16 years of success: Ernest & Liquid Agency
What’s next for a national industrial commodities company after surpassing its 10-year strategic plan and vision?
Business longevity isn’t just about survival; it’s about growth, vision, and transformation. When Ernest partnered with Liquid Agency for a rebrand in 2007, the result was more than just a visual overhaul; it was a strategic evolution that propelled them into a new era of growth and innovation. Fast forward to 2023—both Ernest and Liquid Agency had evolved, and Ernest once again chose us as their strategic consulting partner to craft a plan for a brand refresh and activate both internal and external.
A bold initial investment
In 2007, after over 60 years in business, Ernest Paper Company needed a cohesive identity that would unify its eight divisional brands and drive growth. After an introduction to Liquid Agency at a Young Presidents Organization event on building brands, they decided to take the leap with us to invest in their first company rebrand. This initial brand work included renaming the company to Ernest Packaging Solutions to more accurately depict what they did, a brand architecture to strategically integrate the divisional brands still using legacy brand names, and a tailored visual design system to bring the brand to life.
The decision to invest in their brand provided a foundation that solidified Ernest as a forward-thinking leader in a traditional industry. If you’re selling industrial commodity products that can be delivered anywhere in the world, you’re constantly under price pressure. Public companies and large private companies are expected to produce high margins, which often means taking money out of internal business functions and assets, leaving little room to invest in the brand.
However, a strong brand can achieve an extra level of trust and help industrial commodity companies win when all else (prices and products) are relatively equal. For example, Grainger is a large industrial commodities brand also born out of the industrial revolution. Grainger representatives are highly regarded in client facilities. When they have their Grainger polos on, they’re shown respect and quickly given the same permission as employees to walk through a site. This kind of “halo effect” of the brand ultimately helps them do a great job. Not to mention the ways a strong brand helps hire and retain great employees in the industry, giving way to great customer experiences with these employees—a rippling effect.
Ernest invested in a bold approach with Liquid Agency—standing out as an industrial commodity brand that speaks to people, not just equipment and commodity products. That unique strategy has stood the test of time, helping them exceed their growth goals and evolve for their clients’ diverse needs.
The time for a refresh had come
Since the 2007 rebrand, Ernest has grown 300% from 150 to almost 600 employees, or “E-Teamers” as they are playfully called around the company. On top of that, their operations have expanded 56% from 9 to 14 divisions. In fact, Ernest’s business is up 165% since the initial rebrand, which is a true testament to the power of strategic branding.
Liquid CEO, Scott Gardner states “At Liquid we take pride not only in building brands but businesses as well. It is very rare to have the opportunity to rebrand a company that you had already rebranded over 16 years ago. The journey has been amazing and the business outcomes for Ernest give us great pride as their lead agency and trusted partner.”
In the midst of this growth, Ernest has become more solutions-driven with design specialties and a host of value-added services. While they still offer commodities like boxes and tape, today they function more like design consultants to solve business challenges, bring products to market, and boost the bottom line. The packaging solutions brand has served them well for over a decade, but in truth, they’re much more than just packaging. Liquid helped Ernest bring this fact to life with the Cardboard Chaos campaign. It gained national press for showcasing how Ernest can design products thought impossible out of paper, including a skateboard ridden by Tony Hawk at his Vista, California Birdhouse office halfpipe. The Cardboard Chaos campaign simply shows off how innovative Ernest can be designing custom solutions for their clients. Many of their clients noted that after seeing Cardboard Chaos Fender Guitar or other popular series titles it motivated them to work with a packaging partner that was so innovative and doing something no other packaging company is doing.
They celebrated their 75th anniversary with a bang and and their annual leadership planning meeting was the perfect time to reflect on what “beyond packaging” meant for the future. The existing 10-year plan revealed that Ernest had done it all, with the goals not only met, but exceeded. As a response, Liquid Agency co-created a new 10-year Dream with the Executive Team to “anticipate customer needs before they do,” which relied on five key pillars to drive decision-making and actions. The Dream set the stage for a brand refresh—a reimagining of Ernest’s identity in alignment with its new aspirations.
A partnership for the future
As Ernest evolved over the past 16 years, so did Liquid Agency. What started as a brand design and strategy partnership has expanded to include brand experience, employee experience, customer experience and campaigns. As our brand services broadened, we also expanded our role as a partner at every touchpoint where clients, employees, prospects and other stakeholders interact with the Ernest brand.
With this evolution in mind, Ernest once again put their trust in Liquid Agency for a brand transformation. Tim Wilson states, “Based on our unbelievable growth not only as a company but as a brand to be reckoned with in the supply chain industrial marketplace, it was a no-brainer to continue to partner with Liquid on our next decade vision and rebrand. They are truly amazing!”
Stay tuned as we dive into the specifics of Ernest’s new brand strategy and brand identity development in Article 2 of a 4-part series about the Ernest brand refresh and launch.
