Stran Promotional Solutions (asi/337725) knew it was time for a change. Executives say the Counselor Top 40 promotional products distributor didn’t hesitate to make it.
Following a months-long process that began at the end of 2023, Stran this week debuted its new brand identity.
“We’ve gone through a major evolution since becoming a public company at the end of 2021, and we felt our existing brand was no longer representative of the brand we’ve become,” Howie Turkenkopf, Stran’s vice president of marketing and business development, told ASI Media. “Our goal has been to better tell our story and who Stran is today.”
A centerpiece of the launch is a newly imagined logo, which was designed by Creative Director Mike Cardin, who has been with Stran for more than a decade. Turkenkopf explained that the font did not change, but the look is bolder – the logo using a thicker stroke to “highlight the boldness of the new Stran.”
Inspiration also came from tools of the trade.
“The top and bottom sections of the ‘S’ icon started out as the tips of a pad printer and the middle section started out as a spool of thread,” Turkenkopf shared. “Each element evolved into what the logo is now, but those are the roots of the design concept. Mike wanted the logo to have more meaning and connection to what it is that we do. Additionally, within the icon, you have both an ‘S’ and a ‘P,’ so each word that makes up our name – Stran Promotional Solutions – is represented in the icon.”
The new logo and other branding visuals that debuted this week are just the beginning of the rebrand. “There’ll be a full summer of updates to both our visual branding and our brand voice,” Turkenkopf told ASI Media.
But just what is the essence of that brand? In significant part, it’s being a positive changemaker that propels good for clients, investors, the promo industry itself and the employees vital to Stran’s success, executives said.
“Our goal is to leverage the investment into our company to grow within the industry and to positively impact the industry – how it is viewed and how it works,” Turkenkopf said. “Through our investments into people and technology, we are looking to deliver on the promise of branded merchandise and how we bring products to market. It’s the people here that are making the difference and how we hold each other accountable that ensures we overdeliver for our customers.”
Based on reported 2022 North American promotional product revenue of $64.3 million, Stran ranked 34th on Counselor’s most recent list of the largest distributors in the industry. The new rankings are due out this summer. In 2023, Stran increased full-year revenue 28% to nearly $82.1 million.
