Branding Overhaul: A Q&A with Robert Granoff

Robert Granoff, an architectural photographer based just outside of New York City, came to me last summer wanting to step up his branding to attract more prestigious clientele. Robert has a high level of technical proficiency and works with some of the top interior designers and luxury real estate developers in Manhattan. After a review of his marketing materials, we decided to do a Branding Overhaul by creating new web gallery edits, a custom website, and a fresh bio.

For the last decade, Robert branded himself as a luxury architecture photographer but felt somewhat limited by his presentation. Our plan was to diversify his online portfolio to showcase a variety of the spaces: both commercial and residential properties he’s had the pleasure of photographing. We also decided that we should create a new bio for Robert’s “about” page to provide background on creative process and unique technical experience.

Additionally, Robert’s website was built with Flash and he fell in love with the layout and functionality, but with modern web browsers making it increasingly difficult to view Flash content, it was time to switch to a modern website template. We usually recommend Squarespace or Photofolio, but neither of their templates could mimic the layout and navigation of his existing site. Luckily, our graphic designer Lyndsey Matoushek frequently works with Wix and with its customizable templates and user-friendly back end, it was a great fit for Robert’s Web Template Customization.

After many hours of exploring graphic design options, we were finally able to debut Robert’s fresh edit on his newly created Wix site, including his updated bio and even a new headshot!

We were lucky to sit down with Robert and pick his brain a little on what it was like to work on an extensive branding overhaul like this with the Wonderful Machine creative team.

Q: Why did you come to Wonderful Machine for assistance with branding?

My first experience working with Wonderful Machine was for proposals and contracts and soon after I became aware of their marketing department. I had a beautiful custom website built that was only four years old but the technology had become obsolete to the point that the site would no longer load. I was very attached to the old site’s design and I wanted to keep many of its design elements and feel. The first order of business was to speak with Erika Blatt who was my awesome project manager. She presented many thought nuggets for me to chew on and helped direct us with a lengthy questionnaire. I’m very particular and Erika was very skillful in addressing all of my needs and concerns while guiding me through alternative suggestions, which turned out to be necessary and more appropriate for my rebranding.

Q: Was this your first time working with branding and marketing consultants? What did you think of the process?

I wish I had done it sooner! I’m a one-man show and with so much to do from pre-production to shooting, retouching, bookkeeping, marketing, etc., it would be nice to have a dedicated team for branding. Erika was truly a delight to work with. I recognized her professionalism from our first phone call. She expertly summed up my needs and effortlessly moved us along to our stated goal. The icing on the cake with Erika was her literary skills when it came time to editing my bio. We went back and forth for several edits and she helped chisel it to perfection.

Erika, plus the team of photo editors and Lyndsey, the designer who re-did my site, really listened to my concerns for this new website. I was very reluctant to change the look that I had previously but after seeing her first presentation, I realized that rebranding meant I would have to let go of the look I had. Lyndsey was very good at keeping some of the old design and aesthetic elements while making fresh updates and she did all this by finding and customizing the most appropriate web template for my needs. We had several edits and Lyndsey addressed them all until I was completely satisfied.

Q: Did you view your work differently after working with our consultants?

Yes. I realized that I was overlooking some projects that I should have included. I also realized that even though some images stand great on their own, they might not make sense in the greater context of a whole body of work.

Q: Did you find yourself surprised by any of their advice, feedback, or how they positioned your work?

I am mainly an interior shooter but occasionally I’ve had the opportunity to shoot people in spaces. I was advised not to include this work at this time because there is not enough of it. I also shoot a lot of aerial photography but I was advised to keep this work separate from my architecture and interior work.

Robert’s rebrand was concluded in Fall of 2017. For the last several months, he’s been focused on reconnecting with past clients and building a new list of prospective clients to market his new bodies of work. Robert and I have recently reconnected to begin creating an emailer template to market to the masses and will embark on a marketing implementation plan together this Spring. Stay tuned for more of the work we do with Robert!

To embark on your own branding journey with us, please send us an email, and let’s create together!