Branding agency gives itself a makeover

After branding and rebranding multinationals all over the world, Rufus Leonard has just rebranded its own identity to "stay with the times", said top executives of the London-based company. Neil Svensen, CEO and Founder of Rufus Leonard, which has recently opened its regional office in Dubai to handle local clients including Aldar Properties in Abu Dhabi, spoke about the intention and objective behind rebranding its own corporate identity.

Since going independent in 1989, the establishment has been growing steadily and has emerged a major player in its field with a global turnover of £9 million (Dh47.23mn) in 2009, even as other multinationals have been struggling through the current economic downturn.

 

Why change the brand?

Our current identity was developed in 2002. Over the past eight years, we've seen our clients become increasingly stressed by the complexity of the evolving marketing mix, not to mention the rapid rate of cultural and technological change.

Today's world is more complex and demanding than ever. It's always 'on', 24/7, 365 days a year. Technology is evolving and is being adopted at an extreme speed. Consumers are empowered as they can broadcast their opinions instantly. The fundamental rules of engagement have changed. People expect more from brands – more dialogue, responsiveness and innovation.

As a result, there is now a real demand for many clients to work with an agency that is equally skilled in brand and digital and able to respond to emerging market needs with precision as well as speed – an agency that can make sense of this full-on, fast-evolving, always 'on' world, and be a confident partner through all this change. Our work as brand development partner for Lloyds Banking Group and as the lead digital agency for British Gas, illustrates this well.

How do you go about re-branding yourself?

We applied the same approach that we adopt with our more conventional rebrand projects. This can be summed up in three stages:

- One, we talked to a wide range of old and existing clients, to gain insight into their views on and experience of Rufus and the wider marketplace.

- Two, we held a range of internal workshops to generate and refine our brand strategy, including positioning and core offer. The entire company was involved in this process. Then we wrote a creative brief for senior stakeholder sign-off.

- We developed the new identity and key messaging.

What did you discover along the way?

That we have a strong, ingrained ethos, which is hardly surprising after 20 years in the business, but is something we'd never captured or articulated as clearly. Also, that we have a vibrant internal culture and a real appetite to deliver strong, effective ideas for our clients; and that everyone here is extremely open to change and excited by the possibilities it represents.

What is the Rufus offer, and has your offer changed as a result?

We are an independent brand and digital business. We combine traditional brand building skills with cutting edge expertise in digital communications and technology. So we have a deep and informed understanding of what it takes to deliver brand today. We break down barriers and business silos to enable joined-up thinking and deliver integrated marketing. We help brands thrive in a world that is always 'on'. Our's is a multi-disciplinary capability broken down into five core offers. These are insight and strategy; brand creation and management; communications and campaigns; digital design; and technology.

To bring this to life, for example, our communications and campaigns will be online, offline and integrated campaigns. Brand creation and development will deliver a complete brand solution across all channels; and insight and strategy could be a five-year digital roadmap or a combined integrated channel strategy. Clients do not need to go to a separate brand and digital agency. Rufus Leonard can deliver both requirements under one roof and at the same time.

What is a brand and digital business?

Brand agencies specialise in developing brand strategy, assets and communications, that is, positioning, personality, naming and tone of voice, imagery – all the traditional brand building skills. Digital agencies specialise in developing digital strategy, assets and communications including information architecture, websites, digital communications, applications, site build and support, which are some of the essential elements of contemporary digital communications. A brand and digital business fuses these two areas of expertise to form one single agency that can ensure the delivery of the full solution by offering powerful, media-neutral ideas that help our clients' brands to stand out in whatever they do across all channels.

What changes have been made?

We've changed all the usual suspects – new corporate identity, refreshed internal and external decor, website and digital communications and all sales and credentials. Importantly, we have also incorporated social media and online public relations into our communications, harnessing the power of video, blogs and microblogs such as Twitter and Linkedin to make Rufus' thinking, work and culture more open and accessible and to allow our different audiences to connect with us in the way that best suits them and, if they choose, to interact with us as well.

How will it affect those who do business with you?

Our offer and how we can help our clients – existing and new – will be clearer, particularly in response to increasing convergence of brand and digital requirements. We've also made it easier for clients to access our thinking and interact with us, so hopefully that will enable further conversations and the most appropriate use of our people and services.

Was it costly?

Everyone involved in the creative industry knows there's nothing harder than being your own client. However, having such talented people here at Rufus, we wouldn't ever think of outsourcing our own rebrand. Given the climate, we have delivered a rebrand based on 'must haves' and over the next year, we'll continue to build on the foundation that has been set.

Is it wise to rebrand in the current climate?

That's a good question. Which is more important, cost-saving or keeping pace with the market? This is the kind of conversation we keep having with our clients all the time. Our belief is that standing still is not an option. We are skilled at finding the most cost-effective solutions for our clients, including ourselves.

How long will it last?

We've built a foundation for the brand so we are firmly convinced that this brand thinking will be as relevant in 10 years' time as it is today. The way we deliver it will undoubtedly change, though.

What's the idea behind the new logo?

Performing this rebrand has given us tremendous insight into our internal culture and working ethos. The new logo is simply designed to reflect that, implying that we are an agency with something to say and that communication is at the heart of everything we do.

Talk me through the re-brand?

At the heart of our new identity is a single sentiment this is expressed in many ways. We live in a full-on, fast-evolving, highly switched-on world. Making sense of this world is a big ask. This is what we do.

We start with a deep and informed understanding, not only of brand and digital but the entire communications mix. Crucially, we apply a proven ability to fuse these disparate activities together to give brand the intelligence and muscle to connect, evolve and thrive.