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Here is a list of activities and projects Signature Strategies performs for clients who want to profit from the power of branding and positioning. They are grouped by discipline, and can
be chosen a la carte. However, our experience says that the best way to select and prioritize these activities is to assess the individual situations and then together decide on a plan of action which we
will translate into a proposal covering activities, scheduling and costs.
In addition, we have combined selected activities that are typically required for several needs into discounted packages for four distinct situations. These are described under Service Packages.
Service Categories: Click to review the services specific to each category.
Consulting Services
Brand-related Services
Research Services
Positioning
Name Development
Logo Creation
Graphic Standards Development
Package Development
Web Design & Hosting
Marketing Materials
Note that the first item is a free hour of telephone consultation. That may lead to a proposal and perhaps the profits promised by focused, consistent, and committed branding and
positioning.
Consulting Services:
- One-hour initial consultation to determine problems, identify potential markets, ascertain immediate needs, and gain an understanding of the future company’s vision and focus. No Charge.
- Proposal writing to establish a plan of action and a scope of work to develop a positive brand and meaningful position. No Charge.
- Consultation not covered elsewhere is available on any number of activities: branding, positioning, research, marketing communication planning, competitive analysis, new product screening, new product introductions, and other marketing and identity issues. Prior to performing major consulting assignments, Signature Strategies will propose a scope of work, timetable, cost quote and deliverables. Quotes will be “not to exceed”. They will be based on a $90 an hour rate.
Brand-Related Services:
- Developing guidelines and standards for developing brands and product identities within the
organization. Includes recommendations concerning infrastructure, metrics and procedures. Priced “not to exceed” the quote, and based on $90/hr.
- Critique existing and proposed branding strategies and suggest changes or additions based
on our knowledge and experience
- Prepare a branding/positioning “white paper” concerning a specific product category or
market segment based on secondary research and your internal product/market knowledge which will enable you to see the issues, problems and opportunities from a new but informed perspective.
- Conduct a comprehensive brand audit to reveal your brand’s strengths and weaknesses, and
to discover areas in which your branding effectiveness can be improved. It provides a
snapshot of a brand’s performance and direction for future activities. See Brand Audit for a broader definition.
Research Services:
- Secondary research to determine the nature of targeted markets, profile major competitors
and ascertain industry practices and trends. Priced no to exceed the quote, and based on $50/hr.
- Positioning research to determine the attributes that most motivates members of target
markets to buy, to determine the positions major competitors already own in the collective market’s mind, to identify unoccupied and weakly occupied positions, to identify those
attributes and combinations of attributes that can set your company/brand apart from competition. This is normally a two-step interview process. Priced not to exceed quote. Price
determined by many factors, so only a range can be posted here - $7,000 to $10,000.
- Name preference research can be used to test three or four top names to determine the
reactions of a typical group of potential customers. Positive and negative reactions are records, plus attributes such as memorability and whether the names meet corporate
objectives. Finally, they are ranked and a recommendation made. Priced not to exceed quote. Depending on number of names, list provider, sample size and interview method the cost will
range from $3,000 to $6,000.
- Logo preference research is similar to name preference research in objective, but obviously,
telephone interviews aren’t an option. Priced not to exceed quote. Price range is $3,500 to $6,000.
Positioning:
- Positioning grids will graphically place your company or product in relation to competitors
as you believe them to be in lieu of performing positioning research. This “best guess” exercise allows you to compare you and competitors using attributes you consider to be
valuable to your customers to determine who is occupying various niches. Signature Strategies will guide you and your key people through a process of internal interviews, and
then translate our findings onto grids of attribute pairs. The price, based on $90 an hour, is dependent on the number of interviews and the number of attributes studied. A typical quote
would be in the $900 to $1,500 range.
- Positioning statement associated with the product or company name helps establish the
desired position in the collective market’s mind. It usually is created after the name but before
the logo. It is often integrated with the logo. This is a slogan, but it is more than that. It is a statement that is only true about you. It differentiates you from your competitors as it
communicates an important benefit to the market. Signature Strategies creates positioning statements on the model of a “meme”. The price for creating a positioning statement is $500.
Name Development:
- Company or brand name creation, based on your corporate vision and focus and the position
you wish to achieve in the minds of stake holders, Signature Strategies will generate appropriate name candidates. This will be an iterative process until you select a name that
generates enthusiasm within your organization. We will then do a preliminary trademark and domain search to determine if the top 5 or 6 names are already taken. This creative effort is
priced at $1,200
- Name change program provides guidance and creative implementation of name change
activities. Each situation will need to be assessed individually, but a recommendation and a firm price quote will be submitted prior to and activity. A price for consultation and creating
name change letter and flyer ranges between $1,000 to $1,500, excluding printing.
- Name, nomenclature and hierarchy planning in multiple division, multiple product, multiple
style situations, having a plan to unify or standardize nomenclature and name proliferation can solve an internal and external problem. We can help you develop a set of standards and a
manual based on your organizational and market-related requirements to provide consistency and prevent confusion. Priced not to exceed quote. Price range is typically $500 to $1,000
Logo Creation:
- Company or brand logo development usually follows name creation and is governed by the
same criteria. This, too, is an iterative process. Signature Strategies will develop a series of designs, get your reaction, modify or develop additional designs until; you’re thrilled with a
final logo. The price for logo design is $750.
- Stationery design usually follows the adoption of a new corporate logo. We can provide up
to five variations of letterhead, business card, label and envelope designs for $250.
Graphic Standards Development:
- Logo usage manual provides a way for all concerned with logo placement and usage in
documents and materials to have guidelines for consistent and professional display of the logo in relation to other communication elements. It specifies logo colors and variations
acceptable, logo proportions and placement, describes how not to use the logo, and suggests compatible type faces and provides the logo in many computer formats for various
anticipated uses. Price: $550.
- Graphic standards manual incorporates the Logo Usage Manual, but then goes on to specify
the use of type fonts, color, illustration types and design elements, and provides design grids and templates for commonly produced literature. The pricing depends on the number of
literature, presentation and multimedia types need be addressed, and on the comprehensiveness of the manual. Price not to exceed quote. Price range: $750 to $1,500.
Package Development:
This is an open ended project area because of the differences in size, market, environment, budget and other variables. We can provide package design for a notebook cover or for a
four-color carton. Once we have a set of specifications, we can provide a “not to exceed” quote.
Web Design & Hosting:
- Website design can have as many different variables as package design. Our design
capability extends to informational and ecommerce websites of modest size. We can design the site’s architecture and style, making sure it complies with your graphic standards and
name protocols. Our standard design fee is $100 a page with you supplying content, plus $200 for style development. If we are also to write content, we’ll need to assess the input
quality, amount of copy required and other variables before quoting that important aspect of site development.
- Web hosting is provided through our association with WebRich.biz and
PacificWebworks.com. Services can include auto responder, shopping cart, ecommerce, e-mail, database maintenance...all with encrypted security. Costs vary depending upon size
and services required. Costs are competitive.
Marketing Materials:
Materials vary, and can include brochures, data sheets, posters, manuals, presentations,
catalogs, application briefs, videos, newsletters, etc.. Signature Strategies can perform all the creative steps for these materials: concept, writing and design. We can also have them
reproduced if you so desire. Our rate for creative activity is $90 an hour, but you will receive a “not to exceed” quote prior to our beginning a project.
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