| money matters |
| Making money from change |
Have you noticed that yesterday is the new today? Or that fuchsia is the new black? Or that 40 is the new 30? Whatever the latest trend is, the one constant is that nothing is more hip these days than change. We're talking makeovers. From Extreme Makeover to Trading Spaces, we are a society that loves to see the befores and afters and more than that, a new life that may come with a new look.
There are two types of change: a gradual evolution and a here today, gone tomorrow wow-what-in-the-world-happened-to-you kind of change.
In marketing, both can work; it all depends on the result you are seeking. Most re-branding cases preserve what is true about the product, company or service and then merely spruce it up or re-reveal the message in a different light.
That is what happened for our longest-standing client, Cogsdill Tool. Cogsdill is a leader in making precision tools for the metalworking industry. According to Fred Ogburn, Cogsdill's corporate communications manager, "In the 1980's, when we first came to Semaphore with a relatively small budget, they created a new look and presentation for us that was economical, but light years ahead of where we were before. Then in the '90s, we asked Roc Jackson to 'take it to another level,' which he did with a much bolder use of graphics and color. We gave him greater artistic freedom and he really came through for us-and still minded our budgets well."
Roc recognized that as leaders in its industry, Cogdsill should have materials that reflect the "cutting-edge." This precision-tool company required the same precision in its approach to developing an image. Roc used color, design, typography and excellent photography to create a "family" of product literature, all unified by a consistent treatment. The dominant image on the cover of each product catalog is a close-up of one of the tools.
"Tools are works of art," Roc says, " and we treat them as such. People in the industry may not see that, but we do!" Another key to the new approach: organization. He says it's crucial to take Cogsdill's vast information and present it in a well ordered, clean and straightforward manner.
Cogdsill Tools is in a very nuts and bolts business, literally and figuratively. Ogburn says, "We must meet the needs of our customers with tools that are the solutions to tough manufacturing questions. Roc created an exciting new look but never lost sight of the fact that the literature had to be first and foremost a technical communications tool."
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