Insights from the Two-Thirds Mark

Ashley came up with one of the best ideas we’ve had in a while: at the end of every year, we take a look at our branding and decide if anything needs to change.

So for the last two months, we’ve been taking a deep look into how we’re presenting ourselves, and came away with lots of notes. A rebrand it is!!

I wanted to take a moment to jot all this down – both for you to get some insight into our branding process, and for me to journal a bit.

Our Brand Audit

The first step: auditing our current brand. Here we used one of my all-time favorite hacks for the creative process.

We took a deep dive through our website, social media, client communication, documents, and deliverables – separately. Then we each came in and presented our thoughts to the others.

This is something we do for almost all of our creative work – website designs, logo designs, etc. We all head off and do it ourselves, then bring notes in to compare ideas.

Yes, this does cost us more in the short term. Three times as much, actually. But the benefits are 1000% worth it. Our work comes out better simply because there are significantly more ideas flying around.

So here were our findings:

  1. Less Scrap – let’s get more professional, but keep that creative edge.
  2. More Cerebral – more focus in our messaging on our unique “skyscraper” mindset towards our work.
  3. Niche, Niche, Niche – focus in on targeting disruptor brands by referencing our past clients and work more.
  4. In the Trenches – dive deeper into our brand, with more diverse visuals that still feel on-brand.
  5. Make It Real – get some photoshoots done with a style that complements us.
  6. Use the word “gaggle” somewhere.

Armed with these six takeaways (and a GIANT list of notes), we got to work.

And along the way, we’re using it as a tool to rethink our branding process for our clients.

A More Freeform Approach

This branding project is planned out for almost double the time of our usual branding projects.

That’s because we’re trying out lots of different ideas and finding what sticks. A few examples:

Thematic Exploration – we’re giving each other prompts, like “surrealism” or “sneaker shop,” and tasking each other to make moodboards that fit our brand within those prompts.

It’s expanding our horizons of what it means to be “on-brand” and introducing more creativity into creating our visuals. Success!

MORE MOODBOARDS! – in the past, we’ve given clients one moodboard for their brand, but Ashley brought up a great point – to be always truly on-brand, we need moodboards for each medium.

So we went deep – design moodboard, photography moodboard, shape moodboard, reverse moodboard, meme moodboard, and more. Ashley is the queen of moodboards, so this worked out great. Success!

Heavier Strategy – we added a few more pages to our Brand Strategy Guide, which we send to all clients after our research for their brand is completed.

A few noteworthy additions: external content guide, client communication guide, industry status, service breakdown, and talent personas. That brings our Brand Strategy Guide to a whopping 25 pages. Success!

Freeform Inspiration – we’ve done this to a lesser extent in the past, but we’re really getting into it now. Taking inspiration from other mediums. That means specific characters from books, other brands in different industries, and scenes in movies.

This one has been particularly enlightening. For example, we came to the conclusion that we’re like Benoit Blanc in the climactic ending scene of Knives Out (one of my favorite movies). I won’t spoil why, but maybe we’ll tell you if you hop on a call with us. Success!

Bringing People In – I saved the best for last. We’ve been chatting with other people in our industry and asking them how they go about their branding. GAME-CHANGER.

At the beginning of the project, we brainstormed a list of people we trust and/or want to meet in our space, and set about shooting them messages. Since then, I’ve met two new people and caught up with three old friends.

Just by talking with them – not even about OUR branding, but just the creative process in general – we’ve come away buzzing with ideas. And so this rebrand is dedicated to the people who helped us get there. Success!

The Story So Far

So after all that, what does the future of Pink Robot Studios look like?

Well, we’re about two thirds of the way through our rebrand right now, so we can only say with 67% certainty. Sorry. Come back in two months and we’ll have a more concrete answer for you.

But what we can say now: our new brand is sleek, bold, and kind of like Benoit Blanc.

This year, we’re really stepping up our game – scaling further, working with larger clients, diversifying our services, and streamlining our processes.

We got lucky in that January was a slow month for us, so it allowed us to really hone in on improving our company internally.

Oh, and no, the name isn’t changing.

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As of January 28, 2025, we're two-thirds of the way through a self-rebrand. Here's what we've learned so far.

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