Why the heck did Opes rebrand?

Opes Partners is about to turn 10 years old. It’s been a decade since we started helping Kiwis invest in property.

And we’re gearing up for another decade to help even more New Zealanders be successful in property.

As part of this you may have noticed that we’ve launched a new brand and website.

If you’ve been part of the Opes community for a while, you might wonder, “Why the heck did they rebrand?”

Some people have said, “Very budget. The old one looks regal – just don’t get the new one at all.”

Never one to shy away from a genuine question … in this article, you’ll learn why we rebranded and where Opes Partners will go in the next 10 years.

10 years ago, we wanted to look regal

When I started Opes Partners 10 years ago, I wanted it to be a premium brand.

Nobody had heard of Andrew Nicol or Opes, so I wanted credibility.

So I borrowed it. We used the fleur-de-lis as our primary logo. And yup, it looked regal. The emblem is often associated with the French monarchy.

Back then, our primary colour was black. The photos were black and white, and I wanted everything to look ‘elegant’.

We wanted to look “premium” because we didn’t have credibility at the time. And we wanted people to know that we provided a high level of service.

However, the unintended consequence of looking premium was that we sometimes appeared unapproachable.

And when I really think about it … I don’t want Opes Partners to be a premium brand. We’re not here just for a select few.

Opes is here to help as many Kiwis invest in property as possible. So I don’t want to inadvertently shut some people out.

Making property investment possible

4 years ago, we started changing things up. We focused on educating Kiwis to grow wealth and build a better financial future.

For instance, we started:

• The Property Academy Podcast (#1 business podcast in the country)
• Property Live (our monthly webinars)
• Releasing free articles on our website
• Private Property (our weekly newsletter)

We also wrote a book – Wealth Plan – grew a YouTube channel and even educated Kiwis on Instagram and TikTok.

We also bought and welcomed Informed Investor magazine and NZ Property Investor magazine into the Opes family.

All of this was to make property investment more approachable.

Yet, here we were, stuck with this ‘regal’ brand … when we didn’t want to be regal.

The real reason we rebranded

As the 10th anniversary got closer, we asked ourselves: “Is this brand still doing what we need?”

The answer was: “No”.

The premium image no longer suited our educational focus.

So we tried adapting the brand we had. We got rid of the pinstripes and added in pinks, blues, reds and emojis.

It didn’t work. The whole website became a bit of a Frankenstein mess because we chopped and changed constantly.

So, I decided to drop the old brand … and get it right for the next 10 years.

It’s a brand that is more approachable. It’s energetic and still professional. It’s modern and still classic.

Because it’s a myth that you must be already rich to get ahead. Everyday Kiwis can (and do) invest in property. And we’re on a mission to help as many Kiwis as possible grow their wealth through property.