Unit Electric’s Transformation: A Strategic Rebrand for Focused Growth and Industry Leadership

1. The Challenge

The company has grown significantly over the years, particularly as an electrical manufacturing company by providing standard and custom designed electrical solutions to customers located in Canada and around the globe.

It was at this point where Unit Electrical Engineering knew they wanted to refine the industries they serve to allow more focus on mining, oil and gas and commercial entities – particularly those in BC and Alberta where more opportunity existed. They also wanted to concentrate on producing custom solutions and products, manufacturing and field services – with less of an emphasis on engineering and project management.

With this change to the business operations, it also identified the need for an updated brand – both visually and in their messaging – since most potential customers go to the website to learn more about them and their services. Their existing online presence was no longer reflective of who Unit Electric Engineering really was. They also knew they needed the site to more fully support their recruitment efforts as well.

2. The Solution

The strategy and creative team at Blue Meta got to work, diving deep into industry and audience research to get a better understanding of the competitive landscape and the driving forces behind the people and the projects that required the company’s products and services. From there, the team further refined critical components of brand work including the identification of the company’s new mission, vision and values. Core messaging and the company’s UVP (unique value proposition) were identified as were a new category descriptor (“Custom Power Distribution”) and tagline (“Powering Industry”).

As a visual representation of where this new brand was heading, the creative team determined that a clean, modern design with an eye-catching, fresh colour palette would position Unit Electric Engineering as a forward-thinking, progressive company. A name change was also recommended to better illustrate the company’s offerings as it was felt the current name was limiting in its potential, especially in light of the intended shift in business focus. Taking into account the brand equity and recognition that already existed, the name was shortened to Unit Electric.

With the name change, it was imperative that a new logo be created to fully capture not only the new brand but also to indicate the new direction the company was taking in terms of business focus and industries served. The result was a clean, modern logo resembling a power button, synonymous with the concept of applying electrical power. The design team incorporated an arrow to speak to solutions and timely service. The chosen typeface is simple and clean, using a customized N, which mirrors the U.

3. The Result

Upon the completion of the brand, naming and logo strategies, the next phase of work was to begin the task of rebranding internal and external marketing materials. An upcoming tradeshow hastened the need for some of these assets, including brochures, a popup and apparel. To help manage the flow of work, assets and existing materials were divided into various phases depending on their level of importance to the team and what due date they would be needed by. Additional work has included a trade show booth, additional brochures, line card, business cards, presentation deck, brand guidelines and landing page.