News February 11, 2020
HUB Promotional Group Rebrands As ‘HPG’
The acronym is the official new name of the promo products industry’s ninth-largest supplier.
The ninth-largest supplier in the promotional products industry has a new name and fresh brand identity to complement it.
HUB Promotional Group (asi/61966) will now be known by the acronym “HPG” – a name that has already started to catch on organically over the last year or so as the Braintree, MA-based company has built its industry profile through organic revenue growth and high-profile acquisitions, such as bringing Origaudio (asi/75254) and HandStands (asi/59525) into its family of companies.
The name change comes, in part, to eliminate any confusion as to the difference between one of HPG’s well-known subsidiaries, Hub (asi/61966), and the parent firm itself. Other supplier firms under HPG’s umbrella are Beacon Promotions (asi/39250), Best Promotions USA (asi/40344), Debco (asi/48885) and BCG Creations (asi/37693).
Given the new HPG name, the company required a novel brand identity that reflects the scale and dynamism of the collective supplier brands that comprise the firm, said Jason Lucash, HPG’s senior vice president of marketing and innovation. He spearheaded that rebrand, noting that the design challenge was to create something distinctive yet flexible that would stand out but not outshine HPG’s subsidiary brands.
“The brands that make up the HPG family are completely different,” Lucash said in a statement. “Different cultures, products and production techniques. But they’ve all succeeded by going above and beyond for their customers and, because of that, the brands they’ve built have value we didn’t want to diminish. Our approach was to redesign HPG’s brand to be neutral yet flexible. So on the surface, it would never compete with the other brands, but we could use elements of it to wrap around them, leaving a subtle but distinctive mark that’d bring some consistency to the group.”
Those interested in the full details of the rebrand can check out HPG’s in-depth breakdown of the design elements here. The use of a monochromatic color scheme, brackets in the logo and a schoolbook style font contribute to what HPG says is a hip, modern look that’s versatile and engaging, without ever overpowering the identities of the companies in its family of brands.
The new HPG name and brand identity were revealed at the ASI Show Orlando promo industry tradeshow in January. The company has also launched a new website that’s outfitted with the branding – hpgbrands.com.
With reported 2018 North American promotional product revenue of $197.8 million, HPG ranks ninth on Counselor’s latest list of the largest suppliers in the industry.