New book by the KickCharge® Creative president and leading authority on disruptive marketing for service businesses provides invaluable blueprint for driving growth with branding Dan Antonelli, creative director and president of KickCharge® Creative and a pioneer in disruptive branding for the home service industry, shares critical insights that help small service business owners grow in his new Read more
KickCharge Creative
New book by the KickCharge® Creative president and leading authority on disruptive marketing for service businesses provides invaluable blueprint for driving growth with branding
Dan Antonelli, creative director and president of KickCharge® Creative and a pioneer in disruptive branding for the home service industry, shares critical insights that help small service business owners grow in his new best-selling book, “Branded Not Blanded: KickCharge™ Your Home Service Brand.”
Antonelli has created more than 2,000 brand designs in his career, establishing him as the leading authority on successful branding for service companies. “Branded Not Blanded,” available now for pre-order on the Amazon website, leverages his experience to offer business owners a blueprint for creating a killer home service brand.
“This book is the ultimate guide to creative branding that helps businesses stand out from the competition, attract the right clients and employees, and win the hearts and minds of their ideal customers,” Antonelli said. “Complacency and weak branding — or ‘blanding’ — hold back so many home service companies. But recognizing weak branding is an opportunity to change the direction of your company and improve your culture. There are many weak brands in the service industry, and it’s easy to leverage that for your own success. All you have to do is build a better brand.”
With real case studies and success stories as well as actionable insights for home service business owners, “Branded Not Blanded” is a valuable resource for small service business owners. Antonelli presents his comprehensive knowledge in accessible language and easily digestible chapters that readers can apply to their own business.
In the book, Antonelli guides readers through essential topics such as:
- Brand Basics: The basics of what branding means for home service companies, and how it’s relevant to their success.
- What Is Brand Disruption?: When it comes to branding, disruption means looking at what everyone else is doing and finding a way to be unique and different.
- Branding and the Home Consumer: Your branding needs to speak to skeptical consumers and make potential customers feel something positive about your company.
- Leveraging Your Brand to Win on the Streets: Your vehicles are perhaps the single most important part of your brand efforts — and one of the most cost-effective.
- Launching Your New Brand: Introducing your new brand to the world effectively requires careful planning and implementation.
“Many owners of home service businesses say they can’t afford to invest in branding, but the truth is they can’t afford not to,” Antonelli said. “Companies with effective brands spend less on marketing than complacent, bland brands. It takes less work to get people excited about a company with a compelling, brand story and a strong, memorable visual brand identity. With this book, business owners can learn what branding truly is, why it matters in our industry, and how they can successfully implement a dynamic brand strategy that will drive revenue, support a positive workplace culture and power growth.”
To pre-order Dan Antonelli’s “Branded Not Blanded,” visit https://www.amazon.com/Branded-Not-Blanded-KickChargeTM-Service-ebook/dp/B0BBL1CCJ9.
For more information about KickCharge® Creative, visit https://www.kickcharge.com.
When Dana Spears assumed full ownership of Cornerstone Pros in 2009, it was a very different company than it is today. She credits much of her Tampa Bay, FL business’ increased success to her relationship with KickCharge Creative, a New Jersey-based marketing agency that serves small businesses across the country. The partnership began in 2013 Read more
When Dana Spears assumed full ownership of Cornerstone Pros in 2009, it was a very different company than it is today. She credits much of her Tampa Bay, FL business’ increased success to her relationship with KickCharge Creative, a New Jersey-based marketing agency that serves small businesses across the country.
The partnership began in 2013 when Cornerstone sought KickCharge’s expertise to rebrand the heating and cooling company. As the company expanded its services to include plumbing and electrical, its name changed from Cornerstone Air to Cornerstone Pros. The team at KickCharge created a dapper, friendly retro technician mascot to communicate Cornerstone’s differentiator—old-fashioned quality service in today’s fast-paced world. KickCharge Creative wove the retro brand into all of Cornerstone’s marketing efforts, including its service vehicles, initial brand announcement, brochures, blogs, print ads, billboards and stationery.
Cornerstone Pros had five service vehicles when its rebranded fleet first hit the streets in 2014. But Spears said the visibility and power of the new brand made customers feel like there were many more vehicles out there. Today, Cornerstone has roughly 56 vehicles in its fleet. Spears said the increased visibility has helped with employee recruitment efforts, too.
During the eight years since this partnership began, the new brand continues to pay dividends, including a 300% boost in revenue. Spears said annual revenue was $3 million before the rebrand and it jumped quickly to $5 million within the first year after introducing the retro brand and new services.
Since 2016, KickCharge has been managing Cornerstone’s highly successful digital marketing campaigns, which include search engine optimization, email marketing and pay-per-click advertising. KickCharge also launched a retro-themed, custom-designed website for this brand.
THE STATS:
- 300% growth in annual revenue since rebrand\
- Increase from 5 to 35 service vehicles
Spears’ goal is slow-based growth. As of 2020, the company had more than $12 million in annual revenue and roughly 78 employees. Cornerstone has nearly 2,000 reviews on Google with a 4.8/5 average rating. Its closing ratio is 87 percent even when the team has too much work to tackle same-day appointments.
For Cornerstone, newspaper ads were once a primary driver of leads and Spears relied heavily on print, billboards and home-based advertising as well as some radio spots. These days, digital marketing is the dominant force. Google is the leading source of call volume (80 percent of leads), followed by repeat and referral customers.
“I am now dominating online so I don’t need to spend as much in other marketing areas,” she said.
Digital marketing campaigns offer more control over lead volume because they can be targeted specifically and adjusted instantly based on demand and seasonality. Those are factors Spears likes. It’s also easier to track these campaigns and to evaluate results.
“Although I was reluctant to turn my marketing over to an agency,” Spears said. “I’m glad that I did.”
Small-business branding specialists select award-winning home services public relations agency to deliver PR experience and expertise. Knoxville, Tenn. — KickCharge Creative, an award-winning branding agency specializing in small business marketing for contractors, has selected Ripley PR, the leading global public relations experts for home services, skilled trades and B2B, as its agency of record. New Jersey-based KickCharge Read more
Small-business branding specialists select award-winning home services public relations agency to deliver PR experience and expertise.
Knoxville, Tenn. — KickCharge Creative, an award-winning branding agency specializing in small business marketing for contractors, has selected Ripley PR, the leading global public relations experts for home services, skilled trades and B2B, as its agency of record.
New Jersey-based KickCharge Creative has set the standard for small business marketing for more than 25 years. The company offers a full suite of services, including branding, logo development, truck wrap design, website design and development, social media and copywriting, to deliver measureable results for startups and small- and mid-sized businesses.
“Ripley PR and KickCharge share a passion for helping contractors and other entrepreneurs in the skilled trades, so we know this is going to be an incredibly productive relationship,” said Dan Antonelli, president of KickCharge. “When the best of the industry team up like this, they push each other to perform at a new level. The ultimate benefit goes to our clients, who see new opportunities for success as a result of that synergy.”
Ripley PR was founded in 2013 with a focus on home services, skilled trades and B2B technology public relations. Ripley PR offers strategic communications services that help clients build brand awareness, establish positive reputations and drive increased leads and sales. Ripley PR was named to Forbes’ list of America’s Best PR Agencies for 2021 and has been named to Entrepreneur Magazine’s list of the Top Franchise Suppliers four years in a row.
“KickCharge is truly committed to helping small businesses by providing world-class branding services,” said Heather Ripley, CEO and founder of Ripley PR. “They create powerful brands that make a critical difference for entrepreneurs in the industries we serve. We’re eager to cement KickCharge’s position at the top of our industry in 2021.”