Rebranding: Hello Fresh Vine

We are changing the name of the company from to Fresh Vine. This is never a decision that companies take lightly, but it became clear that our previous brand name – Nineteen05 – was not helping us. In many ways it was hurting us.

Previous Branding

New Branding

We really like our new brand name. It also works because we could continue to use the same brand identity as before, and only needed to update the wordmark. It almost feels more consistant and on brand now that before.

Developing a New Name

The process took a while. A lot of brain storming, and finding some imagery that will be able to grow and expand with us over time. Plus the name needed to have the various social media accounts open and available.

We realized pretty early on that using a single word would not work. At this point in time the web is developed enough that any standard spelling of words has been bought up, and is used for something. So we opted to focus on two word names (plus this reminds me of the Midwest Skier days).

After considering a few hundred different name combinations we settled on Fresh Vine. Before making this name public we bought a couple domain names, and then sampled the name with advisors, some clients, and friends. The response has been very positive, and so we have gone ahead with the new name!

Realizing we Needed to Rebrand

So what all led to us deciding to rebrand.

1 – Clients not calling the software by name

Spending time with a few of our clients in person we discovered that they referred to our software as “the database.” This was the short hand given to the software within the staff and volunteers using it. When asked why they called it “the database” they said – in various versions – that they couldn’t remember the name.

One of the goals of young companies is to impress the clients you get, and then have them help promote you within their networks. These clients who love our software could not remember the name.

2 – Impossible to compete with a year on web search

For those who go to search for our company after hearing about us have to search through a lot of other content about historical events which took place in 1905. No matter how good our SEO would become, there is no way that we would get on the first page of any search engine.

3 – Many people struggle to remember numbers and years

Our clients called our software 1919 more often than 1905. If you did not know 1919 is a brand of rootbeer. Using a number – and a large number at that – feels like a fight to get people to remember it.

4 – The Metaphor in the name Nineteen05 is lost on our clients

The name nineteen05 is based upon the name of the law laïcité in France. This law legally seperated the Church and State. This created freedom for the church from needing to endorse, support, and agree with the policies/leadership of the state. To me this freedom to discover your own destany, to define your own values, and to step into a future is exciting.

I can confidently say that no-one else understood this. Even when I went to great lengths to share the story. We needed something that is easier to understand, or at least more fun.