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Issue link: http://digital.canadawide.com/i/1505828
36 BCBUSINESS.CA SEPTEMBER 2023 5 T I P S F O R A S U C C E S S F U L R E B R A N D On June 1, Vancouver-based linen com- pany Flax Sleep reintroduced itself as a rest-focused lifestyle brand called Wilet. Co-founder Vivian McCormick pulls back the covers on the steps Wilet's small team of six took to refresh its branding —As told to Alyssa Hirose 1 Set both short-term and long-term goals It's crucial to not just think about what you need to get done to relaunch in the short term, but also what you envision the brand to be far into the future. In the short term, we wanted to ensure that our very engaged community stayed with us post-rebrand, and one of our long-term goals was to expand our reach beyond linen home goods. 2 Have a clear vision and mission for the new brands A rebrand is challenging, no matter the circumstances. Having a vision for the new brand is critical because you need that North Star when things inevitably start to go sideways. Our approach was to focus on the purpose we had at the very beginning: solve our own problems sur- rounding rest. That led to the vision for Wilet—to be a leading rest-focused lifestyle brand. 3 Pick the right branding agency to work with For us, it was important to take the neces- sary time to evaluate proposals from a few branding agencies. Being very realistic and clear about our parameters (budget, timeline) helped us narrow our consider- ation. We knew that we needed a partner who was strong in both digital and physi- cal assets, and our decision to work with Grant Design in Calgary was based on their clear scope, transparent pricing and articulation of a process that we were confident we could work well within. 4 Be transparent about the rebrand Consumers today are increasingly invested in the stories behind their favou- rite brands and businesses. Sharing the journey leads to community buy-in and is realistically the least expensive way to gain awareness. We recorded our own real-time reactions (both good and bad) to various steps of the rebrand process, communicated what we were going to be doing ahead of time and why, and shared a lot of behind-the-scenes content. We've had people tell us that they made a point of checking our social media and open- ing every email, because they became so invested in the journey. 5 Be clear about what is changing and what is not As a consumer brand, it's very easy to lose people when you make a big change because they get the impression that you are no longer "for them." We have come to be known for our superior linen bedding and bath towels, and we made a point of highlighting that our current products would remain the same. At the same time, we are spreading the word that we're expanding our product line. recent spate of layoffs—something Bennison chalks up to the way the company diversified its business model early last year. Hothead was founded in 2006 as a self-developing, self-publishing studio that produces free-to-play mobile games. For most of its history, the company made its cash through in-app purchases and advertising revenue. "Swing for the fences... if you get a big hit, amazing," says Bennison. "If you don't, all that sunk cost is basically lost unless you repurpose it somehow." Last year, however, the company made the switch to a hybrid model in which it takes on work for hire from other studios. Hothead still does some self-publishing work, but the company has put a large focus on helping others develop their own games. "There are a lot of companies in that work-for-hire space, so it's about how you distinguish yourself," says Bennison. "The way we're doing it is pitching the fact that we have 16 years of building and marketing games from scratch with our own IP. So you can trust us with your IP. Clients get that and appreciate that angle; they want someone to take care of their IP." While Bennison notes that he can't talk about companies that Hothead has been working with because devel- opment cycles last longer than a year, he is quick to list some IP-driven titles that he and his staff have worked on in the past, including games for Marvel, Disney, Fox and Universal Studios. As for the current slide that a large portion of B.C.'s gaming industry is going through, Bennison is confident that it will be short-lived. "I'm optimis- tic," he says. "The industry has always been like this. We pick ourselves up and keep going. There's a lot of innova- tion in the industry, too. That leads to new opportunities we can't even think of right now."–N.C. GLOW UP Wilet's founders prioritized clarity and transparency in its makeover S M A L L B U S I N E S S