Stanton & Everybody: Reinvented

Rick Stanton, Managing Partner / Creative Director
Stanton & Everybody Advertising + Design

We have a process we use with all of our clients that is essentially our approach to the discovery phase of understanding. This process is how we determine where a brand is in its current state. And more importantly where it should be and why, and what’s the most responsible way to get it there.
This requires a lot of careful listening.
This includes a careful analysis of the category, including all secondary research avenues, our proprietary Internal Brand Audit and hopefully some recent proprietary research. In almost every case, we, along with the client, discover some meaningful information that tweaks the brand, changes the brand or uncovers something big that everyone takes for granted.

When all of this is done, we have various approaches that lead to a formal brand strategy that is written in concert with the client and the findings. We develop a brand archetype, tone and manner of the brand voice, style guides and whatever else needs to happen to insulate the brand before any advertising is created.

Then we go to work with a clear sense of goals, objectives and a firm understanding of the budget we have to achieve them. Here’s where more responsible thinking takes place.
We focus our media recommendations and our creative direction on the brand strategy and a responsible approach for the use of each client’s budget, their expectations.
Every step of the way it’s all about responsibility based thinking and business practices.

We are fair, upfront and honest. Beware the consultant who tells you what you want to hear. And we provide billing back up on everything and it’s completely transparent.

So after 19 years as Stanton & Everybody, we made ourselves the client and turned this process around on ourselves.
We discovered we weren’t really doing a great job differentiating ourselves.
I now understand how the client feels. Change is uncomfortable, even scary. But as I always advise, if you aren’t changing you are backsliding. Arriving at a true brand requires external knowledge and internal honesty and courage. The results are a new positioning line, a new logo and a refocusing of our purpose and point of differentiation in a very different marketplace.

Small, Good is gone, replaced with Responsible Thinking.
This also means the little kids picture that has served as our logo for 19 years is gone, too. A yet-to-be-named, red dog is replacing it with his ear poised to listen. He’s a smart dog. After all, listening is the first step in responsible thinking. Listening to the consumer, listening to the client and listening to find out what the competition is up to. They are vulnerable somewhere and we intend to find out where.

If you’re still standing after the last 18 to 24 months, you want and need smart, responsible, results oriented people on your side. The party is over.
Relevant is the new cool.
Check out our new website and let us know what you think.

Clear your cache and then click here to see more: www.stantonandeverybody.com
Then comment on what you think below.