Discussion

By Chuck Gehman on Sep 27, 2012

Barb, you started by saying "repositioning a printing company is about more than changing a name and developing new marketing messages." But most of the article is focused on an elaborate naming architecture.

Calling the company SG360 (degree symbol) is only potentially more meaningful than Segerdahl to existing customers and those folks may always think of the company as "the printing company that used to be called Segerdahl". Changing your name from Jones Printing to Jones does not a marketing service provider make.

Branding is about creating a perception. How you want your customers to think about your products and services in the marketplace.

A brand sets an expectation of an experience, and the name and logo should call that experience to mind.

Perhaps its more important for the employees and management of the company to think of themselves as something different than it is for the new customers the company wants to acquire who haven't had an expectation set yet.

My advice to companies who want to reinvent themselves would be to consider what your brand means to customers, and what you want it to mean-- and then go out every day and make that the perception of your company in the marketplace.

By Barb Pellow on Sep 29, 2012

SG360 has retooled their operation. Perhaps Chuck missed this portion of the article.

"Backed with the Right Solutions and Services
According to Joutras, SG360°’s transformation is not just a name and logo change. He explains, “We are fundamentally changing the way we approach our business and the things we do every day to help our customers make deeper connections with their clients. The industry is in distress, and we are redefining our approach to business and our peoples’ passion and dedication to make a change.”
SG360° stands on three foundational pillars: BRANDIRECTions, IMPRESSions, and EXPRESSions. This operational approach unites traditional expertise with cutting-edge resources and new media savvy, enabling direct marketers to communicate with individual customers on a more personal level than ever before.
Under SG360° BRANDIRECTions, direct marketing solutions are optimized from start to finish through services that include national online testing panels, behavioral segmentation, predictive modeling, and lifecycle integration. These proprietary analytics will be present at every phase of the SG360° operation. For example, by partnering with creative, analytics, and market research leaders, SG360°’s customers will be able to take advantage of pre-mailing testing services to maximize the effectiveness of their campaigns before spending a single dime on production. “With BRANDIRECTions, before a piece of mail is ever produced, we can scientifically observe, discover, and then advise the most effective use of the available space in our customers’ marketing piece,” Joutras notes. “Essentially, it means they no longer have to make a blind investment. They will be set up for success on day one.”
With SG360° IMPRESSions, a massive array of printing presses transform a strategic vision into a tangible reality, bringing informed ideas to life through inline web printing, sheet-fed offset printing, and variable digital printing to reach any audience.
Under SG360° EXPRESSions, final production, hand assembly, finishing, secured assembly, mailing and distribution logistics, and direct mail pieces are shaped, crafted, and placed in consumers’ hands. SG360°’s mailing expertise equates to client cost savings through co-mingling, co-palletization, and drop ship optimization."