Alyssa Young It’s one thing to hear a branding and marketing agency preach the benefits of rebranding. It’s another to hear a first-hand account from a business owner who has experienced it himself. Jason Buehler, the owner of a Jacksonville, FL, air conditioning and heating company, shared the story of his recent rebranding journey with KickCharge Creative for the July/August 2019 issue of SignCraft magazine.
Buehler turned to us last year when trying to figure out how to grow his business faster. Our agency got his attention when he saw a vehicle wrap design we created for Timo’s Air Conditioning & Heating in Palm Springs, CA. He loved its retro vibe. So he called KickCharge to meet our experts in logo design, fleet branding, content creation, website development, social media management and search engine optimization (SEO) for contractors.
Buehler’s company, Air Source America, had developed a stellar reputation the nine years it was in business, relying largely on referrals, Buehler told SignCraft. But its name was a mouthful and wasn’t memorable.
“Our name was somewhat cold and also non-local sounding. We had a corporate-looking logo on our white trucks, which just blended in with all the other white air-conditioning vans you see on the road, with ‘Air Something’ slapped on the side of them,” Buehler told the magazine.
He started working with KickCharge President and brand guru Dan Antonelli, who agreed it was wise to use the Buehler name for a new brand since people already were familiar with Jason and because it reminds folks of the fun film, “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.” Taking advantage of the connection to the popular flick, Antonelli developed a mascot depicting a “cool dude” with sunglasses. The company’s new tagline is “Stay cooler with Buehler!” Buehler, his wife and their team soon fell in love with it.
Buehler started getting cold feet, because it was scary to change the name and image of a successful, growing 9-year-old business. Some people told him it was a mistake. But, Buehler told SignCraft, it was reassuring to learn Antonelli had rebranded his own business (we were known as Graphic D-Signs for more than two decades before becoming KickCharge Creative in 2017). He also got some advice from his brother: Let the KickCharge experts do their job.
So one Friday afternoon in February 2019, Air Source America closed up shop for the weekend and reopened Monday as Buehler Air Conditioning—with wrapped vans, a branded letter to existing customers, postcard announcements, a new website, an email blast and a radio advertising campaign. “Thanks to Dan and his team it all went very smoothly,” Buehler says in the SignCraft article.
“We started hearing, ‘Hey we love your vans—we see them everywhere!’ The design is really appealing and the name is easy to remember.
“Our sales are up double digits, and that’s amazing. We couldn’t be any happier about it. We have more brand awareness in these five months than we had developed in the first nine years in business.”
Buehler says the investment to rebrand was a tremendous value considering the improved results of every marketing effort when a strong brand is at its foundation. “I bought the best package I could, and it turned out to be a very minor investment compared to the return I am getting on it. It’s the best thing I could’ve done for this business.”
The KickCharge Creative team is proud to play a role in Buehler Air Conditioning’s brighter future. We’d be honored to help rejuvenate your company, too. Our team specializes in company naming, logo design, vehicle wrap design, custom content, email marketing, SEO for plumbers and businesses of all types, print collateral and more. To get started, call us at 908.835.9000 or contact us online.
