Georgia Based HVAC Company Uses 30th Anniversary to Introduce New "Retro" Logo and Branding

By Dan Antonelli / President & Creative Director, NJ Advertising Agency Graphic D-Signs, Inc. 

An Established Heating and Air Contractor gets a facelift - and a new mascot.

For over three decades, Harrell King has been providing excellent HVAC services to clients in Bainbridge, GA. Their tagline, Service Fit for a King, suited their corporate philosophy of providing excellent customer service to their clients. As they approached their 30th anniversary, it became clear that their current logo and identity did not represent their philosophy and unique brand promise.

Analyzing the company's previous marketing efforts, we decided to develop the new brand around a retro character—which would reinforce their tagline and corporate philosophy. After several concept sketches, we settled on a character that exudes confidence, is memorable, and has a tie-in to their name. Once the brand development was completed, we began implementing it within other media, including truck wraps, uniforms, and stationery.

Finally, we embarked on a website redesign to capture the retro feeling the brand evokes. For this task, it was important that the new brand be heavily integrated so the site would stand out among the company's many "cookie-cutter" competitors. The result was a stunning online presence that not only only captures their brand's personality and promise—but instills confidence in their clients' minds about their commitment to service excellence.

What the client says:

I just wanted to drop you a line to share how excited we are about our new brand! Working with you and the team at Graphic D-Signs has been such a breath of fresh air. This is our third rebrand and I can tell you from past experience, you and the team made the process SO easy... thank you! We were able to meet our deadline and roll out the new brand at the first of the year. Our goal to “shock” our communities all at once with the new vehicle wraps, uniforms, billboards, website, and point of sale material was a HUGE success…we are the talk of the town!

We believe our new image is head and shoulders above anything our competitors have to offer, and more importantly, distinguishes us at the professionals of choice to the communities we serve. We look forward to developing our relationship with you as we begin work on our retail pricing guide and consumer brochure. Keep up doing what you do…it’s awesome!

You Guys Rock!

Mike Albritton
Director of Marketing & Sales

Retro HVAC Logo design and branding for Harrell King Heating and Air

Website design incorporates the retro logo and branding for Harrell King Heating and Air

Harrell King Heating and Air billboard design featuring retro mascot design

Retro logo and branding for Harrell King Heating and Air makes this HVAC company King of the Road

Retro themed stationery design and printing is a big part of this HVAC marketing success

Retro HVAC logo design and branding for Harrell King Heating and Air even made it to their t-shirt design

 
Graphic D-Signs, Inc - The Small Business Advertising Agency is a New Jersey based advertising agency serving the marketing needs of small businesses, including HVAC companies, with logo and branding creation, web design and online marketing, print design and collateral development and traditional advertising and consultation services for HVAC contractors and others.

Salt Lake HVAC Company Turns to Retro Themed Design to Advertise Traditional Customer Service Values

By Dan Antonelli / President & Creative Director, NJ Advertising Agency Graphic D-Signs, Inc. 

Creating an HVAC Brand that Transcends Mainstream Competition

Retro logo and brand design for Utah based HVAC Company, Main Street Heating and Cooling

Main Street Heating & Cooling was founded on over a decade of HVAC experience and believes “great service” is a given: something customers should insist upon, and something they are honored to provide. In an effort to continually bring their customers the best in HVAC quality, they reached out to us for our brand and marketing expertise.

Since service is a lost art nowadays, it was refreshing to see this Salt Lake HVAC company go the extra mile for their customers. We wanted to do the same for them. Based on their traditional values and old-fashioned customer service approach, we designed a retro-themed brand that reinforced this unique service philosophy.

We then integrated the new brand identity onto their stationery, vehicle wraps, collateral and website to help tell the whole story of Main Street Heating & Cooling. The end result: a strong brand and marketing tools that are crushing the Salt Lake market!

What the client says:

I am a start-up company, and like most people who are willing to start a business, we feel like we know everything. I know that brand recognition is critical to success and after seeing what Dan and his team had done for other company logos and websites I knew I had to use his firm.

I work in an industry that is relies on heavy marketing and strong customer awareness. If you don't stand out, you do not succeed. I needed to have a logo and a website designed, and while Graphic D-Signs was not the cheapest company out there—I knew I had to suck it up and do what we all know. “You get what you pay for,” kept going through my mind. Money is always tight in a start-up; every dollar is so critically precious that it is hard to part with. To make a long story short, I have the best website in my market, my vans stand out better than anyone else, my logo gets burned into people's minds, and customers are happy to see us.

We are storming this market and it all hinged on what Graphic D-Signs has done for us (and continues to do). Sure, we work hard and do what we say we are going to do, but without being noticed in the market we wouldn't even have a chance. I cannot say how happy I am with our website and our logo. It is simply awesome! Thanks, Graphic D-Signs! - Doug Sheneman, President

Main Street Heating and Cooling Retro themed web site design, copywriting and SEO

Retro HVAC logo design and branding for a 12-page brochure design, layout, copywriting and printing

More HVAC brochure details with retro and vintage design

More HVAC brochure details with retro and vintage design

More HVAC brochure details with retro and vintage design

Service agreement brochure design, layout, copywriting and printing for Main Street Heating and Cooling HVAC company

Fleet advertising and wrap design with retro Main Street Heating and Cooling logo and branding is a huge part of this HVAC marketing success story

Retro HVAC branding down to the stationery design and printing for Main Street Heating and Cooling

Graphic D-Signs, Inc - The Small Business Advertising Agency is a New Jersey based advertising agency serving the marketing needs of small businesses, including HVAC companies, with logo and branding creation, web design and online marketing, print design and collateral development and traditional advertising and consultation services for HVAC contractors and others.

Retro and Vintage Themed Advertising for a Heating and Air Company (HVAC)

By Dan Antonelli / President & Creative Director, NJ Advertising Agency Graphic D-Signs, Inc. 

Creating a nostalgic brand that lives up to this HVAC company's promise of old-school professionalism.

A new brand breathes new life - and a 65% increase in sales.

Here's the new vintage and retro themed branding for
Timo's Air Conditioning and Heating

When Palm Spring, CA-based Timo's Heating & Air Conditioning decided to elevate their business image, they knew we'd be the perfect match to take an already reputable brand to even greater heights. Having built their family-owned business on unparalleled customer support, fair pricing and craftsmanship, it was time to partner with a marketing firm to help them grow their business even further.

After discussing the direction and focus for their branding, we decided to highlight their history with a retro-themed brand that communicated the quality service that's often missing from today's service companies. Following extensive research, we hand-drew the new Timo's icon, as well as the typography--to reflect a design style indicative of the mid 50s.

Playing off the branding, we developed the company's stationery, along with their most important branding asset: their vehicles. A unique design was created for their service vehicles, which has proven to be a source of renewed brand recognition and quality leads.

Next was the HVAC web site design, which really carries the retro theme. We like to think that, if the internet been around in the 1950s, this is what web sites would look like. A very aggressive search engine marketing strategy was built into the site, and it serves as great generator of firm leads, as well.

In June, 2012, the truck wrap and vehicle advertising we designed was awarded first place in HVACR Magazine Tops in Trucks Contest. Their truck was also featured on the front cover of SignCraft Magazine. Timo's was also recently interviewed in the September 2012 Issue of HVACR Magazine. You can read their interview (and the nice things they had to say about us!) by clicking here.

What the client says:

"When we first stumbled upon Graphic D-Signs one year ago, we never could have imagined how influential this company would be to our business. What started as simply needing a website turned into the complete reinvention of our company's image and appeal.

Dan and his team took our original logo and modernized it... recreating it in a jaw-dropping way that demands attention from whoever sees it. Dan later applied the new logo to our vehicle advertising and created a stunning design that has received praise and admiration from not just our customers, but our competition as well. Our technicians get stopped on a daily basis and are asked for business cards simply because people see our vehicles on the road.

Last, but certainly not least, Dan and his team created our website. Words cannot express how impressed we are with the design and development of the entire project. We gave Graphic D-Signs complete freedom to design the site however they wished, and they surpassed our every expectation. Positive feedback has been pouring in since the day our website went live.

The most important thing Dan and his staff have done is breathe new life into our 20-year-old business, and helped us grow the business by over 60% in the last three years. Walking into the office every morning is an entirely new experience since our brand has been created. Because of that, we offer our sincerest thank you to Dan and all of the staff at Graphic D-Signs. You guys are awesome." - Joe Timo, President, Timo's Air Conditioning & Heating

Retro web site design, copywriting and HVAC marketing success using search engine optimization

Timo's award-winning air conditioning and heating vehicle advertising - featured on front cover of SignCraft Magazine

Timo's Air Conditioning and Heating have success with their retro and vintage themed stationery design and printing

Collateral and brochure design, copywriting and printing for capabilities brochure, just another example how retro logo design and branding works for Timo's Air Conditioning and Heating

 More details of Timo's Air Conditioning and Heating retro HVAC logo design and branding at work

Collateral and brochure design, copywriting and printing for service agreement brochure highlight Timo's Air Conditioning and Heating retro HVAC logo design and branding

Door hangers with Timo's Air Conditioning and Heating retro HVAC design and printing

Billboard design, layout and copywriting with Timo's Air Conditioning and Heating retro HVAC logo and vintage branding

Vintage and Retro HVAC logo design brings Timo's Air Conditioning and Heating billboard to life

Timo's Air Conditioning and Heating HVAC truck wrap design is an Award-winning vehicle- 1st Place, HVACR Business Magazine Top in Trucks Contest

Graphic D-Signs, Inc - The Small Business Advertising Agency is a New Jersey based advertising agency serving the marketing needs of small businesses, including HVAC companies, with logo and branding creation, web design and online marketing, print design and collateral development and traditional advertising and consultation services for HVAC contractors and others.

Top 5 Tips On Getting the Most from Your HVAC Truck Wrap

By Dan Antonelli / President & Creative Director, NJ Advertising Agency Graphic D-Signs, Inc.

Looking for the best ROI on your HVAC truck wraps?
Here's a few tips to get the best HVAC truck wrap for your business.

When viewing most HVAC truck wraps on the road today, you’d think the concept of designing a simple, easy-to-read message was difficult to understand for most companies designing HVAC truck wraps. This is unfortunate, as HVAC truck wraps are not cheap, and when done correctly, can generate substantial leads for service businesses, especially heating and air contractors. When done incorrectly, they represent a missed opportunity, wasted cash and a poor ROI.

Rule #1: Start with A Great Brand

So many HVAC truck wraps fail from a marketing perspective because the company has a poor brand identity and logo. The brand should always be the primary message for a vehicle wrap, unless you have national brand recognition. By starting with a poor brand means you’ve failed before you’ve begun: by wasting money on a wrap and missing a huge marketing opportunity. Carefully examine your current brand and ask yourself if it represents who you are as a company, and more importantly, the perception it garners. If it's dated, illegible from a distance, uses clip art, or is just simply not memorable or unique, it may be time for change. Here's where you want to stand out, not fit in like every other HVAC contractor with snowflakes and flames in their logos.

Rule #2: Don’t Use Photos

If you're using photos on your HVAC truck wrap, you're probably doing yourself, and your brand a disservice.  There are few effective wraps that use photos, and I’d argue that any wrap that uses a photo could have been more effectively done without one provided the company had a good brand (see Rule #1). A photo is not a brand identity; it doesn’t connect me with the business name. Maybe it connects me with what the company does, but if doesn't connect me with who the company is.

Rule #3: Limit Your Advertising Copy

I know your HVAC truck looks like a big canvas. That doesn't mean we need to fill it with a grocery list of every HVAC service under the sun. There’s only 3 or 4 things a good wrap needs: strong brand implementation, and perhaps tagline messaging, a web address, and maybe a phone number. Bullet lists, which look more like shopping lists, have no place on a vehicle. This isn’t the yellow pages. Would you rather list 10 things and have none remembered, or convey one to two memorable takeaways? If this truck were a billboard, how much copy would be on it? Billboards have the exact same challenges as vehicle advertising. If you prioritize your copy, it will be more effective. In general, the hierarchy should always be: BRAND, TAGLINE, WEB and/or PHONE NUMBER.

Rule #4: Design to Stand Out, Not Fit In

This isn’t the part where many might say diamond plate, carbon fiber, tribal flames will make your HVAC truck wrap stand out. Or the picture of the owner and his family flanking a condensor unity. Quite the contrary. By eliminating all those fills, noisy backgrounds, photos, bevels, and glows, you’ll be well on your way to designing a wrap which actually stands out. The wrap market is littered with visual noise. When we see something with impact -- something that we can actually read and remember -- it can't help but stand out among the visual clutter.  Start with the basics and if you keep needing to add things to the design to make it 'better', it's probably not good to begin with. 

Rule #5: Simple and Obvious is Good

If the viewer needs to work too hard to figure out the primary brand messaging, it’s an opportunity lost. The medium isn’t the same as print design, where the viewer can stop, absorb the advertising and try and understand the message. Consider that one, primary takeaway you’re hoping to leave with the viewer. What is it? And does the wrap effectively communicate it? Is it lost in the imagery? Distance legibility is, of course, a primary concern. You have very limited time to capture the viewer’s attention and have your brand and message be understood and remembered.

Fleet wrap design for HVAC company in San Antonio, Texas.

Retro themed HVAC truck wrap example.

Truck branding for a HVAC company in South Carolina. Note how the brand identity is effectively integrated into the HVAC truck wrap.

Retro themed truck wrap example for plumbing, heating and air company near Chicago.

Truck wrap example showing effective brand integration for a heating and air contractor in Fayeteville.

Retro themed fleet branding for an HVAC company in Union, NJ

Retro fleet branding and truck wrap design for a heating and air conditioning company.

Vehicle wrap design for a plumbing, heating and air conditioning company in Illinois.

Branding and fleet wrap design for HVAC company in St. Louis, MO.

Great truck wraps stand out - like this unique truck wrap for a Meridian, ID HVAC company shows.

Award-winning Truck wrap example and identity development for HVAC contractor in Florida.

Award-winning retro-themed partial truck wrap for heating and air firm in Palm Springs, CA. We also handled their branding.

Award winning truck wrap design for heating and air conditioning company in Chicago area.

Award winning retro truck wrap and branding example for HVAC contractor in FL.

Making your HVAC truck wrap look the best is critical to brand success!

One of our best truck design examples for an HVAC company in New Mexico.

Truck wrap and branding for Union, NJ-based HVAC and plumbing company.

Retro brand identity and truck wrap design for a Utah based heating and air conditioning contractor.

Retro themed truck wrap design for HVAC contractor in Georgia.

Truck wrap and rebranding for heating and cooling company in Tacoma, WA.

Sometimes the best trucks are the simplest, as this example for a Bridgewater, MA based HVAC company shows.

HVAC branding and truck wrap design for HVAC company in Oklahoma.

Design for a Westfield, NJ based plumbing, heating and air conditioning company.

Fleet wrap design for HVAC company in San Diego, CA.

Click here for more examples of effective HVAC truck and vehicle wraps.


Dan Antonelli is the President and Creative Director of Graphic D-Signs, Inc, a NJ advertising agency specializing in small business advertising, marketing, and brand development, including HVAC logo design and HVAC web design services.