Last year I wrote a blog “Back-story on Certification Rebranding” to herald the debut of PLANET certification’s new name. Hard to believe we’re in our second year of major rebranding from an alphabet soup of acronyms to a single, marketable banner Landscape Industry Certified.
This new brand name did not happen overnight. After many discussions with hundreds of stakeholders as an outcome of certification strategic planning in 2007 to bring our certifications into compliance with best practices, this new, simple and unmistakable brand was the solution to effectively marketing to the end user and unifying our certifications under one umbrella.
We have a usage guide and certification toolkit to help with the changeover to Landscape Industry Certified. And, thanks to our partner the Canadian Nursery Landscape Association (CNLA), we have an attractive and distinctive logo with Technician and Manager versions, as well as a central site www.landscapeindustrycertified.org.
Marketing has been going strong on the new brand. Associations and certficants are in the transition process as they use the new brand in printed and electronic materials, business cards, letterhead and e-mail signatures. A major makeover can take time to accept and incorporate into our daily lives. Repetition and time should carry it into prominence.
Let’s waste no opportunity to promote our certified status to customers and colleagues. Put the logo on your trucks, your company letterhead and your Web sites. Add it to your brochures, ads, fliers and newsletters. Use your certification toolkit to help you do so. If you’re interviewed by trade or consumer media, don’t forget to mention that you’re Landscape Industry Certified. If you’re making a presentation within your company or at a national convention, talk up certification.
And, let’s not diminish the importance and clarity of the new brand by making it into an acronym out of habit or spacing reasons. While it might be handy – LIC is not an option. There is no acronym available today for Landscape Industry Certified. You can use the old abbreviations after your signature but that’s not really being progressive, and goes back to a confusing alphabet soup of acronyms. We proudly say Landscape Industry Certified so there is no mistaking the broad and powerful distinction that this title implies.
I recommend that you proudly state at every opportunity that you are Landscape Industry Certified and/or that you have employees that are certified. Weave the new brand into every part of your marketing and publishing efforts. If we all do this, Landscape Industry Certified will be well on its way to becoming a household- and industry-recognized name. Not only recognized but requested, and in some cases required.
If you have questions, please contact a member of the PLANET certification team at (800) 395-2522.
