Brand Durability
My father ran a very successful photographic business in medium sized rural town. Even though I was just a pre-schooler I remember him and my mother starting the business. Our lounge room was the studio and on Saturdays my sister and I would watch as wedding parties would arrive for their studio photos. Brides and maids in their gorgeous gowns, grooms stiff and formal, the smell of perfume and flowers and they glided by. Mum would get busy picking confetti out of the Bride’s hair. I wonder now what they thought of the two little girls peeking around the corner as they passed by.
The business grew and eventually was moved to a fully fledged photographic studio. My parents were very active marketers and were continually on the look out for new opportunities and market growth. The business name began building a reputation simply as Max Cridland and later included the La Dore Studios when he purchased an existing studio that had established mind-share and history in the area. The memorable little photographer logo was designed and used in conjunction to form the final logo and branding image.
My parents continued to build on their brand image and reputation through consistent marketing and quality work. They advertised in the press, sent out brochures and flyers and set up a stand at the local show. For years they took photographs at small schools in outlying districts until eventually their reputation gained them entry into the bigger schools in town.
The personal nature of their work took them into peoples lives to share their most important moments, weddings, births, deaths, debutant balls, family gatherings, award nights, sporting events and more. At every point there was the same enduring name and logo.
My parents retired and moved to QLD some time ago now. More than 35 years later and in another town some two hours away, I was asked if I was related to the photographer from Orange. When I said I was, he told me he remembered my parents as they took his photo at school. One of the things he remembered most, was the funny little logo that was always consistently displayed on all of their materials and advertising. More than that, the logo still generated recall of the service and quality that became the hallmark of my parents work. Now that’s Brand Durability!