I recently was driving past my local Williams Coffee Pub and noticed something. It was no longer a Williams Coffee Pub, but a Williams Fresh Cafe. They actually have rebranded, good for you Williams! Congratulations on your rebranding.

Old Williams Coffee Pub

New Williams Fresh Cafe

For those of you that are not familiar, Williams is a local cafe and eatery. I think their greatest asset is the free internet that they offer. This has allowed them to become the local meeting place for business folk all around. If you were to go into any Williams during work hours, you are always going to find countless laptops opened and numerous meetings taking place. The old branding and positioning was focussed around the cafe experience. It was important and a good strategy ten years ago, but that time has passed.

Lately, I've noticed that the food selections have been getting better, and healthier. Just the other day, I had a lunch meeting at Williams and enjoyed an excellent Minestrone Soup and California Salad. They were both excellent and I would eat there again anytime.

Focused on being a coffee pub, they were fighting with Starbucks and Tim Hortons, with coffee which was mediocre at best, that wasn't a battle that they could win.

With the rebranding and repositioning, it looks like they want to be known as a healthy food choice as well as a great place to sit and meet friends. Overall, I think the new repositioning is fantastic and believe it will help them to grow.

They should have called me first

Overall, I like the new look and the new positioning. I think it's clean and refreshing, which serves them very well if they want to now be know for fresh and healthy food. I have one critique however. That leaf that blends into the word "Fresh". Its too… too clip art. It does not serve well as an icon that only Williams can use. If you were to separate the leaf and put it beside the millions of other green leaves that are in logos all over the world, would it stand out as being Williams' leaf? I don't think so. Unfortunately, I think that leaves them with an icon that is totally dependent on being a part of the entire logo to be identified as Williams.

Had they created an icon that was theirs and theirs only, it would have been better for them. Look at other food chains, McDonalds' golden arches or East Side Mario's Statue of Liberty with the Tomato. When you see those icons, there is no disputing where they belong. Williams could have benefited with something a bit more unique. But they didn't call me, so all I can do is blog about it.

What do you think?

Do you like the new rebranding and positioning ? Do you like the new logo? Let me know.

Ciao