In the first of two posts, we explore why what you have to say is important – and isn’t just restricted to your Clients. We’re always being approached to look at a brands tone of voice and evaluate the way they communicate so it’s only fitting that we sit down and evaluate ours.
When directors Ben and Jason started Fiasco Design, they came up with our three brand pillars; creativity takes courage, together is better and simple is good. They felt that these best reflected who they were and what one could expect from working with them.
Fast forward to 2016 and they’ve harnessed a reputation for outstanding work that has led to them winning a D&AD Award (shameless plug), and an exciting roster of Clients such as Penguin Books, Tobacco Factory Theatres, Moleskine and Red Bull.
There is a confidence in being able to assess what’s working and what isn’t and to learn from those outcomes.
However, never ones to shy away from a challenge, they decided it was time to find out whether, and how far, the agency has progressed in that time. They wanted to find out what Fiasco Design stands for, what they’re trying to do and where they want to go. With a steady and healthy growth of the company, now presented itself as the best time to embark on this journey – fresh and ready for what 2017 is going to bring. 
Process
This process isn’t an easy task. We’ve had the privilege of working with a variety of brands; those who know who they are and the direction they’d like to go in, those who are unsure of themselves but know where they want to go, and those who have either lost their way or are just starting out and are therefore trying to find this out. It’s a daunting, but exciting, process and something that we feel brands should practise every couple of years to ensure they are still driving in the same direction. There is a confidence in being able to assess what’s working and what isn’t and to learn from those outcomes.
In order to do this properly we needed to treat this workshop as we would any other and take the time out of our day, so we shut up shop, supplied the team with copious amounts of coffee and got to work; digging deep into what makes Fiasco Design a great thing to be a part of.
In a series of questions and discussions we were able to compile keywords that describe our values, our personality but more importantly we were able to discover further that we are a team of like-minded individuals who are eager to learn each and every day.
Findings
What’s more, we were pleasantly surprised to find that the brand pillars that were established over five years ago remained just as strong today – and had become such a strong root to the studio’s ethos.
So what’s next? We’re going to look at our brand communications, both online and off, making fundamental content changes as well as reviewing the design. We’re going to assess our social media and blog content to ensure brand consistency and we’re going to review our internal processes to ensure that our output continues to be of only the highest standard.
Being a part of this process has made us truly appreciate not only how important it is to practise what you preach, but by going through the process ourselves we can strengthen our client offering.
Are you going through a similar process at the moment? We’d love to hear your thoughts on Twitter & Facebook.
