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Richie Burke, president and founder of Story Mark Studios[/caption]
In November of 2022, I was sitting in our empty warehouse space wondering what to do and how my company could survive.
Earlier that year, GoGeddit Marketing and Media was off to a hot start. We were producing podcasts for global companies, had some great clients we were providing marketing services for, our podcast “The GoGedders” had received hundreds of thousands of downloads over the previous few years, and we had our best first half of the year revenue-wise in company history.
Then, things started falling apart... fast.
Potential large opportunities fell through, some of the podcasts we were signed on to produce never materialized, we lost our largest client along with several other clients, had a couple key employees leave and our podcast downloads, which had served as a great lead generator, were declining.
That forced us to take a hard look in the mirror, and we realized our brand had some inherent weaknesses. We were offering so many services to a wide range of companies, spreading our small team thin and lacking the focus and vision needed to sustainably grow and scale. We were also located in a large warehouse in St. Francis that had its flaws and an expiring lease.
So, that November, we decided we were going to make some big changes and got to work. We:
- Signed a different lease and built out a state-of-the-art content studio in Walker’s Point.
- Re-named the company to clearly communicate our value proposition (we landed on Story Mark Studios).
- Developed our own storytelling framework to help companies tell better stories, create much more engaging content and build deeper relationships with their audience.
- Rebranded “The GoGedders Podcast” to “Milwaukee Uncut” and significantly upgraded the video content.
The process wasn’t easy but over the course of six months, we fully moved out of one office and built out another; rebranded the company and built our new website; and determined and launched our new offerings.
The most difficult phase was the awkward phase when you know you have something better coming and you are building it out, while still keeping the business going and revenue coming in with your current offerings. We were able to implement our new offerings with current clients, and I started presenting our new framework to groups and got a great response – which was very encouraging – but couldn’t put anything out public-facing.
Then on May 17, 2023, with a staff of four full-time employees (down from a peak of nine), we launched our new website, storymarkstudios.com, launched the Milwaukee Uncut Podcast, and sent an email to our list and promoted the launch on social media.
The new focus was helping companies with video and podcast production and serving as an outsourced marketing department to mid-market companies; essentially for the investment of a full-time employee, they could have access to our entire team (and content studio) to run their marketing or complement their current department.
The initial response was favorable, but it still took a while to build up steam and get back to where we once were. As expected, 2023 was not a good year on paper, but it was a true rebuilding year and a lot of positives came from it.
We ended up turning a corner in Q4 of 2023 and have since accomplished the following:
- Our team has increased from four full-time people to six full-time and four contractors.
- We’ve helped brands like the University of Notre Dame, Direct Supply, Charlee Bear Dog Treats, Johnson Financial, and many mid-market companies.
- Through eight months this year, we are off to our best financial start in company history.
- The “Milwaukee Uncut” podcast has taken off, generating more than 1 million views in the month of July alone and consistently getting more than 300,000 to 400,000 views since December.
- We have a great team, a strong brand, and a clear vision for the future.
Takeaways for companies considering a rebrand
- Only do it if you have a great reason to do so. Like launching most companies/products, it takes more time, energy and money to get it off the ground. Valid reasons could include: your name/brand no longer reflects your vision, you’re failing to differentiate yourself from the competition, declining or stagnant business, your brand is complicated/lacks clarity, your business model or strategy has changed, trying to connect with a new audience, any major changes such as a merger or a geographic move.
- Make your team (at least key stakeholders depending on size) and ideal customers part of the process, if possible. Our rebrand was a team effort; everyone helped make decisions and was bought in. We also got to test our new offerings with current customers before releasing them to the public to make sure we had a great offer/market fit. This was helpful and made the full rebrand much less of a risk.
- If you make the leap, do it right. No matter why your company is considering a rebrand, it’s important to do it correctly, as you only get one shot at introducing a rebrand. Brand is arguably the most important investment you can make for the long-term strategy of your business, and it can pay the most long-term dividends.
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Richie Burke is the founder of Milwaukee-based Story Mark Studios, which helps companies grow through better storytelling and digital marketing. He is also the host of the "Milwaukee Uncut" podcast. He can be reached at richie@storymarkstudios.com.
