Our method for creating and activating meaningful and successful enterprise brands is deeply rooted in collaboration and a unique team structure. It sounds a lot like alchemy, but there is rhyme and reason for our work style and philosophy. To bring a better understanding of how Ervin & Smith is different and what makes us good at what we do, we asked the folks who make it happen.
What follows is a prompted conversation between our Director of Strategy, Alfredo Lang, and our Creative Director, John Rost. It’s been edited for clarity and wit.
What makes a great brand? What does that actually mean?
Alfredo Lang
There are two things that we need to take into account. One is the branding that first comes to mind – the logo, the design, all the visuals and brand voice and communications choices. The other is what the brand stands for. What great brands do is fuse these together – the brand itself stands for something meaningful and the branding says the same thing.
John Rost
Absolutely – it has to be rooted in truth. The fact is that every company, every business, every organization has a brand, whether they’re trying to or not. Your brand is not just your branding. It’s the way you speak, it’s how you look, it’s the choices you make, but it’s also the way you conduct your business, who you do business with and for, and who you are as an employer.
Alfredo
Right – and one of the worst things that can happen is if the branding and the business or product are at odds with each other.
John
Yes. The brand can’t be a coat of paint; it’s all tied to the very root of what you do. It’s DNA. A well-thought-through brand encapsulates both who you are and how you got there – and if it’s authentic, it sets you up for the future as well.
Alfredo
That’s why our branding method focuses equally on external- and internal-facing truth. Your actual business goals must be in line with that DNA in order to move forward authentically. The proper brand for your company is a guide for your customers to understand you and a north star for your entire business.
So, a marketing firm like Ervin & Smith has a lot of work to do to partner with organizations on this type of authentic branding. How do you make it all connect?
Alfredo
There has to be real desire for change from the client, first and foremost. Then, there has to be a lot of collaboration between our strategy team, the client, and of course the creative team, making sure we’re all aligned on the strategic destination and what we want the branding to reflect. A lack of alignment is an early project stumbling block.
John
Well said, and it’s part of I think the flaw in the “traditional” agency structure when it comes to rebrands: you get one part of the agency that understands the client deeply, but then they try to translate that to the creators and the teams who are going to execute. Our model focuses on deep executive alignment and consulting, and then secondarily on internal alignment that brings smarter, more strategic insights to both the plans and actions.
Alfredo
Starting with our executives, we’re all talking with the client, directly, frequently. And we work as a team – strategy, creative, client – to get to and create that truth. Early in the client relationship, we do in-person or remote workshops with the client where we facilitate lots of different exercises and activities and sometimes even games. And the cool thing about it is that it’s not just the executive team or it’s not just the strategy team.
John
From the c-suite to the creatives, you can feel the deeper strategic partnership forming and then coming to life in the work.
Alfredo
We never go into a presentation hoping that the client is going to think what we show them is aligned – we know that it is, because we got there together and we got there as a team.
John
That makes it sound like we have a huge team.
Alfredo
It’s a lot of resources, sure, but it’s usually a somewhat small group with many years of experience. Everyone has an active role.
Change is inevitable, we make it valuable? What does E&S mean by that?
John
The world is changing. Always. Top it off with the changes that happen in a dynamic business, and strategic management can quickly feel unmanageable. It might be the launch of a product or a leadership change, or the desire for a rebrand, or it might be a shift in the way you offer your services or your target audiences. But when the business has recognized the need for a change, smart marketing can help to navigate and lead to success.
Alfredo
The Ervin & Smith sweet spot.
John
Yes. The marketing work that we specialize in – marketing and creative and strategy and media and branding all together – is specifically designed to channel what’s going on inside an organization and turn that into things that matter to customers.
So the business knows it wants to change. It knows that what it’s going to do is going to be good for its customers, but it might need help discovering and executing the best ways to get it to them.
Alfredo
We can draw the points on the map between who you are, where your customers are, and what you want to have happen. A marketing consultancy can see all that and the end goal and then help you get there successfully.
John
So you don’t end up with a decorative coat of paint that nobody believes. We’re set up to seek the truth, and that’s really an idea that guides everyone in the agency.
Any downsides? Why doesn’t every agency do it this way?
John
For one thing, it demands operational excellence and flexibility. We maintain a small team because it keeps us able to flex and pivot whenever needed.
Alfredo
Another reason that not everybody does it is… sometimes, it’s really hard. That sounds funny, but it’s true. It’s not the easy way. Seeking alignment and the truth like we do can mean having hard conversations, navigating conflict, and keeping everything on time through big changes.
John
A lot of times what we end up doing is not what they came to us for. Openness to evolve and see things in a new light are paramount when seeking the truth. Not every agency – or every client – can stomach that, but it’s what makes the E&S method work.