Q: What kinds of products and services do you offer?

Chris Faris: We do traditional promotional products, but now we also offer online stores, private labelling, warehousing and fulfillment, merchandising (including pop-up shops on behalf of clients), custom products and custom packaging. A mug is a mug, but we’re now in a world of experiences. So when someone opens something up and it’s in cool packaging, that’s an interaction with a brand. We’re building on what we’ve offered and what our clients have asked for.

Boost Promotions' new logo 

Q: How long did the rebranding process take and what were your goals?

CF: I’d been thinking about it for a while, but total time was about four months. I wanted something fresh for 2019. We collaborated with a Boston design firm. The overarching goal was to portray us as a branding business. That’s what we are, so it’s important that our brand is strong, current and relevant. I didn’t believe it was. It felt outdated, and we’re now in a social world with cleaner fonts, and websites aren’t the novels they used to be. The brand identity has to represent who you are and where you’re going, but it also has to be timeless. 

Q: What did the rebrand entail?

CF: We rebranded everything. It started with the logo, then the colorways (black and white is timeless and you can add pops of color). We have a new website, marketing materials, brand guidelines and self-promo items. We have the staple products, as well as higher-end drinkware, bags, writing instruments and journals. We don’t want people to think we represent anything other than high quality.

New self-promo items

This is a very cluttered industry, so distributors' brands are really critical. The smartphone changed the game. You now have 15 seconds to make a first impression, so you have to keep it simple: “Here’s what they do, here are some clients they’ve worked with, let’s call them.” No one is going to spend hours reading about us, and we need to add value in places other than price.

Q: What does the rebrand mean for your company moving forward?
CF: It gives our team confidence as we grow. We’re experts, and we’ll take care of the brands our clients hold so dearly. What we say and do correlates with the brand image, so we want it to be up to par.