Behind the Scenes of The Dream Factory Rebrand
Over the past year, Cocoon has been working with the board and key staff members at The Rainbow Society to develop a new brand – The Dream Factory – that was officially launched today.
“The process we used to guide The Rainbow Society through their rebrand is the same process we use for any company or organization,” said Kyle Romaniuk, president at Cocoon. “When we help our clients define their brand, we work to transform their function-driven business into a brand that has a real emotional connection. We build meaning beyond what they do, to help communicate why they do it. Of course, there is some level of innate emotion when you’re talking about an organization that helps kids with life threatening illnesses and their families – but there is always an emotional driver, no matter what business you are in.”
Kyle continued, “The emotional driver for The Dream Factory’s brand that motivates their behaviour as an organization is a sense of joy. That sense of joy can be created and experienced while thinking about what the dream could be, the anticipation leading up to the dream, the moments during the dream itself, and sharing the memories created by the dream for the rest of their lives. Creating a sense of joy helps get through the illness, and concentrate on the happiness childhood should bring. And it is that joy that describes what The Dream Factory is all about and why they exist – beyond the literal function of what they do. It’s that joy that people really connect with, and it motivates them to action.”
Chuck Phillips, creative director at Cocoon, added: “The Dream Factory identity is more about emotion than structure. It was a long process to refine the concept and make it work as an identity without losing the emotion and energy captured in our original sketches.”
Grace Thomson, executive director at The Dream Factory (formerly The Rainbow Society), had some valuable insights into their experience working with Cocoon. “Cocoon really challenged us to explore our organization in depth and to look at our brand from all angles, involving all stakeholders in the process. Because of this, the end result – The Dream Factory – is something that represents us perfectly, and it wasn’t just a typical solution. When the new brand was revealed to us, I don’t think there was a dry eye in the room – it connected so powerfully on an emotional level. We saw immediately how the the brand could be rolled out and what it could become.”
The Rainbow Society becomes The Dream Factory
Today, The Rainbow Society became The Dream Factory, in a rebrand designed and conceived by the team here at Cocoon.
The Rainbow Society is a charitable institution here in Winnipeg. Founded in 1983, they were the first wish granting organization in Canada helping children with life threatening illnesses and their families. It’s a great cause… But it’s even closer to our hearts because of Cocoon’s very personal connection with the organization. When Kyle Romaniuk, president at Cocoon, was twelve years old, he was a dream kid himself. In the midst of his journey through cancer, The Rainbow Society sent Kyle and his family on a dream vacation – an experience that remains a highlight in Kyle’s life.
“It’s hard to put into words what it means to be able to come back to The Rainbow Society – as a healthy adult and now a father myself – and give something back to them,” Kyle said. “I couldn’t imagine a more worthy cause, and Cocoon was honoured to be able to donate our services.”
The new name – The Dream Factory – more clearly represents both the function and the spirit of the organization. The airship logo design was inspired by the organization’s new positioning line: “Sometimes kids deserve to get carried away.” The Dream Factory helps kids forget about their illness – even just for a moment – and encourages them to get carried away in the anticipation of having their dream come true, the experience itself, and the memories they will keep with them when they return to their routine of doctors, treatments, and hospital visits.
“When we develop a brand strategy, we work to peel away all the functional benefits of a brand and discover the emotional purpose behind what they do. For The Dream Factory, that greater emotional purpose is to create a sense of joy – and we used that to help us design the brand identity, values, and messaging,” said Romaniuk.
“It is only through the generous donations of businesses and individuals in Manitoba that we are able to do what we do for our dream kids,” said Grace Thomson, executive director of The Dream Factory. “This situation was unique because of Kyle’s close personal connection to the organization. He understands more than anyone what our dream children are facing as they battle life threatening illnesses – and it’s so wonderful that what goes around comes around. Kyle beat cancer and then came back to help other kids who are going through a similar childhood experience.”
Breakfast with Realtors
Friday – March 25, 2011
This morning, Kyle was invited to talk about branding and how it can be used to differentiate yourself — in real estate.
It doesn’t matter what industry you are in, the same principles and strategies apply. But, in real estate the layers of brands and competition are more complex than many other categories. To simplify it, the national body is challenged with promoting the value of Realtors as a whole, competing against the notion that anyone can sell or buy a home on their own. Then there are the various real estate agencies, big and small, corporate and independent teams intending their brand to be perceived as better and different than their competitors. Going one level deeper, you will find all of the agents competing for attention trying to stand out against their colleagues, which requires personal branding.
As in many industries, the tactics implemented by competitors and colleagues are saying the same thing, in the same way, and in the same place.
There is an opportunity to stand out, but it will require leaping beyond the typical rational messaging of functional features and benefits, such as product, service and price by creating an emotional position and clear distinct message to build your brand around.
