That old chesnut...

In the past I've been guilty of letting an internal project take a back seat. Or didn't think through how valuable and business critical the project actually was if we got it right. You may not have these challenges in your workplace, but it's very easy to let projects slide - 'brand update' or 'sales activation' as a line item on various leadership agendas, only for it to slide into the next month.

We're here to help you.

You'll have heard of the rise of micro-agencies. But surely micro means a lower level of thinking? Not now. Ai and a skill shift to hybrid or remote has meant access to talent has never been easier. We've been winning projects of note by bringing global agency thinking into resourceful, focused teams.


So what. How does this help clients?

• An external unencumbered view
• Zero baggage from what's worked or what hasn't
• A time-compressed bolt-on to achieve your goals
• Current collaboration co-creation tools - combination of remote and face to face
• Not just brand strategy but business strategy - we get it
• Access to the very best global talent - the pitch team is your team

We're not riding in to save the day...
Please don't get me wrong, external creatives or strategists can't do or know everything. The ones that grab your watch and tell you the time. In-house teams are often the best at understanding the product, the specific market challenges and the nuance of competitors and technical detail. This can be learnt, but it takes time.

By putting a select team together with your leadership or internal marketing teams that's where the magic happens. The best external perspectives from other industries - often global - help to reframe what good really looks like.

Any scale of project
And when I say brand... I mean in all its guises. It could be a re-thinking of strategy, product architecture or company values, a refreshed campaign or UX improvements - right through to a new way of working and an entire brand experience across the business.

In times of uncertainty, big ticket items like brand, design and marketing can feel costly and take a back seat. But your competitor who you notice doing things is thinking the opposite. There can be no better time to be planning for your next push. With a carefully selected collaborative team within your business pushing you to think more broadly for the most effective and emotive work.

Internal uplift
In tougher times your culture is all-important. We're often remote, with managers who are highly skilled at their jobs, now promoted to leading a hybrid team. A clear cohesive brand strategy can be that guiding force which gives the leadership and business that golden thread that links it all together. Your people can see if their actions and behaviours are aligned to values and it all ladders up to success and gains for the business. It takes time, but it really works.

A recent project for GYW, a legal firm in the Wellington Region. Their brand strategy was all about being in their clients corner, always. Learning their personal perspective, then adding their own for the best outcomes.

Global perspective
Having learnt skills from talented people both here and overseas, and consulting on clients globally, its given our process and thinking a wider view. We don't navel gaze or do any work that sits in dusty, bloated powerpoint decks. Every tool, asset and system we create is understood and templated for your people and your business. All built to get you more customers from the get-go.

So why Symbol Studio?
No flashy hierarchies, just real experts who have led agencies, can traverse internal relationships and know our onions. We work directly with ambitious leaders and business owners who want real scale, traction and growth.

Get in touch with steve@symbol-studio.com if you'd like to hear how we do things.


Thanks to my collaborators on recent projects:
www.jonteandfriends.com
www.wearefilament.co.nz
www.tombrowncopy.co.uk
www.psphoto.co.nz/
www.4art.co.nz
www.wildlabs.co
Kieran Hawes
Huw Davies