Agencies are the last to fix their own brand. The cobbler's kids go barefoot, and the agency's website is three years behind the work.
How do I know my agency has outgrown its name?
Your name is holding you back when it describes a business you are trying to leave.
- The name says the old work. "Print," "Media," "Interactive," or a founder's name from a shop that sold something else. Prospects read the name and file you in the wrong drawer.
- Clients hire you for the one thing you have outgrown. You pitch strategy and digital, and the RFPs still ask for brochures.
- Recruiting is hard. The designers and developers you want look at the name and the site and decide you are not where their careers go.
- The team describes the agency differently than the website does. Ask five people what you do. If the answers do not match the homepage, the brand is out of date.
What else has to change with the name?
Everything a buyer checks before calling you, or the new name is a costume.
- Positioning. One sentence on who you serve and what you sell, which the whole team can say the same way.
- The work you show. Lead with the work you want more of. Move the rest to an archive or take it down.
- Who you hire. The first two or three hires after a rebrand tell the market whether it was real.
- How you price and pitch. If the new name says strategy, the proposals cannot read like a print estimate.
What should an agency keep when it rebrands?
Keep the clients, the people, and the reputation they earned you. Tell your best clients before the public hears it, in person, and tell them what stays the same: their team, their rates, their contacts. Keep the old domain pointed at the new one for good, so years of links and search history follow you. Keep any piece of the old identity people loved, if it fits the new direction. A color or a mark can carry over and make the change feel like growth instead of a break.
Have you rebranded an agency?
Yes. At Thread I was executive creative director, and we renamed and rebranded Go East, an agency of about fifty people that was born in print, into a digital and social studio. The name, the identity, the work on the site, and the hires all moved together. Thread was later acquired and is now a division of Kick.
What does an agency rebrand cost?
With me, naming and a full brand start at $6,000. That covers the name, the identity, and the voice. A website to carry it starts at $6,000 too. If you are not sure you need a new name, a one-hour second opinion is $150 and I will tell you straight. Anything over $3,000 can be paid by the month across the months it takes, no interest. See branding and websites.
How long does an agency rename take?
Plan on a few months from first conversation to launch. Most of that time goes to decisions. The name and the trademark search take the longest. The identity and the site go faster once the positioning is settled. Launch everything on one day: name, site, social profiles, email signatures, and the business filings.
Answered by Jared Lukes, Minneapolis. Twenty-five years in brand, UX, and technology, currently holding fractional AI and technology seats at three companies. About Jared.