Branding and Marketing Strategy in Chicago

Define the work you need

Write a brief naming your customers, offer, business goal and current difficulty. For a shop, distinguish customers who visit the premises from customers who buy online. For a business serving clients across the metro area, list the places you intend to serve and the work you want to attract. Ask the strategist how they will test your assumptions.

Request positioning and messaging work if you need help explaining why customers should choose you. Request visual identity work for a logo, colors, typography and application rules. Request a marketing audit and channel plan to decide where to spend time and money. For a combined project, ask for separate phases with an approval point between them.

Name the outputs you expect to use: a positioning statement, customer research summary, message examples, editable design files or a campaign plan. Ask providers to show an anonymized example of a similar deliverable and explain what you would receive at handover. Identify who on your team will approve the work.

Use Chicago business support before buying research

The city's Neighborhood Business Development Centers provide no-cost business development assistance. Their listed services include confidential one-on-one advising, consumer marketing assistance, neighborhood information and connections to the local community. Contact a center serving your area and ask which services it can offer for your project. [1]

Bring your proposed brief to that conversation. Ask which neighborhood questions the center can help answer and which require paid customer interviews or other research. Record the remaining questions in your agency brief so bidders can price a defined task. Confirm the support available for your project before assigning work to a paid provider.

BACP also runs the year-round Shop Local Chicago campaign and offers a Marketing and Communications Toolkit with neighborhood-specific graphics and information. Ask your strategist to review whether those materials fit your outreach plan. Check usage guidance before incorporating them into your campaign. [2]

Compare proposals and control the budget

Send the same brief to your shortlisted providers. Require an itemized proposal covering research methods, interview responsibilities, deliverables, revision rounds, approvals and implementation. Ask each bidder to identify exclusions and explain how they price additional work. Compare the work you will receive alongside the total fee.

Set separate budgets for strategy, creative production and rollout. Request explicit allowances for website changes, photography, printing, advertising spend and sign fabrication when those tasks apply. Request itemized Chicago proposals for the same scope to establish your budget. If a proposal exceeds your limit, ask the provider to price a smaller first phase with defined deliverables.

For naming work, assign responsibility for trademark advice and any filing. The USPTO lists an electronic base application fee of $350 per class. For applications under Sections 1 and 44, it lists a $100-per-class insufficient-information surcharge and a $200-per-class surcharge for using free-form goods and services descriptions instead of the Trademark ID Manual. Ask your adviser which fees could apply and request a separate quote for their work. [4]

Check storefront dependencies before setting a launch

Chicago's Department of Buildings states that a sign permit is generally required to place a sign on land, a building, a structure or a place of business. For an identity project involving storefront signage, ask the sign contractor to confirm the requirements for the proposed sign before you authorize fabrication. [3]

Give the strategist photographs and dimensions of the existing storefront, plus any landlord requirements you have received. Specify who checks approvals, prepares sign artwork and coordinates with the installer. Agree on a fallback launch plan if the sign work cannot meet your preferred date, such as launching the website and printed materials in a separate phase.

Agree on ownership, handover and measurement

Ask for a written agreement stating which final files you receive, what rights the provider transfers, and which fonts, photographs or other assets require separate licenses. Specify who controls the domain, website, advertising accounts and analytics access. Keep business account administration under your control and give the provider the access needed for the work.

Choose a review date and a measure connected to your goal: qualified inquiries, booked consultations or completed purchases. Record a starting point before launch and ask the provider how they will attribute results. At handover, review the files, account access, staff instructions and unresolved tasks before approving completion. Name an owner for any work that remains.

Selected federal trademark application fees

Choose a scope that matches your problem

Your hiring checklist

1. Write the business goal, intended customers and service area in a shared brief.
2. Gather existing logos, customer feedback, campaign results and account-access details.
3. Define the research questions and final deliverables each bidder must price.
4. Request itemized fees, exclusions, revision limits and change-order terms.
5. Assign responsibility for trademark advice, storefront approvals and installation checks when relevant.
6. Agree on file ownership, asset licenses and business account control.
7. Set approval milestones, a rollout owner and a results review date.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much should I budget for a branding project?

Request itemized Chicago proposals for the same scope to establish your budget. Ask providers to separate research, design and implementation fees, then add any advertising, printing, signage and legal costs your plan requires. Have each bidder identify optional work and explain how they charge for changes.

Can I get local help before hiring an agency?

Chicago's Neighborhood Business Development Centers offer no-cost business assistance, including consumer marketing assistance and neighborhood information. Ask a center which services fit your needs and what work you should commission from a paid provider. [1]

Does a storefront rebrand need a permit?

Chicago generally requires a permit to place a sign at a place of business. For a rebrand involving signage, ask the sign contractor to confirm the proposed installation's requirements before you approve fabrication. Assign that check to a named person in the rollout plan. [3]

Does the trademark filing fee cover the whole naming project?

Budget naming research, legal advice and filing as separate items. The USPTO lists a $350 electronic base application fee per class and additional fees for certain application details. Ask your adviser to identify applicable fees and quote their own work. [4]