Brightspot’s Incentive History Told by Branding

The Start

Our 1990’s paintbrush logo said, “zing, we’re open and energetic.”  The brush stroke underline conveyed our determination and resolve, and bold colors indicated we were ready to take on anything.

Looking back now… the “1” said this entrepreneurial venture is our start, and #2 is coming!  The word “productions” was intended to convey Hollywood-like magic, but it confused meeting planners who thought of AV production services (rather than meeting planning and incentive programs).  And “inc.” was included to prove we were a big, official corporation.

The company began in 1994, and I jumped in the driver seat as owner and president in 2001 (three months before 9/11, which challenged the rookie leader).  Spear 1 had only three major clients – Nortel Networks (now Avaya), Southwestern Bell (now AT&T), and GTE (now Verizon), and I believed the proven history with these marquee clients gave us credibility to approach new prospects.

 

Bigger & Trustworthy

In 2003, the armillary logo introduced the shortened name, Spear One, which added a double meaning of hitting the target with your marketing program.  The typeface, weight, and serif feet symbolized strength, reliability, and expertise, especially when the logo was reversed over a black background, which was our business card color.  The spear image created a visual hook, and even the typeface serifs looked like spear tips.  And finally, in those times, many brands used a continuous, circular icon (as we did) to signify global services.

In those days, our services, expertise, and three reference clients were all very strong, but we had only nine employees.  We competed with larger performance improvement companies (like Maritz and BI Worldwide), so our logo needed to create confidence, convey strength, erase risk, and make us look larger than we were.

 

Approachable & Vibrant

In 2012, we introduced the pac-man logo.  Truthfully, I hated using the Pac-man description and scolded anyone for saying it internally, but it’s a cute name.  During those days, I asked our team if the armillary logo still symbolized us correctly.  We all thought the logo could use a freshening up.

Our brand goals became:  less corporate & more creative; less black, dark colors & more bright, vibrant colors; less masculine & more female-friendly; more friendliness & approachability; no sharp, pointed spears; and no sharp-edged serif fonts & more soft, curved lines.

The 2012 logo showed our personable, approachable side yet maintained our serious-about-results nature.  The new colors matched our creativity and vibrancy – Tiffany blue aqua, granny smith apple green, and (passionate!) purple.  The lowercase typeface matched our friendliness and flexibility.

Over the life of those logos, we accomplished all our branding goals. We grew to be a leading, national, mid-tier incentive & events agency of 40 employees and 40 clients, but “spear” never had any storytelling or logical explanation that embodied who we are.  It did not explain our strengths or differentiators.

To get in touch with what we wanted to tell the world, we pondered the same discovery questions we ask new clients about their goals, core values, messages, and how they want to shift behaviors.

 

Positive, Creative, Passionate

In 2017, we made our biggest, boldest move – we changed the logo and company name!  A name conveying a better, more accurate story became our aim.  Better storytelling, better context, and no violent spear were goals.

We identified three big ideas about our team:

1. We are people people.  Other firms may be larger, but with size comes a disconnect. When clients call us, they talk to someone they know.  Someone who understands them, someone who has experience with them, and someone who has that next-level idea to encourage growth for them and their company.  Additionally, we understand the impact of inspiring individuals personally in order to move an entire company forward as a whole.
2. We are creative.  Lots of businesses have tried and true products they sell, but forcing people into generic, cookie-cutter solutions isn’t what we’re all about at Brightspot.  We specialize in configuring experiences around the needs of each client individually and doing so with industry-leading creative and design elements to support the organizational and planning solutions beyond the reward experience.
3. We strive to make their programs better and their job easier.  Because we know our clients personally, we know what they need. More importantly, we know what success looks like to them, and we try to be two steps ahead of them in a plan to get them there.  Brightspot strives to build impressive and impactful programs, turning its clients into remarkable and irreplaceable employees. We want to be the “bright spot” for our client contact and make their program a bright spot in their company!

The Brightspot logo illustrates the personable approach, focus on people, and passion for creativity.  Its concentric circles have a dual meaning – targeting inwardly to focus on a client’s audience and business goals, while their creative energy reverberates outwardly.  The coral color scheme adds a lively, friendly vibe while staying modern and professional.

Moving forward with a fresh new look is exciting!  Leave a comment, and let us know what you think!