A #behindthehourglass Rebranding Journey
⌛ By Kaylin R. Staten ⌛
There comes a time in every business’ lifetime when it’s time to make a change. It could be a major change, like hiring someone new in the C-Suite or changing physical locations. It could also mean something small, like replacing the broken paper towel dispenser in the bathroom or making sure every Friday is “Wear Your Graphic Tees To Work Day.”
Other times call for changes in your business’ narrative. When I began my business in March 2015, I had goals for miles. Don’t get me wrong, I still do. They are just more streamlined and more attuned to my overall business goals and objectives. Being a novice business owner has its advantages: you believe you can do anything because you will wear the rose-colored glasses of your own creation. However, some disadvantages do get in the way, like listening to others when an aspect of your business just doesn’t feel right.
I have never questioned the “Hourglass” part of the name. It’s unique and showcased my eternal love for “The Wizard of Oz.” Over time, the hourglass number has exponentially grown in the Hourglass Headquarters. Hourglasses mean timeliness and precision, which is fitting for a public relations/media company. For me, the name always inhibited clarity. While “Hourglass Omnimedia” is all encompassing for each client, we cannot be everything to everyone all of the time. That impossibility feeds into my own sense of perfectionism. As I began to assess my personal life through the lens of my anxiety, I also looked at the company I founded. Most people don’t use the word “Omnimedia,” tending to shorten it to “Media” anyway.
I remember sitting at a table overlooking Chalk Sound in Turks & Caicos with my husband on our honeymoon. Of course, my business is never too far from my mind, so we discussed a name change for my business. I gravitated toward “Media,” but I didn’t make the leap until recently. For lack of a better tagline pun, it was t-i-m-e.
Where the wheels of inspiration began turning. Turks & Caicos, 2017.
So, what has exactly changed?
The name: It’s concise and more approachable.
Taking the “Omni” out promotes clarity. The “Hourglass” and the business hashtag, #behindthehourglass, remain, as they are core elements of the existing brand. Changing those would change the entire brand.
The logo: A new twist on an Art Deco favorite.
While the logo wasn’t a major overhaul, we replaced the lowercase “Hour” and font for “Media.” The teal, dark teal and gold remain, as well as the Art Deco hourglass icon. It’s a cleaner, more modern take on the classic logo.
A new color scheme: A bold pop of color.
Red is a power color #behindthehourglass. So, it made sense to add it to our overall color scheme. It’s the fourth color on our ever-growing color wheel, and we use Pantone’s High-Risk Red. Plus, our namesake comes from The Wicked Witch of the West’s red-sand hourglass and Dorothy has ruby slippers, so the color makes sense!
New website URL: less clunky, more memorable.
There are other Hourglass Media businesses in other states but none in the state of West Virginia. The new website was more complicated, as most of the viable options were already registered to other individuals and companies. So, we now have https://hourglassmedia.company and www.behindthehourglass.com.
The rest of 2018 and beyond look bright for our ever-evolving storytelling company. New look, same ambition.
Copyright © MMXVIII Hourglass Media, LLC
Kaylin R. Staten is an award-winning public relations practitioner and writer. She owns Hourglass Media, a consulting company based in Huntington, WV.
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