Perhaps this story will shine a little light on the common conundrum of whether or not to brand your small business professionally from the start. Evolution Lighting Rep LLC, a new company specializing in LED and advanced lighting for commercial and residential applications, came to us to print up some materials they had designed using a popular DIY site. The problem was, the so-called “new brand” was generic in the extreme. Naturally, we had a little “come to Jesus” talk with them about the importance of branding as the foundation of your overall marketing strategy. Or, as George Bernard Shaw famously said, “Be careful to be born well.” Shaw was likely remarking on the notion that it’s more advantageous to be born wealthy than poor, but the idea I take away for branding is, you don’t get a second chance to make a first impression, so do it right, from the start, and everything becomes easier. The new brand is now lighting up Evolution Lighting’s business system, e-signatures, signage, apparel, and it sets the tone for their in-development website, too. We salute Evolution Lighting for giving birth to one of the strongest brands in lighting in our region, and for allowing us to illuminate this issue for generations of bright new entrepreneurial companies to come.
