With a mission to inform, empower, celebrate and advocate for British Columbia's current and aspiring business leaders, BCBusiness go behind the headlines and bring readers face to face with the key issues and people driving business in B.C.
Issue link: http://digital.canadawide.com/i/364562
ness. "If it had required a court case we wouldn't have proceeded," Myles says. "But for a couple thousand dollars it was well worth it." A name can also become a handicap for an established business. The North Shore Credit Union had been doing business under that name since 1941. But, by 2013, the compa- ny's business and its business plan had shifted. "The name just didn't match the business anymore," says CEO Chris Catliff. "Seventy-four per cent of our business is not on the North Shore." Catharine Downes, assistant vice-president of marketing, says the public image of credit unions as small, community-based organizations had also become a handicap. "Our business model involves sophisticated wealth management and financial planning, highly personalized services with a bou- tique flavour," she says. "That doesn't fit credit unions in the public mind. The North Shore name was loved by locals, but it was a barrier for potential clients elsewhere." The idea for a rebranding was first discussed at least 10 years ago. Any new name would have to clear legal and regulatory hurdles, be trade- mark-able and available in a variety of domain names. The company held focus groups with clients and prospective clients— the second group being key. The list was narrowed to five names and another 10 focus groups were con- ducted. "Blue Shore Finan- cial came out number one in every group," Downes says. Picking the name was just the begin- ning. Thousands of documents, legal agreements, stationery, brochures and signs needed changing, in addition to the company's online presence. And a strategy was needed for how the change would take place—gradual or sudden? The company chose the latter. "We wanted to do it as cleanly as possible," Downes says. Which still required a lot of advance work. Employees were briefed, then in May 2013, clients were informed of the coming change and told why it was hap- pening. "That way even if they don't like the new name, at least they've been given an explanation." The actual change happened in Sep- tember 2013. Downes says there's been no customer confusion. "Anecdotally the response has been positive," she says. Blue Shore—which last year had $3.1 billion in assets under administra- tion—was a featured sponsor of the 2014 Sun Run and has advertised extensively to establish its new brand. Total cost of the rebranding is hard to estimate, Downes says, because some of the costs of replacing supplies (stationery, busi- ness cards, brochures) would have been incurred anyway. "But we can confirm the cost of the new name was at least several million dollars." Has the new name meant new busi- ness? "We don't have numbers yet," Downes says. But the company is grow- ing. "We know it certainly hasn't hurt." bCbUSINeSS.CA September 2014 BCBusiness 49 In 2007, Christina Platt moved from Vancouver's South Main district to the Cowichan Valley seeking rustic charm—deer in the fields, hawks wheeling in the sky. "I wanted chickens in the yard," she says. "I was always taking pictures of the deer." The owner of Bamboletta Dolls still loves the Cowichan Valley, but it's a little less romantic now. "The hawks grab my chickens," she says, "and I'm always chasing those damn deer out of the garden." Platt has also discovered the main problem with being located in a semi-rural area of Vancouver Island: skilled-labour shortages. Bamboletta employs 34 people to create hand-sewn dolls. Eight of her employees have the skill level required to make the clothing. "I could use 10 or 12 skilled sewers with sergers [special- ized sewing machines used to finish clothing]," she says. "I can't get the numbers I need." Ba mbolet t a produces about 80 handcrafted nat- ural-fibre dolls, ranging in price from $130 to $250, every week—and sells out fast. But Platt would like to branch out into comple- mentary sets of children's clothing. "If I'd stayed in Van- couver I'd have access to so much more—fabrics, factory Has the new name meant new business? "We don't have numbers yet. but the company is growing. We know it certainly hasn't hurt" –Catharine Downes, Blue Shore Financial Advantage ★ H O m e F I e L D