Introducing FinchBrands.com
The development of an enhanced market position and a new creative expression for Finch Brands has been a long, sometimes challenging journey. Over time, we have turned our attention inward and focused some energy on telling our own brand story and highlighting what makes Finch Brands different.
Though the entire company has been involved in the refinement of Finch Brands in some capacity, our President, Bill Gullan, Creative Director, Jordan Goldenberg, and Senior Art Director, Scott Richards, have played the biggest role in guiding the process to completion. We sat down with them to discuss Finch Brands, our new website, and taking on ourselves as a client.
What does “real-world branding agency” mean to you?
Bill: It speaks both to our background and our attitude. We have emphasized client side (‘real world’) experience in bringing team members aboard, but beyond that, we pride ourselves on being practical, reality-based, and easy to work with. The net effect is that Finch Brands is tethered to the reality of how brands grow.
Jordan: Being a real-world branding agency means analyzing opportunities for a client within a real-world context — learning and asking, not just assuming. Then crafting authentic, honest and reality-based communications around it.
How did this process of refining the Finch Brands brand begin?
Bill: We really started looking at it when we decided to begin business development outreach in earnest. Before, when almost all new business came from referrals and our network, we were able to tell our story in person and build chemistry with prospective clients. As we have sought to widen our acquaintance, we considered it not only important to define our species, but also our difference.
Jordan: We recognized that just saying we’re better didn’t express what we uniquely do and how, that we needed to express our difference in a benefit-driven way for our clients.
Scott: While working on a multitude of brands, it’s always good to take a step back and look at your own. So with doing that, certain aspects of our brand came to mind that we thought should be updated and evolved.
What did you hope to accomplish with the new messaging and website?
Bill: We seek to be the best known and most highly-regarded boutique branding company in the nation. That is quite a journey, but one that a well-told brand story will help accelerate.
Jordan: We wanted to create a responsive, immersive experience that was optimistic and interesting. The new site is meant to create a balance: ensuring that our brand expertise and depth of services came through alongside our creative POV and quirky personality.
What was the thought process behind the new site design?
Jordan: We wanted to show our unique take on branding through real-life examples on the surface, and then to allow – or ‘earn’ – the opportunity for the visitor to go deeper to learn more.
Scott: When I looked at the site that we had, I knew we needed a major redesign, something vastly different than what others are doing. This new site really encapsulates our thinking as a company – we are the people who think differently and create amazing, functional things that don’t exist anywhere else on the market.
How has this process strengthened Finch Brands?
Bill: Looking inward in a disciplined way is almost always therapeutic and productive. It is both in this case. We’ve been able to take our own medicine and the result — beyond our own storytelling — is a better sense of what makes us distinctive. That extends into professional development, talent acquisition and beyond.
Jordan: I think this was a big dose of our own medicine, and that’s always a powerful and positive thing. Going through our own rebrand helped us see our process through our customer’s eyes, and what’s more real-world than that?!
Scott: This has been a collaborative and energizing task that utilized the strengths of different minds here at Finch. When we looked introspectively, we were forced to rethink how we as a brand are presenting ourselves, and our collaboration has not only been a success, in my opinion, it has strengthened the already strong bonds between us.
What do you think of how the site turned out?
Bill: I love it. At times, the process was very clearly about balancing creative inspiration with ease of use. Isn’t that always the case?
Jordan: I think the site fires on all cylinders. It faithfully expresses our personality, our unique service sets and represents how they come together to create positive results for our clients.
Scott: I am extremely excited and proud of the result— we wanted to put forth an innovative, interactive, and exciting presence on the web and, in my opinion, we accomplished that.
What aspect of the “rebrand” are you most proud of?
Bill: All of it — it was really fun to look as deeply at ourselves as we do our clients’ businesses.
Jordan: The company. I’m proud of what we do for our clients, and better defining it has only made me realize what a uniquely special place it is, and how much positive impact it can have when unleashed correctly.
How was Finch Brands as a client?
Jordan: By far the toughest I’ve ever encountered 😉
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Valerie Slade, Marketing Manager
