- Coldwell Banker is changing its logo after nearly 40 years, and adopting a fresh mission.
- The brand will incorporate input from the network in the process of the rebrand, dubbed “Project North Star.”
Coldwell Banker Real Estate is embarking on a major rebrand, entitled “Project North Star,” and enlisting its network to shape the transformation.
“We wanted every single one of our agents to be on this journey with us, so we decided to take the unconventional—but crucial—step of making this a transparent rebrand,” says Charlie Young, CEO and president of Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC. “Agents and brokers deserve to understand the upcoming changes, and to leverage those changes in a way that makes the most sense for their business.”
The announcement was made at the brokerage’s convention, the Generation Blue Experience, on Monday, where the company debuted a fresh logo, which combines the “C” and B” intersection with a star—evocative of its 113-year history, reliability and steadfast vision, now all the more critical in an evolving industry. The beloved blue coloring, Pantone 280, remains the same.
“This rebrand isn’t about change just for the sake of change,” says David Marine, chief marketing officer at Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC. “We wanted a logo that truly captured the essence and power of our network. That’s why we chose the CB North Star. As a brand, we envision our agents and brokers as our guides—as our North Star.”
The brokerage’s box logo has been an industry mainstay for nearly 40 years—but in the era of digital media, the box configuration was limiting, Marine says.
“Creating an icon that can play well in digital, mobile and social environments was key,” explains Marine. “Our brand is something that’s worn by 92,000 people across the globe, so it needs to be an image of who our people are, because our brand story is told every single day not just in our messaging, but through our people.”
In a consumer survey, 80 percent found the logo more “innovative” than the previous one, which was deemed “out-of-date” by participants.
As part of Project North Star, Coldwell Banker is also altering its mission, now “We empower our people to leave their mark on the world of real estate.” In a practitioner survey, comprised of 1,000 Coldwell Banker affiliates and 600 affiliates of competitors, the change had an 80 percent satisfaction score.
Additionally, the company is reaffirming its values: home, awesomeness, ingenuity and excellence, all of which garnered 86-97 percent scores.
“This is us having a laser focus on who we truly are and how we resonate with today’s agents, and expresses the Coldwell Banker brand story history, as well as our view of the future,” Marine says. “It doesn’t matter if you’re an agent leaving your mark on your own entrepreneurial business, or a broker leaving your mark on the community or a buyer or seller leaving your mark on finding that place to call home—our mission is to leave our mark, and empower our people to leave their mark, in the world of real estate.”
From now through September, the rebrand will be tested, with agents and brokers involved throughout the process and in real-world scenarios, such as on for-sale signs. The changes will be fully launched in 2020, with a multi-year roll-out scheduled. There will also be a “major consumer push,” according to Marine, in the fourth quarter of 2019 and into 2020.
According to Young, involving the network was paramount not only to develop the final product, but also to allow time to transition.
“With something as far-reaching as a rebrand, we know that the right thing to do is give our network as much notice as possible and include them in the process,” Young says. “That’s why we’ve designed this with an open, transparent structure.”
“Because of the size and scale of the footprint of the Coldwell Banker network, it only makes sense to allow them to have that opportunity to have a voice in the process,” Marine says.
Coldwell Banker collaborated with longtime partner Siltanen & Partners on the rebrand.
Suzanne De Vita is RISMedia’s online news editor. Email her your real estate news ideas at sdevita@rismedia.com.
