Exeter Chamber wanted to rebrand, to help them change perceptions of the organisation and drive engagement with potential members. We helped them to do this, by developing a brand strategy and creating a brand identity.
The Chamber was well-established, but over time had become less representative of the city’s business community. A new Board had ambitious plans to rejuvenate the organisation, and place it at the heart of the business community. This rebranding project was fundamental to that repositioning.
We began developing the brand strategy by talking to the Board, member organisations and other stakeholders. This helped us to identify and understand the key issues. With this insight we put together the brand strategy, bringing clarity to the Chamber’s services, purpose, values, member profile, market position and brand proposition.
The brand strategy provided the foundation for us to create the brand identity. We created a logo that represented a bold, confident organisation, with a clear purpose. The arrow captured the Chamber’s new-found dynamism. This was echoed in the vibrant choice of colour. We worked closely with the marketing and PR team to implement the brand across their communication material, in print and online. To support the brand management and maintain consistency, we created a comprehensive brand guidelines document.
Since rebranding, Exeter Chamber has seen a significant increase in membership. This has been accompanied by increased engagement with stakeholders. Clarity around their role has positioned the Chamber as the voice for the city’s business community in the area. As a result, the Chamber are regularly approached by the major broadcast media channels for comment on the region’s economy.
“To change perceptions of the Chamber we needed to make a bold statement, and the brand identity Alder and Alder created does that. Visually it captures what we want to do – drive the local economy forward. The Alder and Alder process was incredibly valuable as we iterated through the thinking, insight and feedback and probably most importantly, were held to account by Jonathan at particular points.”
Clodagh Murphy
Chair
Exeter Chamber