Research says that on average, brands and organizations change their corporate identities once every seven to 10 years. Whether it be to reposition, internationalize, change markets, or improve a bad reputation, a rebrand is a deliberate act of unified change.
Being just shy of seven years old, it was about time for Youtech to experience a rebrand.
Why
Youtech has put up impressive growth over the past six years:
- We have grown over 100% year-over-year.
- We have been featured in amazing publications, including Forbes, ABC, Chicago Tribune, Chicago Daily Herald, Phoenix Business Journal and Inc.
- We have been ranked on Inc 5000’s list of Fastest-Growing Private Companies in the nation two years in a row.
- We have expanded to near 50 employees.
- We have opened a second location in Scottsdale, Arizona, and have continued to grow our presence nationwide.
Not bad for a bunch of employees who are an average of 25.
However, this amount of growth can become overwhelming and consume a company if the proper adjustments are not made. It was sort of a “quarter-life crisis;” we were experiencing growing pains for the first time, and the best way we could deal with it was to take it one task, one project, and one day at a time. It turned out to be a blessing in disguise, as it revealed many areas for improvement we ultimately decided to resolve and solidify for the future through a rebrand.
In an open letter to the company, our CEO Wilbur You said:
“We experienced challenges from adjusting to new management roles, creating another level of supervisors, and balancing workloads, all while trying to stay true to our brand and culture. Company morale has taken a hit, and I think we’ve all felt it.”
Everyone desperately wished to regain the internal morale that rapid change had stunted. With the election of Lauren Urban as COO, we had already started to rebuild our infrastructure with new processes; a rebrand felt like the next natural step.
How
Many startups put themselves on the backburner until they have the capital to reinvest in the company. Youtech could not keep operating as the startup it was six years ago if it was to become the full-fledged company our team aspired it to be.
The word we kept coming back to throughout the rebrand was “better.” This rebrand was an exploration of what that word truly meant, for as often as it’s said, its difficult to quantify. Establishing parameters for how to make Youtech “better” would be anchored in new position projections, employee retention programs, and management training opportunities. For us, growing better meant recovering from the effects of rapid growth to make our team and office environment more excellent.
So, how did we begin to represent the “better” Youtech? We began at the source of what we believed to be our Achilles Heel: The lack of a defined brand identity, mission, and vision. Uniting everyone under a common goal would be intrinsic to team unity and success.
Our new mission and vision statements are as follows:
Our Mission
To utilize traditional and modern marketing concepts to grow human relationships in a progressively technological world.
Our Vision
To support clients and employees in unlocking new growth opportunities by providing the means and education to better connect, engage, and serve customers in an ever-shifting digital landscape.
These statements were the core of the rebrand and inspired a visual identity (seen throughout our new pimped-out website), office decor, employee swag and benefits, and team structures. To more clearly communicate our brand, we dropped the ‘associates’ from our name to simply Youtech, because it’s all about You[tech]. Our new website address is www.youtechagency.com.
We took the “New Year, New Us” concept literally, and it’s a transformation we intend to keep.
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