A Brand is Born: The Collaboration that Created Collabry
Once upon a time (2014 to be specific), a brave and practical woman started a business based on the core belief that there had to be a better way to integrate life, work, and service. It wasn’t the most original idea, but it was truly authentic, and she actually did it versus talk about it. She gave it a fun name that had personal resonance for being about creativity and a haven.
And it grew. Experience and mindset mattered more than politics. People worked remotely. The team was diverse by design. There was an emphasis on community, both internally and in the greater world. When the pandemic happened, this business was already positioned to help clients thrive. And it grew.
Throughout this time, the business found many like-minded collaborators and partners, other companies that were exploring similar themes. And it wasn’t just small businesses; many people in more traditional companies had similar thoughts. Ultimately, a sustainable business is about the people you work with and how you treat each other, one project at a time.
Ten years later, this woman-owned business has defied the odds — only 3 in 10 small businesses survive more than 10 years (NAWBO). By now, the esoteric name felt limiting, and explaining it daily punctuated the point that this had gone beyond one person and her vision to a kind of collective experience. So how does a company like this take on a rebrand?
It brainstorms a bunch of names because that seems like an easy place to start (it isn’t).
It brings on a Chief Brand Officer to oversee the rebrand project and to also develop an ongoing multidimensional communications plan.
It creates a killer creative brief that shares the history as well as the vision for the future.
It hires a great agency with kindred souls.
We chose “Collabry” for several reasons, but the obvious “collaboration” root is first. Another is that so much of our expertise and what we value stars with “Co”: consulting, communications, collective, compassion, courageous conversations, competence, community….
When we shared the name with our consultants, this opinionated and sentimental group were immediately supportive. Within two seconds, the first person said, “I love it.” Of course, there was a lot of love for Blu Pagoda and what it stands for; the name Collabry encapsulates much of that gentle rogue nature.
So Blu Pagoda evolved to Collabry, and Third Rail Creative (3RC) gave it materiality. It was both a dream collaboration and a manifestation of who we are and how we work at our best. 3RC began by reading our brief and then saying, “Nice start, but we need to go deeper.” They shared an intake form that made us really interrogate how we wanted to present ourselves and sparked many lively conversations.
What music would we be? Why did we think a ramen spoon was so cool? What do Emily Dickinson, Galadriel, and Quan Yin have in common, and why are they inspiration? Etc. We felt both seen and somewhat mortified by the many energies we were channeling; how on Earth could an agency distill everything and come back with viable options?
What the process created was trust. We were vulnerable enough to share our full complicated selves, and 3RC was able to meet us there. Never once did we feel judged. There was so much joy in the process. And the work itself was simply beautiful: thoughtfully presented, intelligently rationalized, and full of temptation. Their disciplined approach helped us to arrive at a final state in a very short time, one that would normally be reserved for the “discovery” phase alone.
We can only imagine how 3RC felt, so we asked them directly. Spoiler alert: It was mutual.
“Collabry were true partners in every sense of the word. Along with having many productive meetings about their brand personality, they came along on our process and saw all the ideas, evolutions, and sometimes messiness that comes with a whole redesign. It was an experience that is very indicative of the Collabry ethos: that everyone has a shared goal and will do whatever it takes to get there. Seeing their vision reflected in our designs and their excitement at every stage was a feeling that will stay with us for a long time and we can’t wait see how the brand evolves from here.” – Nguyen Pham, Design Lead at 3RC
“Creating the Collabry identity was an exciting and collaborative experience for 3RC. The Collabry team’s open-mindedness and shared love of creativity gave us the freedom to explore and innovate, bringing our team together and allowing us to have fun with it! It was refreshing and inspiring to work with them!” – Abbey Dandy, Sr. Designer at 3RC
We love the logo and the legs our new brand has. We love the backstory, and we loved the process to get here. Collabry is a testament, a manifesto, a vision, and a promise to ourselves, our clients, our consultants, and our communities. We also love and honor what we have let go of in this process. We boldly believe in a future where work can be meaningful and part of a purpose and that a business can be a force for good in the world.