When Mende Seljanovski decided that his company’s brand needed a face lift, he came straight to The Sponge team. Mende approached The Sponge with a clear aim in mind. He wanted his clients to be willing to wait for his company’s services and willing to pay the price his work deserved. In a recent interview, he revealed why he chose to take this step and how the astounding rebrand has had a life-changing impact on his business.

“ If we’re going to set ourselves at a decent level… Everything should look like it’s within that level.”

Who are Enth˚ Projects and what do they do?

A high-end joinery company specialising in both residential and corporate fit outs. The company is driven by challenging projects, deadlines and most importantly, quality. They pride themselves on being able to deliver the highest calibre  more fit- out. By working collaboratively with the clients, architects, designers and builders, Enth˚ are able to create revolutionary spaces finished to the Enth degree.  Their portfolio boasts impressive projects such as the Presidential Suites at the Star, Royal Randwick and the GPT Group.

1. Why rebrand?

After overhearing some negative reviews of the company website, Mende decided that it was time to take charge and make a change. At the time, the company was known as Van & Son Detail Joinery. This name gave the impression that it was a small, family run business. However, it was quite the opposite. While it is family owned, Van & Son has grown into a high-end fit out company with a team of more than 30. It was capable of undertaking large, high-end projects and meeting crucial deadlines, however due to brand misconceptions, it was missing out on major projects.

The company website was low quality, difficult to navigate and incompatible with mobile devices.

“They weren’t able to view our website on mobile devices, which was probably one of the biggest catalysts that forced me to make a decision”

In this day and age, viewing a website on mobile devices is crucial as business is usually recommended through word of mouth and social media.

2. Brand Perception

Brand perception is one of the most, if not the most important part of your business. When we were young, we were told not to judge a book by its cover, but we still do anyway. This is what brand perception is. It is about first impressions and how your current and potential clients see your brand. Most people will establish an opinion on a business just by checking out their website or being given a business card.

Mende provided a great example of how the rebrand has altered a potential client’s brand perception:

“I walked up to someone and she asked me what we do. I gave her my business card and she looked at the business card and said, “You guys must be good.”

It is amazing just how much something that may seem trivial, like the design of your logo and business card can have such a huge impact on how someone perceives your business. Without even seeing Enth˚ Projects’ work, this respected business woman assumed that they were good at what they do!

In order to compete for tenders of high value clients such as international law firms, Minter Ellison and Ashurst, Van & Son needed to be revolutionized into a brand that would be perceived as exclusive and professional.

Branding perception also encourages employees. Mende experienced an increase in staff morale and pride first hand:

“They started to take the T-Shirt when they go on holidays and take a photo. Wherever you are in the world, you’re going to wear your Enth˚ degree shirt…”

3.Total Brand Understanding

The team at The Sponge takes the time to truly understand what your business is trying to achieve. By using questionnaires, undertaking research and interviewing their clients, they gain a feel for what you do.  Many small business owners worry that an external firm will not understand their business as well as they do, but the team here does. Mende was astonished at how well Luke was able to cater to his company’s specific needs:

“And then, the other day when I gave you a brief, I said, ‘Can you just write something?” And, what you sent back was, “My God,” just like you had total understanding of what we’re trying to do here in the business.  

4. Difficulty Letting Go

As with many family businesses, the name has much attachment in its history. For Mende and Van and Son this was the case as it was named after his father. It took a lot of heart wrenching consideration for Mende to do what needed to be done and break free from the name  that was not serving the company well.

“It was my father’s business, in my father’s name. My father who taught me everything, and laid down the foundations for me and my career…then, if his name wasn’t there, it would have been easier. It was a good decision in the long run, but it was a very hard decision to make at the time.”

5.  Financial Results

The ultimate goal of any business is to make money and rebranding can help you do that! Enth˚ Projects experienced a massive increase in turnover in the 12 months following their rebrand.

“So we’ve doubled our turnover, and I think that’s due to the rebranding”

There is no doubt that the return on investment for this rebrand was huge. You can see the stunning work that Enth˚ Projects produce here: http://www.enthdegreeprojects.com.au/

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I’m Luke Faccini, a brand storyteller and strategist in Sydney Australia.

I work with entrepreneurial business people across a variety of industries and the world, to develop Story Rich Branding that resonate in the hearts and minds of your best buyers. Ultimately I realign brands to create raving fans.

To find out what drives me, take a look at this post where I bare my soul and share my true purpose. If you would like your brand to tell a richer story, I would love to talk to you, start a conversation via comments or the contact page