We are now Offleash, an agency unbound by convention

What’s in a name?

A lot, actually, as we’ve learned during our agency’s renaming exercise.

When a company chooses a name, it’s not merely deciding what to call itself but it’s making a statement – about its self-image, culture, values, aspirations and the qualities it hopes to project to the market. It’s equally a branding exercise and an emotional one, like naming a child.

Fourteen years ago I went the eponymous route. The name served us well for a long time and I’m proud that we grew into the successful agency we are today. But times have changed and so have we.

When your name is on the door, in some way it will always be about you. While I love our company more than ever and look forward to the many years ahead, I simply no longer think of it as my agency. I see it as the story of everyone who works for and with us. It’s a subtle but powerful shift.

In addition, while I like my (impossible to pronounce and equally to spell) name, it ultimately failed to convey our company’s unique personality.

We’re always advising our clients on the difficulty and importance of differentiating in a crowded market, right? So we decided to take our own advice and adopt a new name that better expresses who we are.

We were determined to inject a playful sensibility in our new name – and by “playful,” I mean energetic, dynamic and free-spirited. We think those traits are evident in our work and our award-winning workplace culture and they should be echoed in our name too.

That’s why we are now Offleash, an agency unbound by convention.

The name is meant to be a reflection of the joyfully unrestrained philosophy displayed in our work helping clients stand out in a crowd and in the freedom our employees enjoy to shine as communications pros and individuals.

It feels so good to have a new name that feels so right for us.

I hope you like it too!