There comes a time when an organization has to evaluate whether their brand is still relevant to what the company is doing. For Webster Enterprises, that decision came in late 2019.
When we were first formed in 1976, the name was Webster Enterprises of Jackson County. The name was appropriate because the organization was primarily focused on operations within the area.
As our service area changed, the name was changed to simply Webster Enterprises. Over the years however, our program services and manufacturing product lines have changed tremendously, yet the brand remained mostly the same.
Time to Change
In 2019, after much discussion our Board of Directors voted unanimously to officially change the name and branding to something that reflects the organization’s present-day operation of serving people with disabilities while operating a medical device manufacturing facility that supports those programs.
Hiring a Professional
We organized a management team to take charge of the rebranding effort. Next we hired Cathy Busick of Insight Marketing, a professional marketing and branding firm in our area. Cathy led the team through a series of meetings to focus on identifying key functions of our organization and which ones to communicate through our new name and tagline.
A Name is Born
The team was presented with the name WestBridge Vocational to immediately position us as an organization that does vocational rehabilitation. WestBridge was born from the reality that through our program services, we ‘bridge’ the gap that people with disabilities and/or disadvantages face when seeking gainful employment. And, since we are located in Western NC, the word ‘west’ was added to help position us geographically.
Tagline Sums it Up
The team then developed a tagline to be used with our logo to summarize our mission of “Connecting People to Opportunity” through skills training in the classroom and real experience in our manufacturing facility.
Rebranding Throughout
Once we had the new name, logo and tagline, Insight Marketing went about developing a new website with more functionality such as a Giving page for individuals and companies to donate support for our programs. Insight also rolled-out the branding with a newly designed Facebook page, informative brochure, letterhead and corporate apparel.
“We are a small non-profit with big ideas about marketing and branding. When we were looking for help, we stopped at Insight Marketing. Cathy Busick and her team developed a rebranding plan that will allow us to be competitive locally and globally. And, the rebranding efforts will bring more attention to our mission and allow us to expand our services. Working with Insight Marketing has helped us to hydrate our business and our mission.” – Joe Rigdon, CEO
Our staff is excited to be part of the WestBridge Vocational branding process. We even painted the outside of our headquarters in colors that coordinate with our new image!
