View Transcript
WOMAN
American Express Open is empowering business owners. Follow our new mini-series as we pair different small businesses, each with their own experienced branding agency, who is also a small business.
WOMAN
Finish Line Physical Therapy was founded by Michael Conlon in 2006. As an accomplished athlete, marathon coach and physical therapist, Michael’s mission has been to create an environment where athletes can receive the best care and physical therapy in New York City.
MICHAEL CONLON
I’m Michael Conlon, I am the owner of Finish Line Physical Therapy. Finish Line is a private practice. We provide physical therapy services for athletes, injured individuals, through exercise, treatment as far as manual therapy, massage, active release. My most favourite about what we have established here is the customer service. From the minute that people call up to the minute they come in, we really make life easy for them. We really listen to our clients, and you know, we listen to what their needs are and tailor their treatments as well as their program towards what their goals are.
WOMAN
Michael is being paired with Brett and Elizabeth, from ThinkSo, an accomplished design and marketing agency based in Manhattan. ThinkSo challenge will be to help rebrand Finish Line Therapy as a leading sports medicine clinic for athletes in the New York City area.
MICHAEL CONLON
The Finish Line brand is more about the logo. The name, it just kind ‘a popped in, and the first person who comes across the finish line. And that is where we’re at now. The web site we’ve created here, I wanted it to be an interactive site, but I kind ‘a wanted to build on that.
ELIZABETH AMOROSE
I’m Elizabeth Amorose, I’m a partner here at ThinkSo.
BRETT TRAYLOR
I’m Brett Traylor, uh, partner here at ThinkSo as well.
ELIZABETH AMOROSE
ThinkSo is a little bit different from other small design firms because we don’t specialize in one industry. We do this because we feel that it keeps our work fresh and what we learn from a law-firm website then we might translate that into a…
BRETT TRAYLOR
a way if finding an airport or signage for a client, it all sort of crosses over, from one project to the next.
ELIZABETH AMOROSE
We’re going to start with asking you questions about your business goals, because this really isn’t about creating a cool logo for you; it’s really about creating a set of tools that will help you, uh, sell your business.
MICHAEL CONLON
This is all new to me, it’s a new realm, something that I’ve overlooked, so I’m excited about it.
ELIZABETH AMOROSE
What are some of the things you want to achieve with your business?
MICHAEL CONLON
Right now, it’s about getting each PT up to kind of what’s standard in the industry.
ELIZABETH AMOROSE
So any other business goals?
MICHAEL CONLON
Yeah, we have this little niche of runners and triathletes.
ELIZABETH AMOROSE
So a cross between the medical and the gym.
MICHAEL CONLON
Yes.
ELIZABETH AMOROSE
Yeah.
MICHAEL CONLON
Yeah, they definitely got a good understanding of what my company, uh, how it operates. Well, I don’t think I’ve mentioned my, uh, my dog at all yet. But, uh, he’s …
ELIZABETH AMOROSE
Your dog?
MICHAEL CONLON
(Overlap) He appears on a lot of our logos, or our brochures, so, uh.
ELIZABETH AMOROSE
So he’s sort of your mascot?
MICHAEL CONLON
Yes.
BRETT TRAYLOR
I think he has done a good job kind of … homegrown …
MICHAEL CONLON
Yeah.
BRETT TRAYLOR
… brand identity, doing (Overlap) …
MICHAEL CONLON
I do, uh, do some water bottles and stuff like that.
ELIZABETH AMOROSE
Brett said it best when, uh, he said it was, uh, sort ‘a homegrown, homemade. But it also has some distinctive elements, like it’s not, you know … it doesn’t sound like a pharmaceutical company. He’s got the dog, in the mix.
BRETT TRAYLOR
Well, we’ll see about the dog.
ELIZABETH AMOROSE
Argh.
BRETT TRAYLOR
(Laughs)
ELIZABETH AMOROSE
The dog’s great.
BRETT TRAYLOR
His brand really is that experience and how those people feel about him.
ELIZABETH AMOROSE
Priority-wise, the look and feel, I think, is the … is the main issue. It really is mostly a design issue? We can add some real polish to his brand.
BRETT TRAYLOR
I just think that the consistency’s a little off.
ELIZABETH AMOROSE
Our next step in this initial phase will be to visit your place, and then we would like to talk to a couple clients. We can ask them questions, as well as maybe some staff members, a referring doctor.
So we can really understand how they perceive your brand.
MICHAEL CONLON
I think they’ll understand more once they see the facility. Nice, open airy space with the privacy as well as a gym-like atmosphere.
BRETT TRAYLOR
Our hope is that he will trust us, and that this person will come along for the ride. Sometimes, though, in these kind of relationships, the client … uh, falls back to what’s comfortable.
ELIZABETH AMOROSE
Curious to see if Michael’s gonna be brave enough to really go out there with what we give him.
WOMAN
Join us next time when Brett and Elizabeth present a range of concepts and identities to Michael. Will ThinkSo be able to create branding that reflects Finish Line’s unique service offering? And will Miles, Michael’s dog, feature in the new concepts? _
(END OF TAPE)
Check your balance, review recent transactions and pay your bill on the go.
