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The branding of an HVAC company should reflect its visions, goals, and story. It’s what sets a company apart from their competition — what makes then stand out. So if an HVAC contractor doesn’t feel like their current brand portrays that, or wants to attract new customers, or has just simply outgrown their current brand, then it might be time for a rebranding.

When a contractor finds themselves in that position, during their rebrand they’ll want to partner with a public relations (PR) agency that can guide them through the rebranding journey, have a step-by-step process in place, communicate better with current and future customers, and avoid rebranding for the wrong reasons. They will, of course, also have to adapt to the changes rebranding inevitably brings.

Needing a Rebrand

Ted Puzio, owner and founder of Southern Trust Home Services in Roanoke, Virginia, is an electrician by trade. The first name of his company was T.P. Electric; he then changed it to Southern State Electric. When the company added a plumbing division, the name was changed to Southern State Electric and Plumbing. When it added heating, the name was changed to Southern State Electric, Plumbing, Heating & Air.

“I found what I was doing … for several years, was I was confusing the daylights out of my existing customer base, let alone new customers,” Puzio said.

So much to the point where customers didn’t even know that Puzio’s company offered things like heating and cooling services. So Puzio knew he needed a change.

Thus, the company changed basically everything — its logo, the wraps on its vehicles, and its name, again.

BEFORE: Southern Trust Home Services logo before the rebrand. (Courtesy of Southern Trust Home Services)

AFTER: Southern Trust Home Services logo after the rebrand. (Courtesy of Southern Trust Home Services)

“We went through it all and laid it all out with my business coach, and took a piece of the old name and turned it into a name someone wants to hear: Southern Trust Home Services,” Puzio said.

Meanwhile, in Greenwood Indiana, Peterman Brothers (before its rebrand) was, well, pretty plain. Its vans were white with the previous company name on the side. That is, until April of 2021, when the company rebranded.

“I think the biggest thing was that we knew there was a story behind the brand, but our brand didn't really portray that there was a story,” said Chad Peterman, president and CEO of Peterman Brothers.

So this company, too, changed its name, the wraps on its trucks, its logo, its uniforms, etc.

“The truck is probably the biggest piece that we changed, and I can tell you it's one of the best marketing things we've ever done,” Peterman said. “Everything builds off of that.”

AFTER: The Peterman Brothers’ trucks after the rebrand. (Courtesy of Peterman Brothers)

Rebrand Best Practices

If a company finds itself in the position Peterman and Puzio once did, the first step is to figure out why the rebrand is necessary in the first place.

“If your goal is to better communicate with the right audience, for example, you may need more than the cosmetic changes of a new look,” said Heather Ripley, CEO & founder of Ripley PR.

“You may need to employ a public relations team to help you get your messaging right so that it connects with the potential customers you’re looking to attract.”

That’s what Puzio and Peterman did with their rebrands. They knew why they needed a rebrand, and they then used the skills of skilled professionals to get there. This proved particularly helpful when both companies announced their rebrands.

“What you don’t want to do is make color, logo, or tagline changes without properly communicating why you’re making these changes,” Ripley said. “A press release, a social media audit, and even a deep dive into your competitor’s practices are often overlooked when companies rebrand.”

That’s because rebranding isn’t as simple as just creating a new logo. There has to be a step-by-step process to help make changes customers will respond to.

“That’s why it’s often best to hire public relations and communications experts to help you review everything from your logo and colors to your messaging, and then write out your new brand guidelines so you and your employees will have a map for consistency,” Ripley said. “You wouldn’t hire a shop clerk to fix your plumbing, so why would you tackle taking on a rebranding project without expert advice?”

When it comes to the design of new company logos or truck wraps, Peterman said contractors should hire professionals for that — people who know not only what they are talking about, but what they are doing. In addition, less is more.

“If you look at one of our trucks, it doesn't have pictures of furnaces and weird stuff all over it; it’s very clean, concise — you see it,” Peterman said. “You have to think of it as a billboard.”

Peterman’s other piece of advice: Do it as soon as possible.

“Because having that brand to lean on is critical, as opposed to just having a [company] name,” Peterman said.

Challenges

Rebrands can be both tricky and risky, so contractors have to make sure they are doing it for the right reasons. After that, they have to consider their audience.

“And to do that, you need to properly research your target audience and have a plan to roll out your rebrand,” Ripley said. “Communicating with current customers and potential customers is key to a smooth rebranding.”

Additionally, contractors might personally have a hard time letting go of things about their old brand when introducing a new one. That’s why Puzio said the biggest thing to get over is your own mindset.

Puzio started at ground zero, working out of a Dodge pickup truck. The company was his baby.

“So to go and change what I thought was right, what I built, it was like taking a piece of me and changing it completely,” Puzio said. So he had to get comfortable with why he was doing it.

“If you look at other big corporations like Pepsi or Coke, they all went through rebranding, they went through logo redesigns — everything — and they’ll do that every so many years,” Puzio said. “If you look at that, you'll see that there's a lot to this. For me, it worked that way.”

Obviously with a huge rebrand (when considering, for example, how many trucks might have to be rewrapped), it takes a lot of managing.

“It’s a giant game of musical chairs,” Peterman said. “It was a lot of, ‘Your van is coming in to be rewrapped here, so go jump in this van that's already been rewrapped or that hasn't been touched yet, and then in two days, we'll move you back into your van.’”

(Peterman’s brother spearheaded this particular effort and achieved it in possibly record time: around 250 trucks in six months.)

After Rebrand Success

If a contractor does decide to undergo a rebrand, they can expect things like an increase in demand, web traffic, and inquiries from customers they’ve wanted to attract.

“You should be able to evaluate some key performance indicators (KPIs) associated with your web traffic and calls,” Ripley said. “But there are other ways to measure your success, too. A PR team can help you conduct a survey before and after a brand rollout, for example. Ultimately, of course, the true measure of a successful rebrand is company growth.”

After Southern Trust Services rebranded, the company didn’t have to change its name when it added drain cleaning and sewer replacements. There’s been no more confusion from customers, as they now understand, from the brand, just what the company offers.

Before the rebrand, the branding of Peterman Brothers didn’t tell their story the way they wanted. Now, it does.

“We really lean into the brothers theme, and the family owned, and all of that stuff that I think resonates with people, as opposed to having them assume it’s family-owned because of the ‘Peterman’ name on the truck, and knowing my last name is Peterman,” Peterman said.

And when a company’s brand is strong, it is easily recognized.

“[Customers] can connect the dots, as opposed to running a commercial with no brand equity whatsoever,” Peterman said.

The rebrand, Peterman said, was the best decision the company has ever made.

“If we wouldn't have rebranded, I know that we wouldn’t have grown like we have because we just wouldn't have a story that resonates with people,” Peterman said. “Now with ‘Peterman Brothers,’ me and my brother are the faces of the company; our pictures are on the truck. So it stands out, it’s different, it resonates.”