What Have We Done? 20 Years of Building Brands

Should I have done anything better, perhaps, I would be two inches taller and a shade faster on my jump shot. However, disappointingly, it was not the case, and deep down, I am a designer. My portfolio was hand-drawn when I left school, everybody wanted digital chops and I was wearing my analog swagger. Fortunately, the creativity that I managed to develop with the instruments of trade took me to some nice companies with some nice mentors. After ten years in the business, I made a jump in 2002, ten years after the bombing of the .com, to go out on my own. I had a merger with Jonathan Fisher and I began the company in 2005. Less than a year later, we had gained BravoZulu and made Malcolm Wolter, Donovan Buck, and Greg Weir our partners. We have been nurturing brands since time immemorial, surviving every type of storm: market crashes, energy slumps, pandemics, real hurricanes, and the drizzle days when a company struggles to survive. Over 150 individuals have passed through our doors - interns with good hair and experienced leaders with better stories. We have constructed, contracted, expanded, controlled, and studied all of it and in the process, the best we can do is to take a graceful bow (or at least not full-blown panics).

The company began with a fairly simple mission: to assist companies in telling the truth about themselves and to make it memorable. We did not want to be the largest - we wanted to be the most relied upon, to become part of the vision of our clients, not another seller. It entailed taking clients through changes as significant as handing over family businesses and as complicated as initial offerings, mergers and divestitures. At times we were the voice of sanity amidst the madness, at times the innovative adrenaline amid times of re-creation. The value, in all cases, was linked to the client, the team, and as well, the truth of their story.

Not one more percentage and statistic, just a few stories, the best ones, that explain it all:

Transocean

In assisting Transocean to explain the strategy of a new head and guide them to change the business, we assisted them a bit. We not only took pride in the fact that we got the company out of a difficult situation, but also assisted one of the friends in defining his vision of the future of the company and the industry.

Chemstations

It was a bang to crack the niche engineering software company and open its brand to the full chemical industry. We redefined the identity and message of Chemstations as easy to approach, human and, somewhat witty, which is not common with process engineers. The fact that software can feel like something that people want to work with in a world where user interfaces can be represented by simple gray boxes and spreadsheets is a victory.

Skyward Specialty

When the Houston International Insurance Group wanted a new beginning, the answer was not a new logo. It was an unfamiliar name, unfamiliar vision and unfamiliar industry story. We steered a total brand reengineering with Skyward Specialty and a rebranding was launched both internally and externally, which contributed to the impact of their providing a market and a position to enable sustainable growth. It is that sort of top-down, bottom-up change that we most like.

Oxy

Rebranding Oxy was a leader in managing carbon and bold thought was required. We transformed their brand identity out of the traditional energy giant to proactive carbon innovation partner because we had the opportunity to Zero In on Oxy narrative and showcase their vision, values, and dedication to being an energy partner that operates along the spectrum. The case study has taught us that brand is not what you say but what people think.

Millar

Our agreement with Millar started at a crossroad: new management, new ambitious growth targets, and the necessity to rediscover the heritage and innovation of the brand in a new time. We rejuvenated their aim, product architecture and introduced Millar strategically to the legacy and new markets. Branding their new 56,000-square-foot headquarters in Pearland, Texas was one of the most ambitious stages. We designed environmental and signage and interactive areas so that their history of life-saving technology and innovation could be vivid to all visitors and those working under them. We have transformed Millar from a catheter company into a world-wide OEM enterprise, contributing to a stir of new revenues and internal pride - and demonstrating, one brick-like-a-branded brick at a time, how a change is initiated internally and radiated outwards.

WillScot

WillScot needed to look forward to the modular space with visible leadership, and a good product alone was not enough. We aided their rise with creative across multi platforms such as digital campaigns and environment graphics that conveyed innovation and reliability to a saturated market. We facilitated their going public, acquisition of three of their biggest rivals, and made sure that their customers were aware of them being ready to work. The result? WillScot did not only stand out as they stood alone, they were recognized in the industry and the clients naturally increased.

It is not all high-fives and awards. Two decades later, this is what remains memorable:

• To make a risky decision, it was necessary to pray, believe, and work as a team and get a lot of pep talks
• You can't make everyone happy. The faster one gets used to this the easier life becomes together with leadership
• I made attempts, flunked, and came to understand that total respect is better than temporary approval and warm honesty than ambiguous benevolence any time
• Some days, you're not proud. Bad communication and awkward silences are as a result of fear and indecision
• The greatest leaders are truthful, take responsibility and do all they can to restore trust even when they are not comfortable
• It is better to think small--it is better to think big is dangerous. We challenged customers to think bigger and at other times we were reluctant to do so ourselves
• Your people are the story. Others succeeded and others did not but all the teammates have made a mark
• Brand efficacy is more about talent and commitment than any branding campaign or platitude can ever do. The more we took care of each other, the more we were successful
• Partners, not vendors. The magic is the one which occurs when the clients are sitting shoulder-to-shoulder with us and solving the problems jointly

Today, the company is no less at home when it comes to measuring KPIs than taglines. Our brand process extends much further than design, to leadership, culture and the quantifiable value of strategy expression. The full-scale launch of Skyward, the reinvented customer experience at Chemstations or the radical reinvention by Oxy: all this shows that brand is performance, not merely gloss. These themes are discussed in our podcast "Solving for Bdeg" and the way strategy, AI, voice, and empathy will define the future of branding. It is characterized by real talks, real teachings and none of the hype. It is so much fun to do, and it makes an excellent synthesis of our history and the intelligent folks that we have had here.

We did not only build brands - we built community. Our group has volunteered its time to different non-profits throughout Houston over the years. We have trained at Universities and given further value to the thousands of interns whom we have nurtured. The alumni have gone on to spearhead powerful creative teams, run private and governmental organizations. We take pride in our difference and lives we have devoted to changing. Without family, none of this would have occurred: my wife who urged me to take the leap after she noticed that I was not happy with the position I held, my children, who accompanied me on late-night press visits and early-in the-morning client meetings, and my parents with their entrepreneurial spirit and creative power. Our impact is something we are proud of and the lives we have been dedicated to making better.

In case there is one theme over the next two decades, it is the brand building through performance. Technology, AI and data will continue to alter the rules, but real story telling will always triumph. With all the tools of our fingertips and employing intelligent, skillful individuals, we are geared towards assisting our clients in gauging what counts:

• Customer loyalty
• Culture
• Investor confidence
• Sales effectiveness