Slique - a business reinvented 

Stone & Tile Restoration provided a highly technical - and very niche - service: the maintenance, preservation and rejuvenation of all forms of stone and tile.

Because of the complexity (and inherent value) of these surfaces, Slique is perched perpetually at the very forefront of chemical technology.

Highly trained company technicians know their agglomerates from their composites and can pick a Travertine from a Terrazzo at a hundred paces.

Which is all very interesting if you're of a scientific persuasion, but not terribly sexy if your interest is strictly aesthetic.

As a 2004 start-up, Stone & Tile Restoration's brand identity focused largely on the functional attributes the company had to offer.

But with huge growth and increasing opportunities to establish itself as a highly specialist, boutique-style service, senior management realised that there was a serious disconnect between the developing vision and the existing brand identity and direction.

Audits, research and workshops enabled 4i's to quickly refine the principals' thoughts on brand vision and values, and draw concensus on the brand's customer promise.

Rationalising each stage of the identity development before advancing to the next meant that all stakeholders were entirely comfortable with the ground made; the subsequent stage was therefore easier and more streamlined.

'Slique' was selected as the new brand name - the brand idea is to align the service with the cosmetic treatments industry; stone, like skin, has pores and, like teeth, has calcium content. And just like skin, stone surfaces deteriorate without an adequate regime.

The analogy is eminently extendable - Slique treatments are every bit as scientific, exclusive, painstaking and miraculous as the most exclusive of branded skincare products.

"The 4i's team took its time to understand the business, the owners and, most importantly, our strategies for the future.

"They guided us through a process that forced us to crystallise a true brand essence - not a word just picked randomly because it 'sounds right' - and agree on a set ofnbrand values that are truly unique to our business, rather than the homogenised set of brand values that circulate many marketing departments today.

"At all stages they reminded us of our customers - in reality the owners of our brand - so we could make more objective decisions. The result is a brand name and visual identity that epitomises what we want our business to be, both today and in the future." - Nicole Phillips, Marketing and Business Development Manager, Slique

Back to 4i's