What’s a rebrand without a letter explaining it? Let’s start with why. As our business continued to grow and evolve, our brand no longer aligned with our identity or goals. It didn’t accurately represent who we are or where we’re going. Doesn’t sound very fresh? That’s because it’s pretty much what every company says about rebranding. But it’s true. And it’s a good reason for change.Now our website is purple. And there’s an elephant. So what? It reflects a new chapter in our organization’s history, and a renewed purpose. We believe it says something new about us, that it explains what makes us different in a fresh and unexpected way. We believe it conveys not just the expertise our agency delivers, but also our attitude. Agree or disagree, this is who we are.
How We Got Here
Why such a drastic change? What’s the meaning behind the new logo? Why not a giraffe? Three valid questions. But first, let’s start with how we got here.
Now our website is purple. And there’s an elephant. So what?
A disclaimer: I don’t like the word process. It sounds too clinical. It is structured, yes. Focused. There are things we do always, and in a certain order.Looking for a sterile rebrand process? You’ll hate us. Done right, there’s passion and creativity and invention involved. You have to take the gloves off. Working outside the structure is just as important as working within it.This is how we rebuilt our brand, the same way we work with clients.
1. Research
We learn. Real data that informs strategies and shapes messaging. An unfocused brand can tell a great story. But it’s the wrong story.It both precedes and postdates a rebrand. We never stop learning. But let’s think of it as step one since it begins before we do anything else.
2. Discovery
We listen. Most importantly: what are the strategic goals of your business? What can you offer prospects and customers that no one else can? The answers uncover what’s really important. The reason they’re in business. Real passion, for the customers and employees whose lives they profoundly impact. Our clients care about growing, because they care about people. So we help tell their story. Here we learn about the inner workings of their business. Their vision for the future. And we see the good, the bad, and the ugly. We’re building a relationship, identifying how we can become a trusted asset, a part of their entire business ecosystem.
Without preparation, there’s no imagination, no spice, no sizzle.
3. Concepting
We dream. It all comes to life in the hands of the creative team, building a foundation for the visual and verbal identity of your brand, moving forward.How does it look? How does it sound? How does it make people feel? Even without great market research, a talented creative team can make something out of nothing. But without the right preparation, you’ll get work with no imagination, no spice, and no sizzle. A brand that falls flat. So set them up for success.
So Who Are We?
Now about us. This is the part where I explain what we learned by looking inward and going through this “process” ourselves. Before we started, we knew who we wanted to be. But it’s a lot harder to look in the mirror and see who you really are. And it’s even harder to make sense of what your clients, past, present, and future, are really looking for. Here: I walk the tightrope of things I can share and things I really shouldn’t. I believe in transparency and authenticity. I also believe in maintaining the strategic advantage we gain through our brand and market research. So I’ll tell you what I’ll tell you, and I will try to explain it in a way that shows how the work we do in research and discovery brought our new brand identity to life.
What We Learned
Everybody says they build a relationship with their clients. They deliver results. They help brands stand out. They deliver on-strategy creative. Expertise in a variety of different areas. They aren’t lying. There’s a lot of lovely folks I admire, many who live in our very own community of Indianapolis, who are creating impressive things for their clients. So if we’re all doing great work, and we’re all saying the same stuff, how in the world is someone to know which agency fits them? We wanted to know what sets us apart. So we talked to people. Because we couldn’t act without bias, we had help from an independent consultant who anonymously interviewed current and former clients. Additional research, both qualitative and quantitative, helped add additional context that helped shape our rebrand. Our leadership team offered insights about their vision for the future. Why we came into existence in the first place. Their passions for where we can go, together. Then we had to bring it to life.
It’s a metaphor: a way of understanding how we’re different.
We Grow, Together.
What I can tell you: something we’ve heard time and time again in business development, pitch meetings, and planning meetings with clients.“You ask hard questions.” We like information. Thinking before doing. Understanding everything we can about our clients. Not just what we need to know to complete a project, but what we need to do to be at our best: a trusted partner, a secret weapon.That’s not to say we work slowly. But we grow with our clients. What you get day one is not what you get after three months. Our longtime clients have seen that. Prospective ones have been startled by the questions we ask as we get to know one another, and how deep they cut.
The Elephant In The Room
It represents a problem no one wants to address.Through the questions we ask and the relationships we build, we’re better able to identify and cure our clients’ shortcomings. We understand and communicate their story. We understand their customers, so we can create resources to help them. We build campaigns that deliver measurable results. It’s a metaphor: a way of understanding how and why we’re different.
We found most of the organizations who come to us need a true partner. Someone who will be brutally honest, not content to take orders, who will push back when that’s what’s needed. Someone who refuses to ignore the elephant in the room.The elephant is a symbol: the creatures are powerful, but also among the world’s most intelligent. They’re capable of displaying emotion and great compassion. Just like us.
One Look?
Our brand identity was inspired by bringing together our three elements: brand development, marketing strategy, and creative execution.We move forward, no longer conceptualizing them as discrete elements, but rather by fusing them together. We converge the disparate elements of your marketing communications to interrupt the overflow of media noise to effectively tell a story and ignite true passion.The new look, with the E and 3 coming together, communicates visual movement, with a final look that’s not only more mature, but also highly versatile.
We wanted to take a bold approach to our website that would still be appropriate and accessible to our target audiences. So we simplified our existing website with a homepage that communicates our story in a fresh way. Pairing handmade typographic elements with animation and illustrations conveys a clean but lively style. The voice is bolder and more direct, more true to the way our agency has evolved.
[regQuote quote=”In other words, you are who you are.” borders=”False”]
The Future
At the end of the day, those who care that we changed our logo and launched a new website are few. Truthfully it’s a bit different for an agency, because our own website should stand as proof we know where we’re going, and that we can tell our own story truthfully, consistently, with heart. But great logo design aside, we’ve achieved our goal if – and only if – this helps people better understand who we are at a glance; if this helps sales tell a story and connect with prospects on a deeper level; if this makes people stop and look for a second longer. People are smart. You can’t fool them. You cannot just decide you want your brand to stand for something else, start over, and change your story. In other words, you are who you are. And it starts with what you say, about yourself, to whomever is listening. It has to be a story with heart, based in truth, that connects with real live human people. Otherwise no one will care.Your brand is your flavor. It’s all the things people think and feel and say about your organization. Those perceptions are a result of all the things you actually do, whether they’re good or bad. So yes, write your story and write it boldly. We can help with that. But above all else, do good work. Be good to people. And be who you are.
