Introducing the Leff rebrand and new website

As a small, growing business, we have been confronted from time to time with the realization that our perspective on what we offer to clients and how they view us have diverged. It happened to me last year when I was talking with a former colleague about a prospective engagement with his new company. He had called to tell me he and the leadership team had decided to handle the project in-house. (It was totally the right decision.) But then he offered some additional insight into their decision-making process—the CEO said that our website had deterred him from working with us.

Wait. What?

What may have been an offhand comment from a friend sparked a serious discussion among our team. We realized a few things:

• For every one comment that slips through, you never know how many other people are thinking the same thing. A handful? Everyone? There was no way to be sure.[spacer height=”20px”]
• We couldn’t just redesign the site and port our existing copy over. In fact, the company had grown enough over the past couple of years that the way we described ourselves, and the look and feel of our website, was more reflective of where we came from, not what we’d become or where we wanted to go.[spacer height=”20px”]
• This rebrand wasn’t just about the website. We recognized that we needed to devote some serious energy and resources to brand strategy. We’d evolved past the brand we established seven years ago. We owed our team, our clients, and potential clients a clear and consistent view of our organization—from what we do to what we believe in.[spacer height=”20px”]
• Although every day we help clients tell their stories in a compelling way, we were entirely too close to our company to perform the same service for ourselves.

These weren’t small issues. Although we wanted to address them quickly, we were aware that doing it right meant the solution would be months—not weeks—away.

We embarked on a brand positioning exercise with an external expert, and the attributes and clarity that emerged energized everyone. The light bulb moments were plentiful—from better understanding how to stand out from our competitors to clearly articulating what we offer and why we’re different. There was also great relief in seeing the values we cared about reflected back at us in language that felt completely fresh.

The rebrand resulted in refreshed messaging and a new look and feel that we’ve since translated to our new website and brand materials. We are now simply called Leff (so long, “Communications”), and we describe ourselves as a content marketing company. We have a sleek new logo that reflects our brand positioning, promise, and personality; and a new tagline, “Turning ideas into assets,” an apt description of what we aspire to do for every client.

Our logo evolution:

This rebrand was an investment in what we’ve built over the past seven years, and the growth to come. We’re excited to share the results with you.

Of course, I’d be remiss if I didn’t acknowledge my friend whose candor set the whole thing in motion. Please share it with your CEO and let me know what he thinks. The next round is on me.