According to ARCHITECT contributor Jeff Link, from tweaking the tone of your firm’s marketing materials to changing its name and logo, rebranding can clarify your studio’s messaging and ultimately win you more business.
Below, brand strategists and architects offer advice for those interested in reappraising their identity and value proposition.
Consider Your Goals
For New York–based FXCollaborative—founded as Fox & Fowle Architects in 1978 and known more recently as FXFowle—the decision to rebrand started more than two years ago when the partners and principals began re-examining the firm’s mission, says managing partner Guy Geier, FAIA. After agreeing to shift the practice away from recognizing a single individual, firm leaders consulted with branding agency The Seventh Art to understand clients’ and consultants’ perceptions of the firm, and to assess the key components of the existing name.
A branding exercise revealed that “FX” was the memorable hook for clients and consultants speaking of the firm. The group decided to keep that part of the name, but sought to combine it with a term to describe the practice’s working style. A word cloud generated from expressed client perceptions coalesced around the word “collaborative,” understood as both a noun and an adjective. With the resulting name FXCollaborative, the firm was pleased to touch its history while also distinguishing itself from the saturated New York market. “We examined the names of many other firms and we were the only firm of our peer group that had a name that talked about our work style and culture,” Geier says. “Everyone else had last names or sets of initials.”
