Trojan Digital Marketing is a branding agency in Indianapolis for owners who need a clear name, logo, colors and message. The same team that designs your brand also builds websites and runs search work. Your brand then looks the same on your website as it does on your sign. We price branding after a free strategy call.
Jeff Clerisier owns the company. He began taking freelance web and brand jobs in 2016, and the company itself dates from March 2018. He runs that first call, and nothing gets designed until you've seen a written scope and price from him. Book the call and bring what you have now, even if it's just an old logo file and a photo of your storefront.
Questions, answered.
How much does branding cost in Indianapolis?
We quote it after a free strategy call. By then we know whether you need a new name, where the brand has to appear and which starter pieces you want. You'll see the written scope and price before any work starts. Opening a new business that needs a website too? Look at the Marketing Startup Kit, which costs $7,997.
What's the difference between a logo and a brand?
A logo is one mark. A brand is the full set of choices people know you by. That includes your name, how you describe the work, your colors and type, and how it all looks on your site and signs. We design the logo as one part of that set.
Can you clean up our current logo and keep it?
Yes. If customers already recognize your logo, a cleanup is often the better buy. We redraw it so it holds up at small sizes and add the square and one-color versions. Then we set the colors and type around it.
Can you handle just the branding strategy?
Yes. Some owners only need the strategy and the message because they already have a designer. We write the one-page brief and the message, and your designer works from them.
Will a rebrand hurt our Google rankings or reviews?
It can. Google may let you rename the same profile after a minor name change, where the proper nouns, the services in the name and the business category stay the same. A bigger change counts as a new business, so the old profile is marked closed and a new one is created. If your reviews matter to you, that's worth knowing before you pick a name. We check which side of that line a new name falls on before you commit, and nobody can promise rankings during a change.
Do we own the logo and brand files?
Your scope names each file and the rights that come with it. We agree that list with you up front, so there's no surprise at handoff.
How long does a branding project take?
It depends on the scope and on how fast you can review each round. We set dates after the scope is agreed and tell you which steps wait on your approval.
Can you build the website and run SEO with the new brand?
Yes. Our team builds websites, runs SEO and Google Business Profile work, manages ads and edits video. The brand goes from the guide straight onto the pages and profiles customers see.
“…drove a noticeable uptick in leads within just a few weeks…”
“I had a great experience working with Jeff…”
We’re based in Indianapolis, where the city and Marion County share one government, Unigov.
We also work with clients across the United States.
What our branding service includes
A brand is the set of choices that help people recognize your business and remember what it does. For a local company it comes down to a few concrete pieces, and we write the exact list into your scope before design starts.
- Brand strategy. We work out who you serve and what you want to be known for, then look at the companies customers compare you with. That becomes a one-page brief we check every later choice against.
- Name and message. If you need a new name, we say each option out loud and test it on a sign mockup. Then we check that a matching domain is free. If you're keeping your name, we write a one-line description and a short paragraph your staff can repeat.
- Logo set. You get a main logo plus the versions daily use calls for. That means a square mark for profile pictures and a one-color version for shirts and stamps, along with versions for light and dark backgrounds.
- Colors and type. We pick a small palette with exact codes for screens and print, then check that text in those colors stays easy to read on your website. The fonts are ones you can use on the web and in everyday documents.
- Brand guide. A short guide shows how to use all of it, from the space around the logo to the tone your posts and emails should take. It's written so your printer or a new hire can follow it without calling us.
- Starter pieces. We design the items you need first, such as profile images, an email signature, business cards or a one-page flyer. The scope names which ones are included.
Every project ends with a file handoff. Your scope lists each file you'll get and the rights that come with it, and we walk through that list with you before work starts.
What branding costs with us
We quote branding once the free strategy call shows us what the work includes. The price moves with a handful of things.
- Whether you need a new name or you're keeping the one you have.
- How many places the brand has to work, from a website and a profile to vehicles, signs and packaging.
- How many starter pieces you want designed.
- How many people approve each round.
- Whether we're rebuilding your website at the same time.
You'll see the written scope and the price before any work starts. If you're opening a new business and need the website too, compare the Marketing Startup Kit at $7,997. As part of its build, the kit settles which logo version and colors your new site will use. A new logo or a full identity inside the kit gets confirmed in the agreement first.
How a branding project runs
- Strategy call. The first call is free. Jeff asks what's prompting the change, such as a new business or a name customers keep mixing up with another company. You'll leave knowing whether branding is the right first spend.
- Discovery. We read what customers already say about you in reviews and look at the Indianapolis companies you're compared with. Then we list every place your brand shows up today.
- Words first. We agree the positioning and the one-line description before anyone sketches a logo. A sentence is quicker to change than a finished design.
- Design rounds. We show logo and color directions on real uses, like a phone screen and a profile photo. Your scope sets how many directions and revision rounds you get.
- Guide and files. We finish the brand guide and export each file in the formats your printer and your web team ask for.
- Rollout. We update your website, Business Profile, social profiles and email signature first, since customers see those every day. Signs and vehicles follow on your schedule and budget.
Timing depends mostly on how quickly decisions come back from your side. We set dates once the scope is agreed and don't guess at them before then.
Why we build the brand and the website together
- Offer
- Explain what the customer can get.
- Evidence
- Support the offer.
- Action
- Make the next step easy to use.
Plenty of brand projects end with a folder of logo files, and then another company tries to make them work online. That handoff is where brands drift. When one team does both, the colors get tested on real buttons and the logo gets tested at the size of a browser tab. Your one-line description also becomes the first headline people read.
Because we build and run more than 1,400 live websites across client and owned properties, we see where a brand breaks once it's online. A thin script logo can blur on a phone. A pale color can make button text hard to read. Those problems are cheap to fix in a design round and expensive once the sign is printed.
| Where they see it | What the brand needs |
|---|---|
| Your website | A logo that stays sharp at the size of a browser tab, and colors that keep text readable |
| Google Business Profile | The same name you use on your sign and website, plus photos that match the new look |
| Apple Maps | A square version of the logo, because Apple shows logos as squares in most places |
| Signs, vans and shirts | A one-color version that holds up when it's stitched, cut in vinyl or read from the next lane on I-465 |
| Social profiles and email | A square mark for profile pictures and a simple signature layout |
If you need the site as well, our Indianapolis web design service takes the finished brand files straight into the build. If your current site works, we put the new logo and colors on every page and keep the structure you already have.
Where your brand meets Google and Apple Maps
Branding choices show up in search results sooner than most owners expect. Google's Business Profile guidelines state the rule plainly: "Represent your business as it’s consistently represented and recognized in the real world across signage, stationery, and other branding." So the name and look on your sign, your site and your invoices should match before the profile changes.
Read more
The same guidelines cover the name itself. Some owners ask to add a city or a service word to the name on their profile. Google's guidance on names says, "Including unnecessary information in your business name isn't permitted, and could result in the suspension of your Business Profile." If a word belongs in your name, it goes on your sign, your site and your paperwork first, and then on the profile.
Google's help page on local ranking says prominence is how well known a business is, and it looks at signals like the links to your site and your reviews. A name people remember is easier to search for and easier to recommend, so we plan branding and local search as one job.
Apple uses your brand too. Its Apple Business guide says, "Adding a brand lets customers find it in Maps, Apple Wallet, Siri, and more." It also notes that "your logo displays as a square in most Apple features." A wide logo that only works as a long strip gets cropped there, so we design the square mark from the start.
Once the brand is set, our Google Business Profile work in Indianapolis puts the new logo, photos and description on your profile. Our Indianapolis SEO team then updates the pages and listings that carry your name. If you'd like to see what we check, read our guide to keeping your business identity consistent across your website and public profiles.
Brand marketing after the launch
A finished guide only helps if the brand keeps showing up the same way. That steady work is brand marketing, and the guide makes it easy to hand off. We can keep your posts on brand through social media marketing in Indianapolis. We can also match ad text and landing pages to the guide through Google Ads in Indianapolis.
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Video counts too. Our video editing team can cut your footage with the new colors and logo. A clip on social then looks like it came from the same company as your website. You can hire any of these on its own, and each one starts from the brand guide.
Rebranding an Indianapolis business without losing what you've built
A rebrand makes sense when customers keep confusing your name with another company, or when you've added services the old name doesn't cover. A look that makes you seem smaller than your work is another good reason, and so is a merger or a new owner. If none of that applies, a cleanup of the current logo and colors may be enough, and we'll tell you so on the call.
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When the name changes, order matters. We plan the website, the Business Profile and the main listings together so they change as one. Google's guidelines say a profile may be eligible for a simple rename after "a minor name change." That means the proper nouns and services in the name stay the same, and so does the business category. For anything bigger, the same page says, "If your business changes its name but doesn't meet the criteria above, then it's considered a new business." The old profile gets marked closed and a new one is created, so we check which side of that line a new name falls on before you commit to it.
Keep the parts customers already recognize when you can, such as a color or a symbol. Put one plain sentence on your About page that names the old name, so people who remember it know they've found the right company. Before you order signs or file paperwork, have an attorney confirm the new name and logo are clear to use. We build that check into the plan, and your attorney makes the legal call.
How to compare branding firms in Indianapolis
Indianapolis has plenty of branding firms, from small studios that design identities to larger branding agencies that also run campaigns. These questions help you compare them on the same terms, us included.
- Who will you work with? Ask who you'll deal with from the first call to the file handoff. With us, Jeff, the owner, runs the first call and agrees the scope with you.
- Can they show a brand in use? A logo sheet is only part of the job, so ask to see a brand applied to a live website and to printed pieces. Our published case studies are mostly website and video projects, so you can judge that side of our work directly.
- What files do you get? Ask for the list of files and formats, and who owns them when the project ends.
- How many rounds are included? Ask how many design directions and revision rounds you get, and what happens if you need more.
- Who applies it? Ask whether the firm puts the brand on your website and profiles itself or hands the files to someone else.
- What gets measured? Ask what they'll track once the new brand is live. We can track searches for your business name in Google Search Console, along with calls and website clicks from your Business Profile.
Who our branding work fits
It fits an Indianapolis business that's about to open or has outgrown a logo made in a hurry. It also fits a company adding a location or a service line that needs its own look. Nonprofits and churches fit too, and our case studies include a church website and a nonprofit's donation website.
It's a weaker fit if you need a research study across several states or TV and radio production. Firms built around that work will suit you better, and we'll say so on the call.
What we won't promise
A new logo can't guarantee more calls, and nobody can promise a ranking because of a name change. We can make the brand clear and consistent in every place we manage, then report what changes in the numbers we can see. If something didn't help, we'll tell you that too.
Sources & further reading
Talk with Trojan Digital Marketing
Based in Indianapolis, we serve central Indiana and clients across the United States.
