IICRC Changes name to "The Clean Trust"

Mold Removal & Remediations-Los Angeles, CA

The Clean Trust will still maintain the standards of the The Institute of Inspection, Cleaning and Restoration Certification (IICRC).

The announcement of the recent name change to The Clean Trust will allow for a new name, more updated, and new branding campaigns will be rolled out in the coming year.

"The Clean Trust lets people know exactly what we do, in a business-like, technical, professional way. We train. We set the standards. We certify. We vouch for a technician's ability and professionalism and thereby ease our customer's worries and concerns," said Paul Pearce, The Clean Trust Chairman.

If you are a restoration professional or a mold inspector these are important facts to illustrate in your marketing materials, website and to your customers.



Below is a letter from the Board of Directors.

Dear registrants,

The executive committee, the board of directors and I are very excited to announce the name change of the Institute of Inspection, Cleaning and Restoration Certification (IICRC) to The Clean Trust.

Although the name is new, our focus on cleaning, restoration and inspection, the three core areas of expertise, will remain the same. Additionally, the certification and standards on which the IICRC has built its reputation will remain the same. The Clean Trust will continue as an ANSI Standard Development Organization (SDO) and pursue the development of standards for the industry as a whole, aiming to provide the most up to date education for its registrants.

Along with the new name, we are also unveiling a new tagline that you'll start to see: Where professionals find training. And consumers find peace of mind. We want to make sure that the name reflects who you, our registrants, are and our core values: integrity, respect, excellence, expertise, and responsibility.

Many of you may be asking, why? The board of directors discussed at length the benefits of a name change and ultimately decided that it was in the best interest of our registrants to move forward with a new name. I want to point out a few key benefits of the name change:

The name allows for the expansion into other service areas, such as installation, without adding extra letters or words to the existing acronym. Rest assured; our core focus will always be on cleaning, restoration and inspection - all activities that tie back to our mission to identify and promote an international standard of care that establishes and maintains the health, safety and welfare of the built environment.
The name is short and easy to remember providing a unique marketing opportunity for the organization, especially for the general public. For years, the organization has heard registrant requests for more name recognition outside the industry, but admittedly, with a name that was a mouthful, it was an uphill battle. Now, our focus will be on getting consumers to "ask for The Clean Trust."
Thirdly, the name allows the organization to separate the services of an institution from those of a trade association. As many of you know, the board of directors has approved the creation of a trade organization. The previous name (IICRC) presented challenges since an institute and a trade association are not the same thing. Now, the organization has the ability to utilize The Clean Trust in various entities - standards, institute, accreditation, certification and association.

In terms of the rollout of the new name and design, this will not be an over-night change and you will see a gradual introduction of the new name and design throughout the next year. Immediately, new materials that will be available include the trade show booth (unveiling in January at Surfaces), an introductory video, new ID cards, a new general overview brochure, patches and decals. Following these items, in the coming months, you'll see updated standards covers, a brochure series for cleaning, restoration and inspection, a new newsletter and a new website.

There has been lots of change in the past year, all for the better. The organization has changed and grown in ways that we never imagined. It's an exciting time for the organization and one we look forward to progressing further.

We encourage you to visit the current website (www.thecleantrust.org) to review the list of frequently asked questions regarding the name change. Here, you'll find what the best process is for replacing IICRC patches, how to use the new logo and other details.

We hope that you will join us during this exciting time as we launch The Clean Trust.

Sincerely,

Paul Pearce
The Clean Trust Chairman


FAQ About the Name Change


Q. Why change the name??

A. As evidenced by the reaction within the industry to the name change, we know that there is a passionate group of professionals that care about the IICRC. However, the traction outside the industry, even with increased marketing and influencer programs, has been difficult to achieve. In registrant surveys taken in 2010 and 2011 (with approximately 1300 responses), name recognition outside the industry was cited as the organization’s greatest challenge by a significant margin. In the verbatim comments received, much of the feedback was a request for more end-user awareness.

Q. How was the process managed?

As with all major decisions for the organization, the process was managed with the executive committee and the board of directors, who are elected by the shareholders. This name change is part of the new marketing plan, which was one of the three key pillars of the strategic plan put into place last year by the board of directors following a strategic planning retreat involving committee chairs, instructors and other materially interested parties.

In evaluating the names, there were a number of criteria that the board of directors considered during the two-year decision making process, including finding a name that was distinctive, authentic, memorable, audience appropriate, ownable, scalable and flexible. Additionally, the name had to be legally available. The rigorous evaluation process led to some key important conclusions about the benefits of The Clean Trust:

The name allows for the expansion into other service areas, such as installation, without adding extra letters or words to the existing acronym. Our core focus will always be on cleaning, restoration and inspection - all activities that tie back to our mission to identify and promote an international standard of care that establishes and maintains the health, safety and welfare of the built environment, but now we have the flexibility to grow with a new name.
The name is short, easy to remember and not cumbersome to say, providing a unique marketing opportunity for the organization, especially for the general public. For years, the organization has heard registrant requests for more name recognition outside the industry. Now, our focus will be on getting end-users to "ask for The Clean Trust." This will be a major focus of the organization moving into 2012.
Thirdly, the name allows the organization to separate its services and provide a unique identity for each. For example, under the new name, we’ll have:

The Clean Trust Institute, for thought leadership and research;
The Clean Trust Accreditation for exams like the new Mold Removal Specialist exam;
The Clean Trust Standards for our industry recognized standards; and,
The Clean Trust Certification, for registrant training and certification.

Q. How did they end up with The Clean Trust?

A. The Clean Trust was decided through a several year long process reviewing various names that included new acronyms, shortened names and more. There were three rounds of names that were all narrowed down to The Clean Trust.

Q. What is it supposed to mean?

A. The Clean Trust lets people know exactly what we do, in a business-like, technical, professional way. We train. We set the standards. We certify. We vouch for a technician’s ability and professionalism and thereby ease our customer’s worries and concerns.

Q. Restoration is not included. This makes me think you aren’t doing restoration anymore. Why?

A. The Clean Trust is the first step in the new name change and we are not abandoning restoration. The next priority will be to develop the additional branding around our cleaning, restoration and inspection certifications. Given the feedback we’ve received, these projects are being started on immediately. These projects include:
- Potential taglines for each area/updating the current tagline
- A brochure series for restoration, cleaning and inspection (previously, no focus area specific brochures were available)
- Development of a new website that outlines the three certification areas of The Clean Trust
- New booth graphics for each area that can be used at various tradeshows

For these new areas, we will seek feedback and input from our cleaning, restoration and inspection chairs. Additionally, we encourage you to take a look at the two current websites and let us know what will be helpful to you – what information do you want as a registrant and what information do your customers look for? Ultimately, the goal is to make the new website a useful hub of information for industry knowledge.

Q. What does the logo mean?

A. The logo represents the strength and breadth of the organization. Because The Clean Trust is so many things it is important to have a logo that allows flexibility. The shape reflects a globe, symbolizing our international status. And like the organization, the logo is made up of many different parts that are working together in a unified pattern, depicting an organization that is deep in knowledge.

Q.Was The Clean Trust researched?

A. The Clean Trust/IICRC worked with a reputable research company using a well-established process to test the name with the general population and ensure its statistical validity. According to probability theory, you can test the opinion of a large population by surveying 500 or more people. One key element of probability sampling is that survey respondents must be chosen randomly, and each adult in the population should also have an equal chance of being included in the poll. This was the case in the naming research The Clean Trust/IICRC conducted.

Knowing that there would be bias toward the long name Institute of Inspection, Cleaning and Restoration Certification and the use of the acronym IICRC if a person was asked to choose between IICRC and The Clean Trust, the research firm tested the names separately with the same questions and then compared the results to get an unbiased answer (monadic testing). Survey takers read a description of the organization and were given one of two tested names. They were then asked a series of questions on their overall opinion of the organization, likelihood of visiting the organization’s website in the near future, likelihood of seeking additional information about the organization and how well the name fits the organization.

Q. What does the new patch/badge look like?

A. Please see a new picture of the patch on the website. Coming soon, there will also be patches that signify certifications, such as restorer, inspector, cleaner, etc. There is no requirement to immediately update any patches. Please contact headquarters and we will be happy to work with you in obtaining new patches.

Q. How can I replace my patches/truck decals/logos, etc.?

A. Please contact headquarters and they can work with you to update any patches, decals, logos, etc. We only ask that you update the logo when reprinting materials in the normal course of business – the logo for Certified Firms is the same shape so should be easy to insert in the new design. For example, if you won’t be ordering new business cards until August 2012, then you can update the new logo then and there is no requirement to do so earlier. All new decals were created so they are slightly larger than the current ones so that they may easily be replaced over the old location. The website includes information on the name change so even if you’re using the previous logo for a while, customers will still get to the right place online and know your certifications are legitimate. The logo is available in two-color and one-color formats.

Q. Seems like a waste of money when we have other more pressing issues to deal with?

A. Many of the items that are being updated, such as the booth for trade shows and the website, were in line to be updated this year regardless of the name change so the budget for this change fit within the current marketing parameters. The organization used its funds carefully, ensuring that each dollar was stretched to provide the most value.

Q. We’ve heard some comparisons to the Netflix/Quickster or New Coke name changes. How is this different?

A. Netflix, Quickster and New Coke were all fundamental changes in the structure or formula of the organization. For Netflix/Quickster, it was a significant price increase and the separating of services. For New Coke, it was a change in formula. For The Clean Trust, neither of these is true. Though the name and look might be different, nothing else is changing. The same certifications are offered. The same standards are available.

http://www.iicrc.org/namechangefaq.shtml