Can Your Brand Pass This Test?

1. Does your brand offer a clear and valuable product or service?
2. Does your website present your unique brand with a “WOW!” factor?
3. Do you think your target market understands why you are their best choice?
4. Does your brand define “why” your product or service is unique?
5. Do you get shopped on price or on value?
6. Can you explain your brand’s unique value in 7 words or less?
7. What is your number one competitor doing better than you?

FUNDAMENTAL

"If your product is not seen as a brand,
it is seen as a commodity”

– Elon Musk

FOUNDATION

DO YOU HAVE A REAL BRAND?
THE ANSWER IS
RIGHT IN FRONT
OF YOU

When your prospects look at your website, nothing tells them why they should choose you over your competitors. This makes you a commodity and you get shopped on price, not value. Your sales suffer, growth slows and profits decline. There is a solution - get a CRE8IVE brand.

Take a look at the CRE8IVE brands in this site. See the “Before & After” transformations. Read the testimonial letters. See for yourself why CRE8IVE brands are so successful. We employ the same proven brand building principles and processes used by the most popular and enduring brands across the globe.

We know the neuroscience of decision making - over 95% of all decision-making is done sub-consciously on an emotional level. Utilizing highly-qualitative research data on your primary prospect, we craft a unique, emotional-based, unique selling proposition (USP) to give you a CRE8IVE brand. Thus, your prospect sub-consciously understands that your brand is “their best choice.”

This is the Art & Science of branding. As you know, perception is reality. Let CRE8IVE shape the future of your brand’s reality. The best business investment you can make is in a CRE8IVE brand.

“Your brand is the single most important
investment you can make in your business.”

— Steve Forbes

OUR LATEST
BRAND TRANSFORMATION

How CRE8IVE Shaped the
Future of Bret Slaton

The new brand features experience which provides “relaxation.” Slaton Custom Homes wanted to reposition and brand themselves as a “restoration & remodeling” company, instead of a custom home builder.

Our research revealed that any restoration or remodeling job was emotionally charged with high levels of stress, anxiety and worry.

The new Bret Slaton brand features an emotional appeal of “relax and enjoy peace of mind” with Bret Slaton, due his vast experience. This emotional appeal is accentuated with the use of a large photo of a very happy family.

The three main navigation buttons, superimposed on the photo, include “relax” on equal footing with “restore” and “remodel.” Before and after images and customer testimonials are predominant in the website’s translation of the brand.

In short, everything is directed at removing a prospects stress and fear in selecting Bret Slaton.

“Talent hits a target no one else can hit;
Genius hits a target no one else can see.”

— Arthur Schopenhauer

REALITY

Before

After

INSIGHT

How CRE8IVE Shaped the Future
for Cozellos Data

BEFORE & AFTER

Their new brand message is “Making Businesses Stronger & Life Better.” The “before & after” homepage comparison, clearly shows Cozelos had no brand. We took a small company with no clear product or service offering and created a modern, cutting-edge brand persona with an extremely powerful logo and appropriate visual imagery, all complemented and accentuated with a strong tagline of “Making Businesses Stronger & Life Better.”

The core of the messaging strategy reads - We are the database and data analytics company that takes the word “custom” to the highest echelon. It begins with understanding EVERYTHING you want your business to be.

Are you running your business or is your business running you? Let Cozelos make business stronger & life better.

"Imagination is more important
than knowledge"

— Albert Einstein

Before

After

REACTION

BEFORE & AFTER

How CRE8IVE Shaped the Future
for J Rock

J Rock was typical of many small businesses in that they did not have a logical name or a clear “reason for being” or a “unique selling proposition,” a classic “me too” company.

We repaired this untenable situation by featuring a name that describes their USP of charging a fixed, flat fee for all real estate transactions, thus allowing customers to buy the “SAME HOUSE (for) THOUSANDS LESS!”

The brand’s logo was purposely designed to be totally unique in the field of real estate companies. The goal was to create a visual brand image that connotes “wholesale” persona that is streamlined to save its clients money.

By featuring the simple, bold concept of buying the same house for thousands of dollars less, immediately connects with a large percentage of the home shopping market.

“Your personal brand is what people say about you when you are not in the room – remember that. And more importantly, let’s discover why!”

— Chris Ducker

Before

After

BEFORE & AFTER

How CRE8IVE Shaped the Future
for AMS

USP (Unique Selling Proposition)
The Engineers of the Unknown have a unique engineering system called 3SX. The 3 S’s stand for SEE, SOLVE, SUSTAIN and the X stands for the unknown. AMS’s proprietary engineering system is complemented by the theme of KNOW EVERYTHING. FEAR NOTHING.

POSITIONING STRATEGY
The most dangerous threat to mission success is WHAT YOU DON’T KNOW, and no other engineering firm in the world is better at uncovering the UNKNOWN than AMS.

MESSAGING STRATEGY
3SX is the most powerful engineering system in the world. No one else can give you AMS’s proprietary 3SX path to certainty of mission success. No one, not two, but three levels of certainty come from hand-picked teams of highly trained specialists to SEE, SOLVE, and SUSTAIN every mission all the way through from idea to implementation to mission end. This is the unstoppable power of 3SX.

“Your brand is a story unfolding across
all customer touch points.”

— Jonah Sachs

SUBLIMINAL

Before

After

LOYALTY

How CRE8IVE Shaped the Future
for Premier Preschools

BEFORE & AFTER

USP (Unique Selling Proposition) is
Because It’s Your Child, Premier Preschools, accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, is the single best choice for your child’s safety, education and health.

POSITIONING STRATEGY
We treat each child as they were our own. We treat each child as an individual. Our students enjoy the highest level of an individualized, educational experience.

MESSAGING STRATEGY
Parents have a piece of mind knowing their child is cared for by dedicated, highly professional, degreed teachers on a secure campus. Premier Preschools are locally owned and operated. We are not another “cookie cutter” franchised preschool. Both campuses are designed with security and safety in mind. Your child is given a personal ID number and photo to verify authorized pick-up.

“If people believe they share values with a company,
they will stay loyal to the brand.”

— Howard Schultz

Before

After

THE POWER OF CRE8IVE

CRE8IVE fully leverages the axiom that “Perception is Reality” by literally shaping the perception a viewer will have of your brand. To do this is easy if one understands the “science of decision making.”

Neurological studies show Over 95% of all decision making is made on an emotional basis in the subconscious mind. And neurological mechanics are the same for 99.9% of the population.

Study after study after study with the fMRI backs-up the neurological reality that decision making is emotionally based on the sub-conscious mind. For example…

The famous Harvard Professor, Gerald Zaltman, Professor of Business Administration Emeritus at the Harvard Business School and the University's Mind, Brain, and Behavior Interfaculty Initiative, agrees with other neurological studies that say 95% of Purchasing Decisions Are Subconscious.

Professor Zaltman's simple and logical instruction of those who do branding is this:

“Therefore - when marketing a product to a consumer, it's most effective to target the subconscious mind.”

DISCOVERY

"Ninety-five percent of thought,
emotion, and learning occur in the
unconscious mind - that is, without
our awareness."

— Gerald Zaltman

INVESTMENT

BEFORE & AFTER

How CRE8IVE Shaped the Future
for BK Manufacturing

USP (Unique Selling Proposition) is
The Company of Choice for the Most Demanding Aerospace and Defense Companies in the World by highlighting the fact that this small company has over 50 years of experience working for NASA, U.S. Air Force, Boeing, Northrup Grumman, U.S. Army, Raytheon and more.

POSITIONING STRATEGY
The company of choice for the world’s most demanding aerospace and defense consumers, both private and federal.

MESSAGING STRATEGY
BK AEROSPACE has a reputation for innovation and excellence due to its wide range of experience from space exploration to supporting the war-fighter, for more than 50 years.

“Brands should think of themselves not as storytellers but storybuilders. We plant seeds of content and let our community build on it.”

– Amy Pascal

Before

After

BEFORE & AFTER

How CRE8IVE Shaped the Future
for Interfuze

USP (Unique Selling Proposition) is Engineering Human Achievement.

InfoPro Corporation had the typical generic position common among small defense contractors. Their tag line of “Innovative Mission Solutions’ would work for any firm in their category. The first thing we accomplished was a new name “INTERFUZE” and a strong, and uncommon, tag line which boldly communicates the USP of Interfuze -“Engineering Human Achievement.”

POSITIONING STRATEGY
A new and different type of engineering firm for a new and more challenging world.

MESSAGING STRATEGY
We are what’s next. The world has changed. American faces unprecedented challenges. The status quo can no longer guarantee American security and supremacy. INTERFUZE has been meticulously engineered from the inside out, to deliver the advanced innovation, and superior engineering performance, America needs to safeguard its freedom and future. INTERFUZE your mission. INTERFUZE your future.

IMAGE

“Your brand is a story unfolding
across all customer touch points.”

– Jonah Sachs

Before

After

BEFORE & AFTER

How CRE8IVE Shaped the Future
for Secure Destruction

USP (Unique Selling Proposition) is
The Ultimate Peace of Mind comes from our EXCLUSIVE Triple Assurance Guarantee. After all, what is the single most important aspect of what we do? Ensuring your documents and materials are literally obliterated out of existence.

POSITIONING STRATEGY
Secure Destruction is the most professional, reliable and trustworthy document and material destruction services company.

MESSAGING STRATEGY
Nothing is more important than your peace of mind in knowing the your sensitive documents and materials are utterly destroyed and cannot be compromised ever. Whether it be identity theft, HIPAA, FACTA, corporate espionage, or just not wanting someone to dumpster dive and find any personal information, you want the peace of mind that comes with knowing that your information is completely and irrevocably destroyed.

"Branding demands commitment; commitment to continual re-invention; striking chords with people to stir their emotions; and commitment to imagination. It is easy to be cynical about such things, much harder to be successful.”

– Sir Richard Branson

IDENTITY

Before

After

BALANCE

BEFORE & AFTER

How CRE8IVE Shaped the Future for MTA

USP (Unique Selling Proposition) is
Ready. Right. Now to help clients apply the latest technological advances for their RAM and Digital Fire Control Systems. We changed the meaning of MTA from Mechanical Technical Associates to Maximizing Technological Advancements. We added the support theme of “Our Power is Our Knowledge” and changed the URL to www.TheFutureisMTA.

POSITIONING STRATEGY
The only engineering firm specializing in RAM and Digital Fire Control advanced technology.

MESSAGING STRATEGY
MTA delivers Perfect Balance Solutions from its world-class team of SME’s. These SME’s work within a special MACRO/MICRO Engineering Perspective protocol. MTA creates customer success by execution efficiency, technology integration and quality people who are driven to excel, innovate and achieve.

Before

After

It’s fascinating to create a brand that has an emotional side, a logical side, a newsworthiness…

— Lee Clow

BEFORE & AFTER

STRENGTH

How CRE8IVE Shaped the Future for Theonics

USP (Unique Selling Proposition) is
Performance Perfection – We Make Metal Work Smarter, Stronger, Longer by designing and improving CNC machined products to achieve and deliver “performance perfection” in the real world.

POSITIONING STRATEGY
Theonics is small and nimble by design in order to focus on ultra-precision engineered CNC machining that larger companies simply can’t or won’t do. The more challenging and complex the job, the better we like it and the better we out-perform.

MESSAGING STRATEGY
We focus on impeccable craftsmanship and painstaking attention to detail for the aerospace, defense and medical industries. We consistently design and machine precision-critical metal components and products that deliver PERFORMANCE PERFECTION beyond the blueprint.

“The keys to brand success are self-definition, transparency, authenticity and accountability.”

– Simon Mainwaring

Before

After

VOICE

BEFORE & AFTER

How CRE8IVE Shaped the Future
for Magnolia River

Magnolia River, a fast growing, 18 year-old company, now recognized as the industry’s leader for innovative and efficient utility infrastructure solutions, had out-grown its brand. The company’s core position was “Building Client Relationships One at a Time” which is a strong foundation, but did not capture the real emotional depth of the company’s client centric focus and its expanded service offering.

The new tagline – NOTHING RUNS DEEPER provides a flexible, unifying statement that captures the heart and soul the company’s total focus of unparalleled customer satisfaction is every aspect of their ever-growing product and service platform. In addition it allow for the logical incorporation of powerful river imagery. Please visit the site to see the real power of this new CRE8IVE brand.

Before

After

“A brand is the set of expectations, memories, stories and relationships that, taken together, account for a consumer’s decision to choose one product or service over another.”

– Seth Godin

CONTROL YOUR DESTINY

What is your brand known for? People need an intellectual “reason why” that establishes believability and “emotional permission” to close the sale.

But the old adage is true – EMOTION does the heavy lifting.

The reason is that the power, clarity and endurance of memory is directly proportional to the amount of emotion attached to it. As Walter Landow said: “People buy brands, not products.”

So...What’s a Real Brand? One that has an exclusive name attached to an exclusive idea of value (USP) – the more believable and emotional the better.

To this day, there are eight human appeals that affect us all, and you must communicate at least one of them to your prospects immediately, directly and unambiguously. Every person wants to be:

1. Happier
2. Smarter
3. Healthier
4. Richer
5. Safer
6. More Secure
7. More Attractive
8. More Successful

The goal in the sales process is to appeal to the customer with a simple, clear offer they can easily understand and thus take the PAIN out of the process of buying.

AWARENESS

“I think therefore I am”

- Rene Descartes

CLIENT
TESTIMONIALS

“Bob and his team did a remarkable job of developing an integrated brand and communications framework that allowed us to build on the solid foundation of the past while creating an exciting vision for the future.”

Rose Allen, President
INTERFUZE

“I am proud to share with you and your team that we did in fact achieve all of our objectives which helped to generate a record sales year with the Microsoft Embedded product line. We became the #1 distributor in the market, after having 100% of our sales reps attain Microsoft Blackbelt Sales Competency.”

Gina Haraway, Microsoft VAD Manager
Avnet Technology Solutions

“Your precise attention to details, your systematic approach to gathering pertinent information, asking thought provoking questions, all the while sculpting the message with precision uniquely captures the proven capabilities of Aviation & Missile Solutions as never before communicated to our market.

”Tim Kirkpatrick, President
Aviation & Missile Solutions

”I highly recommend Bob Benton, for branding services for any company. Theonics has worked with Bob over the last year to develop a brand for our company. The service he has provided has far exceeded the service that we received from similar companies in the past.”

Shelley Coxwell, President
THEONICS

“Bob, as I look back on the whole process of branding with a new logo, USP, tag line, and website have I been able to see what it was that we really needed. Thank you for helping me as you guided us through this process. The end result has been nothing short of remarkable for our business.”

Bart Justice, Owner
Secure Destruction

“Long story short, Bob has given me a real brand, a true and deep brand, far beyond just a logo, label and a website. He created the name of my whiskey, my tag line, and my unique position within this crowded craft whiskey category. He also showed me how to make my brand authentic and highly marketable.”

Jeff Irons, Owner
IRONS ONE Bourbon Whiskey

“Products are made in the factory,
but brands are created in the mind.”

— Walter Landor

KNOWLEDGE

GROWTH

BRANDS FOR
NEW COMPANIES

This start up company, The Lawn Ranger, was something special. Never before had my research, interviews and analysis of a new company uncovered such a strong dedication to perfection. And perfection at every level of the business operation. The image of the Lawn Ranger cutting one blade of grass with a pair of scissors perfectly illustrate their unique attention to detail. And the tag line of “Nobody Rides Like We Do!” could not be more appropriate. Stay tuned, this company is growing like a weed.

EXTRAORDINARY

REBRANDING OF IRONS ONE DISTILLERY

A few years ago, I had the honor of helping a special man in making his dream of distilling whiskey come true, by expressing his passion and skill in the website you see above called “The Original Site.”

I am proud to say that in 2019 “Irons One” was named the best tasting whiskey in America by winning double gold at the 50 Best Bourbon Competition. Thus, a new website was in order to complement and present such a special honor to a man who’s tag line is “from my hands to yours.” Congratulations Jeff. It is an honor to be a part of your award winning team.

The Original Website

The Next Generation

CRE8IVE SERVICES

EMOTION

“Everything you want is on the other side of fear.”

– George Addair

CRE8IVE offers a full range
of Marketing Services

• Logo design
• Web design & SEO Management
• Social Media Management
• Trade show booth design
• Brand & Marketing Consultation
• Direct Mail (from design to mailing)
• Branded Promotional Items
• Signage (interior & exterior)

BRANDS YOU'VE KNOWN
FOR GENERATIONS

EXPERIENCE

RECOGNITION

A SAMPLING OF CRE8IVE LOGOS

AVNET/MICROSOFT BRANDED
SALES PROGRAM

VISION

TARGET

CRE8IVE’s branded sales program took Avnet, the worlds largest electronic manufacturing and distribution company, from last place to first place and prevented them from losing the coveted position of being one of three Microsoft product distributors. See the testimonial letter from Avnet that details the outstanding success of CRE8IVE’s branded sales program.

“The riskiest thing we can do is just maintain
the status quo.”

— Bob Iger

BRANDING LEGAL TUBE

LegalTube was a challenging product, in that it can be classified as a true “new product breakthrough” as opposed to a “me too” product. LegalTube was the first video-centric online legal directory. The website features 3 to 5 minute videos of attorneys talking about their background and expertise, which reveals their personalities and helps make the attorney selection process more personal. Below are promotional materials designed for the debut of LegalTube at the national American Association for Justice (AAJ) Convention in San Francisco.

“Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.”

— Leonardo da Vinci

UNIQUE

HI-TECH REBRANDING CASE STUDY

Conversant Bio was less than a year old when they asked us to rebrand them. Their existing brand was fragmented in both its messaging strategy and its graphical translation. They did not have a USP or tagline. We created an engaging logo using a dialogue box around the word “bio” as a play on the word “conversant” and also their USP “Hyper-Annotated™ Specimens.” The new tagline, “Go Further. Faster.” appealed to our target audience’s emotional, or right brain, desire to accelerate the discovery of new treatment therapies and drugs for cancer research and treatment. Lastly we provide a strong USP with the creation of “Hyper-Annotated Specimens,” as Conversant Bio meticulously documents specimen information, much more so than its competitors.

“Innovation distinguishes between a leader
and a follower.”

—Steve Jobs

Branding & Launching a New Product

Core Product:
Enterprise wide management software for Trucking Industry.

Challenge:
Introduction of major new product (LoadMaster) at the National Transportation Industry Trade Show in Albequerque, New Mexico.

Strategy:
Conduct branded promotion entitled “Be the Power Broker” with pre-show mailing containing strong incentive “coupon” redeemable at booth.

93% Conversion
from Pre-Show
Mailer to Prospect
Registration
at Show

36% Increase
in Business in the
First Year of the
McLeod Software
Print Campaign

MANY PEOPLE THINK A LOGO
AND WEBSITE IS A BRAND.
IT IS NOT, IT IS JUST AN IMAGE
OF YOUR COMPANY.

The world’s most successful brands are built on the same proven principles and processes of branding. These brands are built upon a USP (Unique Selling Proposition) that powerfully differentiates them as being the best choice over their competitors. Do you have a brand or just an image?

A CRE8IVE brand gives you the same power of the world’s best brands. A CRE8IVE brand ensures that the shape of the future of your reality is success. That’s the Art & Science of Branding.

“A brand for a company is like a reputation for
a person. You earn reputation by trying to
do hard things well.”

— Jeff Bezos

SUCCESS

MCLEOD SOFTWARE
BRANDING CASE STUDY