The agency that already knew

There's an old truth in our industry that agencies are often the worst at marketing themselves. This team knew that better than anyone. They could sense their public persona wasn't keeping pace with the thinking going on behind closed doors, and they were already reworking their brand guidelines. They knew what the issue was. They'd just been hopeful it would come together on its own.

We ran the full 7-Day Sprint. The team were brilliantly open with us, sharing their brand guidelines as a work in progress, access to their analytics, and the warts and all version of where things stood. That kind of candour makes all the difference.

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We reviewed their website, social channels, published case studies and competitor set, then set everything against where their brand guidelines were heading. From there we boiled it down to the essence of what was missing. The sharp, honest, expert voice that came through in their social content, their testimonials and their own internal thinking wasn't making it onto the pages that mattered most. Their strongest strategic thinking had no public presence at all. We also brought in our archetype lens, giving them a clear read on their brand character and a story to tell, something concrete to test every future decision against.

Their feedback was that we'd hit the nail on the head. What made this one special was that the insight flowed both ways. Being reviewed by fellow marketers is the toughest test there is, and they gave us invaluable feedback on the process itself, which we've since woven into every brand audit we've delivered.

If a team of seasoned marketers can find real value in an outside view of their own brand, it tells you something. Being too close to your own business is universal. Sometimes you just need someone to say out loud what you already sense.