more information, it’s because we want to knock it out of the park from the get-go. However, if you do request tweaks or revisions, statements like “I don’t like it” or “Make it pop!” are not helpful to the process, because they do not offer any sort of direction. What do you not like about it? What do you feel is missing? What do you feel would “make it pop,” in more specific terms? Constructive feedback is the most helpful way to keep a project moving forward. If you don’t like something, we certainly want you to tell us. We just need you to be specific when doing so.
Also, you’ll find that we do ask a lot of questions—and there is a reason for each and every one of them. We rely on your answers to have a true understanding about your company, your wants and needs, and how we can most effectively accomplish your goals for your brand! Whether we are asking you questions over the phone or in a document provided by your account executive, please take the time to answer each question completely and accurately. We are not mind readers (though we wish we were!), so please don’t assume that we know something. We only know what you share with us.
When you invest thousands of dollars with KickCharge, you want to know that you’ll be receiving work of the highest caliber. You absolutely will be—but please understand that this level of quality takes time! Rather than rush through creating something, we are going to take the amount of time it requires to provide deliverables that meet our ultra-high standards. We intentionally provide our timeline at the beginning of every project to set appropriate expectations. We welcome questions and feedback where appropriate, but please be respectful of the team members working on your project. Reaching out to your account executive with a question or inquiry about your project is acceptable. Going around your account executive and contacting other members of our team to try and get a faster or different answer is not. All we ask is that you please follow the Golden Rule. If it’s something you wouldn’t want a customer to do to you or to one of your team members, please don’t do it to ours.
If you do want to reach out about your project, please contact your account executive via Basecamp, our project management software. We keep all communications in Basecamp so that everyone on the project is privy to the same information. While it can be tempting to contact us through email or even social media, this is how things fall through the cracks. Therefore, please keep all communications in Basecamp.
Your account executive is your advocate and will do everything they can to make sure your project is completed on time and in budget. But please understand that this requires a commitment from you as well! It’s important to keep your account executive informed about your plans and answer their messages in a timely manner. When our team has to wait for things like feedback and approvals, everything comes to a grinding halt. This process is a two-way street— so please help us so that we can help you!
Speaking of approvals…look at those proofs carefully before signing off on them! Last-minute changes or miscommunications can lead to unforeseen costs, so it’s important to be sure before confirming a design. We won’t rush through your design, so please take the time you need to thoroughly review everything!
All of our recommendations are to help you take advantage of what is a very exciting time for your company. Starting a project with everyone’s expectations set, and an optimistic (but patient!) attitude will set everything in motion and produce the very best results for your project.
We hope you make the choice to be branded, not blanded, and KickCharge will help you get there!
