How We Rebranded and Launched The New Response Brand

At Response, we do a lot of work in the branding space. We’ve helped clients ranging from startups to global conglomerates through many branding challenges, including brand positioning, brand portfolio management, and migration strategy.  So working on our own branding should be easy for us,  We know our brand inside and out, have proven tools and techniques that we’ve successfully used with clients, have internal and external research, and have all of the stakeholders at our disposal at any time. But working on our own rebrand was often more challenging for us than working on a client’s brand.

At first, it took us a long time to verbalize our growth goals for the marketing agency. We talked about growth but what kind of growth did we want specifically? When we finally wrapped our heads around it and answered the question, we realized that the growth we desired wasn’t about the size of the agency or top-line billings. For us, it’s about doing more of the work we love, less of the work we don’t, having a stellar team comprised of “A” players, and improving profitability while always providing our clients with great value.

“Small, But Mighty”

For the first time in our history, we embraced our size. Being intentionally lean is something we actually take pride in. It enables us to move with agility, to not be bound by the traditional hierarchal structures that slow down organizations and gives significance to each team member’s role. While the number of people on our team is relatively small, our work has been very significant. Great ideas and execution are not bound by size. That is why we choose to be “Small, But Mighty.” We took inspiration from superheroes like Mighty Mouse and underdogs throughout history. Then we put a stake in the ground, which became the basis for the custom “R” in our logo.

“We help ambitious brands punch above their weight”

While “punching above your weight” has its roots in boxing, the concept has a lot of meaning in the work we do as a company and the clients we enjoy working with. To us, it means that we can outperform what is expected, overcome limitations, and deliver something that is disruptive and powerful. For our clients, who may be challenged to do more with less, it means being creative, doing things differently, and not being complacent in order to be a market leader and to deliver on their own brand ambitions.

Every project comes with its own unique set of challenges, whether it’s time, budget, resources, subject matter, competition, or any number of combinations. Punching above your weight can turn those constraints into opportunity.

The New Response Brand: Around the office

  

In addition to our logo and positioning, we wanted our surroundings to reflect our new brand. We restyled our office with new furniture, fresh paint to match our new brand colors, rearrangement of our space for more collaboration, and little touches to reflect the individuals on our team (such as our wall of album covers where each team member has an album that represents them). Not only did we restyle the office, but we restyled ourselves with branded t-shirts, hats, hoodies, and winter hats.

Why it was time to rebrand

Between the team we’ve assembled, the vision we have for our brand, the culture we continue to focus on, and the work we’ve been doing, our company has changed from when it started fifteen years ago. Our refreshed brand has helped usher in a new era for the agency, one focused on people, our process, and quite simply, doing great work for great clients while never accepting status quo.