EA065: How to Successfully Rebrand an Architecture Studio with Emily Hall [Podcast]

Click the podcast player button above to listen or subscribe to the show on iTunes. When Annmarie and I launched our residential architecture studio in 1999, we made a very important decision about the name of our firm. We wanted to be sure that our name was unique and would clearly separate our studio from the many other residential architects in our region. We wanted a name that would be easy to remember, endure and outlive the firm's founders when the next generation might take the lead. We wanted a name that would not burden us as principals, forcing us to be the only people that prospects would want to meet when developing new business and interacting with clients. If our names were on the door, would we be the only people qualified to represent the firm? We wanted a name on which we could build a brand. We named our firm, Fivecat Studio and succeeded in building a successful brand of high-end residential architecture in the lower Hudson Valley of New York State. This week on the Entrepreneur Architect Podcast, I am speaking with a person who understands the how important proper branding is to the success of every architect. She’s responsible for rebranding multiple New England-based architecture firms. Emily Hall is a Senior Associate with Union Studio Architecture & Community Design based in Providence, Rhode Island and we had a fantastic conversation about how to successfully rebrand an architecture firm.   Please review this podcast on iTunes. Referenced in this Episode Union Studio Architecture & Community Design Donald Powers Architects Rhode Island School of Design Durkee Brown Viveiros Werenfels Architects Society for Marketing Professional Services University of Rhode Island Congress of New Urbanism Donald Powers, AIA, LEED AP, CNU Douglas Kallfelz, AIA, LEED AP, CNU Charrette Venture Group StatCounter Analytics Software Google Analytics Robert Troutman, Highland Standard (graphic design) Nail Communications Cote Renard Architecture Dig Architecture Using a design brief Definition of “Brand” Importance of brand continuity Operations manuals and brand guidelines (the brand book ) Chris McRobbie Design + Illustration (web design) Contact Emily Hall @UnionStudioArch on Twitter Episode Transcription (Transcript) How to Successfully Rebrand An Architecture Studio with Emily Hall Episode 65 Mark R LePage: This is the Entrepreneur Architect podcast episode 65. (music) Mark: Welcome back to Entrepreneur Architect podcast. My name is Mark R. LePage and this is the podcast dedicated to a successful life as a small firm architect. Whether you have plans to someday start your own firm, you're in the process to start up or you might be an experienced small firm architect just trying to make a difference, this podcast is for you. My goal is to inspire you to build a better business, so that you may pursue your purpose with passion and live the life of your dreams. Mark: When Annmarie and I launched our residential architecture studio in 1999 we made a very important decision about the name of our firm. We wanted to be sure that our name was unique and would clearly separate our studio from the many other residential architects in the region. We wanted a name that would be easy to remember, would endure and will outlive the firm's founder when the next generation might take the lead. We wanted a name that would not burden us as principals, forcing us to be the only people prospects would want to meet when developing new business or interacting with our clients. If our names where on the door would we be the only people qualified to represent the firm? We wanted a name on which we could build a brand. We named our firm Fivecat Studio and we succeeded in building a successful brand of high end residential architecture in the lower Hudson Valley of New York State. This week on the Entrepreneur Architect podcast, I'm speaking with a person who understands how important proper branding is to the success of every architect. She is responsible for branding and rebranding multiple New England based architecture firms. Emily Hall is a senior associate with Union Studio Architecture based Providence, Rhode Island and we had a fantastic conversation about how to successfully rebrand an architecture firm. (music) Support for everything we do here on entrepreneur architect is provided by our platform sponsor FreshBooks. The easiest ways to send invoices manages expenses and track your time for free 30 day trial visit freshbooks.com/architect. (Convo starts) Mark: Emily Hall welcome to the Entrepreneur Architect podcast. Emily Hall: Thank you thanks for having me. Mark: Thank you for taking the time to join me, I appreciate it. Emily: (Uh huh) Mark: You are a Senior Associate at a firm formerly known as Donald Powers Architects based in Providence, Rhode Island – my old stomping ground. I went Roger Williams University in Bristol, which is not too far from there. I'm heading back up there tomorrow to give us small talk to the A.I.A.S. up there So I'm excited to go back to, to where it all began. But in 2011, with your guidance, Donald Powers Architect successfully rebranded as Union Studio Architecture and Community Design and that's certainly, I'm sure we'll talk about it but it's no small feat to take an established firm with a principal's name on it and rebrand it successfully so it works and I'd love to discuss that. But before we get into that, I want to know a little bit more about you. I'd like to understand where you came from and where did you start, so if you could give us your origin story. What was your path to where you are today? Emily: Sure! Well, like a lot of people who are in architecture marketing, I've never went out with this in mind as end career goal. I think a lot of people find themselves in the field of architectural marketing through a lot of different passing channels. Personally, I have an undergrad degree, an undergrad experience in art history in studio art that took me into New York City. After that, for five years working in the art gallery world and I went on talking a lot about art for five years. And I then I wanted to do some more design work, so I went back to school at Rhode Island School of Design where I got a master's degree in industrial design. And, then I got pulled into the architectural world because I wanted to do a simple job so I can have my own time – my time to do my own studio work in industrial designs so got a job for small architecture firm as a receptionist. And then (background noise) I'm sorry. Mark: That's ok. (Laughing) Emily: That's my rabbit actually causing some damage over there. Mark: You might hear my dogs barking in the background. Emily: (laughing) I apologize. Mark: We roll really casually around here, so no worries. Emily: Yeah. So then I was a receptionist in a small architecture firm and gradually just took on more and more responsibility and over the course of nine years at that firm which was Durkee Brown Viveiros Werenfels Architects also in Providence. I got a window into absolutely every job in the firm that was being not an actual...