26 WESTERN PALLET
As companies grow, the are faced with branding decisions. Should they stick with a universal brand, or should they have specific brands that are uniquely connected to particular operations or segments? Faber Halbertsma Group, which in recent years presented a universal brand presence through Pooling Partners, recently announced that it is plotting a shift in direction.
"We are going back to the old company names: IPP, PAKi, PRS and individual production companies," reports the Poolingpartners.com website. "This means that the name, Pooling Partners, will be replaced by the names by which the individual companies used to be known in their own markets."
According to the company, it sees more opportunity for each Faber Halbertsma Group company to position itself using a distinct brand label, with a common look and feel to retain the solid back-up of the Faber Halbertsma Group.
"The rebranding is an investment in our future business and serves to build a strong platform to allow our businesses to thrive," it continues.
There are a lot of things to consider when considering an approach to branding. Robert Wallace of Scottsdale AZ-based Tallwave writes that if "you offer multiple products or services that appeal to distinctly different audiences, so much so that a given customer likely wouldn’t even consider buying one product but would be very interested in another, then the individual brand approach might be more fitting."
For example, a pallet recycling company that is going to launch a retail wood pellet operation might not choose to create a completely new brand, as the target audience probably has had little or no understanding of the pallet company's reputation. If the pallet recycler decides to launch a new pallet business due to a core shortage that is causing pain for its existing customers, however, it might make more sense to stick with its existing brand.
Some companies use a "masterbrand" and sub-brand approach. Whatever the branding strategy employed, however, Wallace cautions that "it is important to ensure you carry the same vision and values through each of your separate offerings."
Faber Halbertsma Group states that the usage of the new brand names will begin to start immediately. By the end of March 2019, all the companies will use their new name.
The new brand names will be in most cases similar to those heritage brands used by the individual businesses prior to the introduction of Pooling Partners. The list of brand names includes:
FABER HALBERTSMA GROUP
IPP
PAKi
PRS
FABER
FRANCEPAL
NAUS
PASEC
PACKAGING PARTNERS
PHOENIX
SATIM
T&A
One Brand or Many
Do you have various regional operations or serve different product markets? With the announcement of Pooling Partners rebrand, it is useful to consider whether to have one brand or many. What's the best way forward for your business?