What Happens When a 46-year-old Branding Agency Rebrands Itself?

Monigle was founded in 1971 by Glenn Monigle as a corporate identity firm, evolving to how we define ourselves today as a brand experience agency.

Founder of Monigle Associates, Glenn Monigle

The firm developed a reputation for solid performance year after year, working with blue chip clients such as Rockwell, Bank of New York, Eaton Corporation, Avis and Bank of America. This caught the attention of the big holding groups in New York and London. While an exit is the dream of many entrepreneurs, the owners repeatedly rebuffed all overtures, believing in the value of remaining fiercely independent.

It was this independence that provided the freedom for the firm, now led by Kurt Monigle and Rick Jacobs, to look to the future.

In 2012, Kurt and Rick recognized that the quickly changing worldview of the brand leader – driven by digital proliferation, elevation of sophistication levels across B2B clients, and the importance of cross-departmental alignment — would have a profound effect on the business and that change was critical to keep up.

They identified a cadre of senior talent with big agency experience who had become disillusioned by the realities of working for holding company brand agencies. Unencumbered by having to deliver financial results to an outside investor, Kurt and Rick could deliver on an authentic promise of seeking to become “better, not bigger.” Attracted by the opportunity to reimagine the agency’s business and define a culture, these emerging leaders joined forces with existing team members to create a diverse team of trailblazers with a shared set of values.

“I tell every associate, whether they’ve been here two weeks or 20 years, that if we’re doing the same thing in five years’ time that we’re doing today, but we’re twice as big, we will have failed,” said Rick. “Our goal is to become sought-after by the smartest, most interesting people — both as an employer by prospective team members, and as a consultant by prospective clients who have compelling problems to solve and value someone who challenges them.”

A new culture of empowerment and risk-taking

Experimentation and risk-taking were encouraged, and every new project became an opportunity to learn and iterate, challenge and renew. Team members were empowered to chart new courses and given freedom, while holding each other accountable for creating work that propelled our client work (and each other) further.

New service offerings materialized: experience design, journey mapping, employer brand and brand ambassador programs, innovation strategy, retail experience design, and brand activation and implementation.

Monigle’s client base diversified, with clients such as Ally Financial, IFF, Schneider Electric, TechnipFMC, Deloitte, Kodak, Sunovion, Malibu, Vail Resorts and the Denver Broncos complementing our deep focus in health care.

“In four years,” said Kurt, “we’ve seen more change than in the previous 40.”

“Change begets change. Nothing propagates so fast.” – Charles Dickens

“As our business and culture evolved dramatically, we realized there was just one thing that hadn’t kept up,” said Justin Wartell, Monigle’s Managing Director. “Our own brand!”

So a branding agency began the process of undertaking its own rebrand. It was an opportunity to codify all the elements of our business transformation, accelerate the shift in perceptions for those that know us from our past, and set a clear course for the future.

Determined not to succumb to the cobbler’s shoes syndrome, the rebrand was run to the same high standard that any client project would be. Expert practitioners led each of the workstreams, keeping leadership out of the day-to-day work development to ensure that the brand was truly built bottom-up and reflective of the essence of the organization.

“Looking at the mix of work we’re doing today compared to what we were doing four years ago revealed a startling insight,” said Carolyn Bugg, Director of Strategy, who led the development of the brand platform. “Not only are we moving into new service offerings, but an increasing number of projects are taking place post-rebrand, sometimes immediately after another brand firm has finished its engagement. Our job often ends up being to drive continuity and make the work of others function in the real world.”

This revelation became the underpinning for the brand foundation, corroborating the Brand 3.0 philosophy where the hard work truly begins on day two and beyond, after the brand has launched. With an existing strong foundation of ‘Day 2’ services, especially branded environments and our online brand center platform, BEAM, this reality jived well with Monigle’s internal spirit of rolling up our sleeves and getting our hands dirty to bring brands to life in the real world.