This site uses cookies that need consent.
Rolling out a new corporate identity is not just a significant financial investment but it’s also a major logistical event - one that needs careful planning to make sure that the transition from one brand to another is as seamless as possible.
A key part of our working processes is milestone planning - it’s an essential foundation to every successful global brand implementation project, not least because in many instances we work across different time zones. But even when we’re just working on a sole country company sign rollout, our project timeframes are often determined by very specific commercial objectives -such as a product launch, store or office opening, or the reveal of a new consumer facing brand.
It may also be driven by legal compliance, following a company takeover, as was the case with our recent project for Clarios which needed its new corporate signs to meet a legally-determined timeframe.
Essential to any milestone mapping is to make sure there are no hidden surprises. If you haven’t read our previous articles in this series, it’s worth looking at our earlier blog 'Why site surveys and asset audits really matter'.
This explains how every one of our projects starts with a thorough site survey so that we have a full understanding of the scale of the project - and to make sure there are no unexpected surprises further down the line.
Milestone planning starts only when we have a clear understanding of the following:
The context and purpose of the signage rollout
The scale and ambition of the project - how many sites, how many countries, how many sign iterations
Any additional corporate branding work - such as interior reception spaces for offices and, for retail, the extent of internal signage and merchandising
Proposed innovations such as the use of sustainable materials and illumination
Sites with significant high access issues - tops of buildings, awkward access
Any location-specific planning or logistical issues.
Naturally, we know that for all our clients, time is of the essence but we also understand that consistent, durable quality comes from doing the job properly.
Whatever the contract, timescales are determined by setting out a hierarchy of needs; by deciding the priority order of buildings and locations.
Once these have been established our next job is to itemise the detailed project costings for agreement, then appoint our site survey teams. This enables us to give as accurate a timetable as possible, and to also map out any sites which might present challenges in terms of logistics. This was the case with our Lear Corporation project which not only had a tight 3 month time frame, but where we identified very early on that its Morocco location would present challenges in terms of specific permit constraints on the site.
Rigorous due diligence at the start of any project also plays a key role in identifying significant problems that could have a major impact on delivery against a timeline.
This happened with Johnson Controls who flagged up significant issues with the visibility and illumination of their signs, a problem which we resolved through a technical analysis of the materials used and their current illumination methods. Swift but thorough resolution was essential given that we had embarked on a 12 phase programme in 37 countries over 461 sites.
Our work with Adient is a great example of how our expert knowledge of materials, in this instance fibreglass, enabled us to explore prototype samples as part of a company sign rollout across 191 sites in 32 countries, whilst also managing significant local manufacturing constraints.
Communication is everything - it’s a key part of our corporate sign rollout process that continually ensures there are no hidden surprises.
Whilst we can bring a significant amount of experience to the table with every project that we do, it’s our global client portal that plays a key role making sure that every stakeholder in the process has clear channels of communication, wherever they are in the world. This portal enables us to be fully transparent on critical matters such as:
Design and branding compliance
Local materials sourcing
Local manufacturing contracts
Contingency planning
Site access and installation
Post installation quality checks.
While all of the above enable us to stay on track, it’s our experience around contingency planning which gives us scope for flexibility to deploy resources where they’re needed most.
No one could have predicted the havoc caused by the 2020 pandemic but this was a deadline we were suddenly up against with our work on the ambitious 326 rollout for Japanese technology brand NTT, in a project spanning 326 sites in a 7 month time frame. Fortunately we managed to complete the project before the world shut down as a result of Covid.
“Ultimately, what Pearce Signs can bring to any global brand implementation is our international network of experts who have the engineering experience and logistical knowledge to know what is realistically possible in terms of timings.
This kind of knowledge comes from the extent and reach of our international experience, coupled with the network of experts we have placed across all 5 continents. As a global business with an agile, responsive approach to projects, we never lose focus on the importance of consistent quality, and coming up with new ideas. We always build in time for both.”
