REBRANDING URBAN TRADE TO Black Water Media
We have rebranded! Formerly The Urban Trade since 2013, Black Water Media has gone through many transformations in the last 7 years and like any brand should do, has had to rethink & revamp strategies to bring us forward into our new normal as a society. Learn more about why we decided on the change and more about our process.
HISTORY
The Urban Trade started as a vendor show and event in 2013 created by two friends that met in an Apple Store, Susie and Jay of Dream but Don’t Sleep where we brought together creatives across the Greater NYC area to network, showcase their work and have a great time. We held the event at the Art Factory in Paterson, NJ, which has since become a hotspot for major motion films and large brands to shoot at. Since the original show, Susan continued to host the Urban Trade Show in Atlanta, Melbourne and Orlando. Check out the shows here! Transitioning the show and brand identity to a full-time marketing business proved challenging because of a double association between the trade show and marketing services.
Although a name that wasn’t directly associated with the business strategy was in place, The Urban Trade still was able to be successful with a steady stream of small business clients across the United States who trusted us to be their marketing department. We continued to also host and provide event services which help bring together local small businesses and promote their brands for increase in revenue and awareness.
DECIDING ON REBRANDING
After 7 years of working for small businesses and being blind sighted by the COVID-19 pandemic, we decided it was time for things to change, because none of us were going back to normal. One gleam of light during this pandemic has been more people confidently opening businesses that sell online and or offer virtual services. We found our current name (The Urban Trade) and branding did not allow people to easily identify what our business did, or encompass the totality of our services. It happens, sometimes our businesses need to change and rework strategies that are no longer beneficial. Our marketing services includes so much more than events, and we wanted a name that easily reflected that. Starting with our rebranding toolkit, we set out on a mission to set new goals and create new messaging. Sometimes just a fresh new look and a plan to tell people about it is all you need to enter new markets.
WHY ‘BLACK WATER’ ?
We went over countless names and following our rebranding strategy guide and toolkit, wanted something that had meaning to our personal life, but was also strong and dynamic. After listing hundreds of buzz words from the hours of 3am-6am one morning, it was after presenting ideas to my sister when it all came together. Including family and friends that know you best is a great way to brainstorm, sometimes you can get to bogged down in your own details, you overlook what you actually need. I came up with “Black Rock” which had no meaning personally to me, just something that sounded ok, but the finishing touch was adding the word “Water” as a suggestion from my big sister. Black Water is a term used in our families home country of Guyana. Many of the rivers in Guyana have “black” looking water because of the soil and sediment in them, they are absolute beautiful. I also live on the Indian River Lagoon in Florida, which also has black looking water, and is main reason I moved to this area (the Space Coast in Florida), being around water is the beginning of all life. Guyana is also known as the Land of Many Waters, and we believe since water is moldable, strong, soft and can transform into almost anything, it was a perfect fit for our brand.
