CAN A BRANDING SHIFT HELP A REAL ESTATE FIRM DURING A DOWNTURN?

Last week, 53% of respondents to GlobeSt.com's Quick Poll said a branding shift would not help a real estate firm during a downturn. 47% indicated that it would help. Ken Morris, CEO and president of Morris Southeast Group/CORFAC International, is familiar with the effects of a brand shift, as his own company underwent changes years ago. He speaks about the benefits of such a shift below:

"I'm a big believer in branding in general. I follow marketing trends, and I think in a competitive or down market when you present yourself in a newer, cleaner way or change affiliations, that's a news worthy event for an organization. Provided that the service platform can be improved by that branding shift, it could have the affect of providing a jolt or boost to the mission statement of an organization.

"This downturn is the time that separates the men from the boys. This is my third downturn, and my business has always grown during downturns. I've been affiliated with CORFAC International for about seven years, and I adopted their branding about four years ago. I still keep my company logo. Ten years ago I adopted a new branding, changed the company name and came up with a new logo and identity package. Both changes made a big difference in recognition and brand awareness. It also helped us to clean up our mission statement and figure out who we were and where we wanted to be.