Matt Shaw at the Council of Public Relations Firms blog took a look at several communication firms that have undergone recent rebranding efforts in an evolving market. The article included a profile of Crossroads:
So far the rebrandings we have examined sustained continuity by containing elements of the firm’s original name. Yet sometimes it may be necessary to go further and make a clean break from a previous brand identity. In explaining his firm’s evolution from Barkley PR/Cause to Crossroads, President Mike Swenson points to the sheer enormity of the change in the communications market. “We all live in glass houses today. Everyone sees and hears everything we all say and can easily voice their own opinion whenever and wherever they choose. Organizations are facing a crossroads each and every day deciding how to navigate in these truly open waters that make up the marketplace.”
Swenson acknowledges that giving up the Barkley brand name, which had served the firm well for a quarter of a century, seemed “especially risky,” but he avers that, “the rewards outweigh the risk in this case. Rebranding has allowed us to communicate our real and authentic philosophy. We take the quarter century of experience we have in the art and science of public communication and take it to the marketplace with more than just a new name. We’ve defined a new, real approach to public communication. Crossroads picks up where Barkley PR/Cause left off, and provides us with new energy and independence without giving up the access to the breadth of services that Barkley offers.”
Swenson allows that “[t]here are likely other cases where simply adding a new practice area is enough. But that only changes the story for a period of time. A rebrand that is done right makes a statement that goes beyond a new service offering.”
