Darryl Ohrt: Rebranding Plaid

We’ve all worked on branding and rebranding for our clients, and know such efforts can be monumental. Add to the mix that we are so often our own worst clients, and that our own branding always takes such a back burner to client work, and we can’t help but awe at a fun, well-done and thoroughly-executed agency brand.

VIA (the Visual Intelligence Agency, natch) was founded in 1996, and ten years later, the name sounded dated and limiting. So they declared their intentions with a post on their blog on March 26, 2007: “VIA is about to become Plaid.” For the next two months, they documented the rebranding, with the promise to “share the majority of our ‘back room’ discussions, meetings, and news for everyone to see. And to participate.”

We talked with Darryl Ohrt, brand manager and founder of Plaid, about this daunting but ultimately successful undertaking.

What were the reasons behind the rebrand?
We had outgrown our name, years ago. It didn’t fit the company that we had grown into. We had discussed changing it for years, but were scared to make that decision.

What did you see as the biggest risks involved in a rebrand?
Changing the name of our firm was a scary decision. We discussed it for some time, and when we analyzed our fear, concluded that it was mostly unfounded. In the end, the reality was:

• Existing clients wouldn’t care, as long as the work continued to be great.
• Potential clients who haven’t heard of us wouldn’t notice.
• Clients that we were ‘courting’ might be confused.

When you look at the audience, and where they were coming from, there was very little risk involved. Only one part of our overall audience had any risk associated with it at all. This realization made the decision an easy one.

Was there a defining moment that made you decide it was worth the gamble?
As soon as we started working with the name “Plaid,” we knew we had made the right call. It was so easy to work with. It looks great in type. It was flexible. We immediately generated fun brand statements like “Once you go Plaid, you never go back,” “Why does it feel so good to be so Plaid?” and countless others.

Was there any equity in the VIA brand that you think you lost?
Nope. We received more industry recognition in our first year as Plaid than we did in our first ten years as VIA.

What were the expenses involved? Obviously rebranding is a less costly undertaking in the age of the internet?
Ha. Yes, everything is easier online. There was considerable upfront planning regarding the rebrand, but there were still countless things we didn’t think about. Little things like bank deposit slips. Obscure insurance policies. Ten years of business will put your name in some pretty far-reaching places.

How did you arrive at the new Plaid brand? Were there any close runner-ups?
The name came out of a brainstorm session. David brought it up, as an example. “We need something really simple, and one syllable. Something like Plaid.” We all just looked at each other, and thought, “That’s awesome.”

How does your own rebrand differ from a rebranding you would do for a client?
We followed a very similar process. We have best practices in place for a reason, so they worked just as well for us as they do for our clients. That said, there’s always a little instinct involved, too. But I believe that even our gut instinct is based on years of industry experience and knowledge. So there’s a little more to it than that.

Branding oneself is always the toughest challenge for any agency. Yet you guys seemed to have so much fun with it. Was it as fun as it looked?
You bet. We have fun with everything we do. If you can’t enjoy what you do, then it’s time for a career change. And “fun” is a part of our company’s brand essence. We pride ourselves on not taking what we do too seriously. We can’t stand the old-school, snotty, “do you know who I am?” attitude that used to be so prevalent in our industry. Thankfully, most of those asses have died off. We genuinely love what we do, love working with each other, and I believe that shows in everything we touch.

What made you decide to document the rebranding online? Did you see it as one big case study?
This is the future of business, in my opinion. We’ve been blogging since 2005, and sharing everything about our company. We’re working hard at breaking down the walls of our craft, and sharing more with clients and potential clients. We blog, tweet, and share everything on Facebook. Our firm is an open book, in nearly every sense of the word. Companies that build walls instead of windows will put themselves out of business. This sharing is at the core of who we are — so it wasn’t even something that we needed to discuss. Want to know what’s up? Check any of the five blogs we keep active.

How important do you think a “cool brand” is to a new media agency versus more traditional firms?
I believe it has less to do with “cool” and more to do with being genuine. We’re not cool. The hipsters in Brooklyn are cool. But we’re fun — we’re real, and we do great work. That’s what our brand is all about. There are new-media firms at every end of the spectrum. In the end, people just want to work with people they like, and enjoy spending time with. And there are as many clients out there as there are new-media firms.

And how big a part does blogging and social networking play into this rebrand?
Huge. Massive. We are social media experts. We’re blogging. We’re tweeting. We’re on Seesmic. We’re having ooVoo conversations. And we’re experimenting with the latest, most exciting tools so that we can understand how to best integrate them into client campaigns. You can’t produce social media without a full understanding of the culture and the community. And, since that’s changing every day, it’s important to practice what we preach.

You can read more about the rebranding straight from their blog here and here.