Benny’s Carwash and Oil Change, a three-generation family-owned business has grown to seven car washes, five oil change facilities, and three B-Quik convenience stores in the Baton Rouge area. Celebrating Benny’s 65th year, the company decided it was time for a new look. Benny’s shed its old logo and rebranded itself in a bold, new way.
 |
| The old Benny’s logo. |
“Our existing logo, building, colors, and image had been in use since 1991. We thought that it was time for a change and a modernized look,” said Justin Alford, who co-owns Benny’s with his brother Jason and father Benny.
Alford’s grandfather opened his first car wash in 1951, making the Alford brothers third generation car washers.
“We debated including the word ‘carwash’ in the new logo. In the end, we decided to drop the ‘carwash’ from the new logo, because we feel that ‘Benny’s’ is well known enough in the area to do so,” Alford said. “When we started working on our newest location in 2013, we met withthe architect who designed our previous buildings to brainstorm and create a new modern building look that would be able to grow with us for the next 30 years.”
The Alfords partnered with BrandEquity, based in Newton, MA, for Benny’s rebranding. BrandEquity has rebranded other major car washes around the country, including Scrub-A-Dub car wash in Natick, MA, and Crew and Mike’s Carwash, located in Indianapolis, IN and Cincinnati, OH.
 |
| The new Benny’s logo atop the tunnel entrance |
Steve Smith, creative director at BrandEquity, created a fresh, new look and logo, in contrast with Benny’s previous logo that featured a red 1950s-style cursive font. The new brand’s primary color is bright green, a color not previously used in the Baton Rouge car wash market.
“The bold italic font is friendly, fast, and efficient. We highlighted it in a bowed rectangle, like a bar of soap, and the bow-shape is reflected in the bowed shape of the letters,” Smith said. “We designed the apostrophe in Benny’s to resemble a drop of water.”
“The new color combination, simplification of our logo, and new building create a totally new look,” Justin Alford said. “It was truly a team effort working together to arrive at a new brand, executed through building design, color, logos, signage, and flow. We considered a lot of new building materials and design in building our new Siegen Lane location and in the renovation plans for our existing locations. We wanted a clean, simple but strong branded look, and I believe we’ve achieved that go
 |
| Consistent imaging at the wash entrance. |
“We are always looking for new opportunities, but rebranding all our existing facilities is a major focus for the coming year,” said Alford.
Ted Selame, president and CEO of BrandEquity, believes that this new brand will help Benny’s to expand and increase its market share.
The Alfords are active in the Baton Rouge community as well as all the car wash associations. Benny Alford is past president of the Southeastern Car Wash Association as well as the International Carwash Association and is an inductee to the International Carwash Association “Hall of Fame.”
Sherry Alpert is a public-relations practitioner based in Massachusetts.
For more information, please visitwww.alpert-publicrelations.com
 |
| Signage with the new Benny’s logo. |