It’s not just a name. It’s loftier than a logo. And it’s more complex than a competitive analysis. The secret ingredient for a successful rebranding? Chemistry.
When PRSM’s leadership decided to embark on a full-blown rebranding, they knew it was no easy task. What would members think? How would the industry react? Could the timelines be met? But the consensus was that the current brand was too limiting for the future of the association.
“We wanted to reposition PRSM as the indispensable association for multi-site retail organizations,” said Bruce Condit, Vice President, Marketing & Communications, Connex. “We also wanted to establish an actionable framework to expand into new consumer-facing sectors beyond traditional retail.”
Another goal was giving PRSM a creative, inventive name that would be memorable and easy to recall. But PRSM’s timeline was aggressive: launch the rebrand at the PRSM2019 National Conference and continue the rollout throughout the year.
To pull it all off, PRSM’s partner needed to be top notch. Enter Agency Creative, a Dallas-based, full-service marketing organization with a keen expertise in rebranding and organizational positioning.
What ensued was a nearly 12-month long, in-depth process ranging from stakeholder interviews and audits to name brainstorming and logo creation.
The Art of Chemistry
“Real, authentic brand connections don’t just happen,” said Scott Schindele, Account Director, Agency Creative. “Like any good relationship, it all starts with good chemistry. This is really core to what we do.”
That’s the thinking behind Agency Creative’s proprietary, highly immersive 5-step process, which starts with a “spark” and ends with a partnership that promises to deliver consistent, sustainable success.
It’s called Chemistry:
Step 1: The Spark includes brand immersion, competitive analysis, and market research.
Step 2: Attraction is all about positioning strategies, persona development and positioning validation.
Step 3: Butterflies are about big ideas, concept refinement and traditional/digital experiences.
Step 4: Commitment focuses on communications, campaign expansion, tactical development and metrics analysis.
Step 5: The Partnership is the launch of the campaign, proprietary reporting and campaign optimization.
But every organization is unique— and that process needs to be fluid. “PRSM is a little different from other organizations we’ve worked with because there are multiple internal constituencies,” Schindele said. “We had a highly engaged senior management team, along with an equally invested board of directors. Both groups were extremely involved in fundamental decisions,” he added. “That’s a unique dynamic, but it’s been a positive process and at the end of the day, it’s all about the net result.”
That net result is not only a new name and logo for the organization, but a new strategic direction.
Introducing Connex
After dozens of meetings and iterations of names, logos and taglines, PRSM selected Connex.
“The number one member benefit of PRSM is the connections you make with other retailers who can provide you with advice and information and the suppliers who take care of your store and do a good job,” Condit said. “Connex makes sense. We connect our members. That’s what we kept coming back to.”
Going with a name like Connex directly reflects that business focus, Schindele added. “Connex hits on the number one member benefit we want to push: connections. Networking, events, all those things — that’s what it’s all about.”
There was also an emotional connection to the word Connex, in terms of what it implies and even how Agency Creative is developing the language around it. “This differentiates Connex in the market,” Schindele said. “From both the logical perspective and the more emotive reasons, we all feel very strongly about this name hitting on all the objectives we set out to accomplish.”
Connex establishes the platform the organization needs to retain existing revenue in retail, while allowing the organization to expand to focus on new sectors: healthcare, entertainment, financial and others. “What we’ve accomplished through the positioning and creative expression of the new name and logo is establishing an actionable framework for Connex to expand into new sectors beyond just retail,” Schindele said. “Retail has been the bread and butter for 20 years and we’re not walking away from that. But now Connex is ready to take on the future.” 
