From boring
to bold
Specialist branding & web design for professional services.
How do you stand out in a sea of same old?
In some ways professional services have it tough when it comes to pitching their brand and being distinct from their competitors; after all, there's always another accountant, lawyer or architect offering what seems like the same solution.
On the other hand, we see so many examples where it's this 'sameness' that allows a brand with a different point of view to be the 'purple cow' and stand out in their crowd.
So how do you uncover that difference, and then show it to the world?
It's a combination of two things:
The workshops, research and rock-solid strategy to tease out your uniqueness and form a clear plan
Plus the skills in copywriting, design and development to actually deliver a result that you can be proud of
It's no longer enough just to say you're "genuine" and "really care" about your clients. Same goes with having some friendly photos on your website. Everyone is doing these things now.
You need to go deeper to find your point of difference, and then have a partner who can execute on that vision and create a Standout Brand.
That's where we come in.
As we launched a new business Ply provided us with a great springboard to take our first step and the market feedback has been very positive.
Sam Barrow
Founder - Coolamon
What sets a distinct services brand apart from the rest?
SWIPE
You need to agree on a clear strategy that identifies who you are, what you stand for, and where you want to go.
Without this it's just guesswork.
We lean on our extensive commercial experience beyond the design world and our patented strategy workshop to help you clarify where to go.
One of the hardest things to do in a crowded industry is to identify some clear air where you can cut through all the sameness.
We will help you carve out a unique position vs your competitors, giving you an angle to own in your market.
Your verbal identity is as important as your visual identity. Crafting clear and simple core brand messages and writing copy in your unique tone of voice that resonate with your potential clients is essential to standing out.
Don't let your story and key differences get lost in translation.
Crafting a great logo is crucial, but a visual identity goes well beyond that.
Think fonts, colours, patterns, photography and layouts.
It's the combination of all these elements into a cohesive visual identity that makes your brand become memorable.
Your website is often your first impression...
So it should encompass everything that's great about your brand, while also driving customers to get in touch.
This requires a great strategy, site architecture, engaging content, striking design and rock solid development.
Whether it's a brand guide, a copywriting playbook, or social media templates, having clear guidelines that everyone follows is essential to maintain consistency.
When your brand touchpoints all align you'll see your clients confidence and trust grow.
★★★★★
Google Reviews
30+
Professional Services brands
12
Years in the game
Brand Quiz
Boring or bold?
Want to know where your brand stands?
We've put our strategy hats on and come up with 16 easy questions to get a custom snapshot of where your brand is really at.
Take the 5 minute quiz now to get an actionable report to discuss with your team or with us.
Inside the process our clients love
1
STRATEGY
Our strategy sessions always leave our customers blown away.
Our team will guide you in understanding the values, personality and key points of difference that form the foundation of your brand position and strategy.
2
MESSAGING
Figure out what you want to say AND how to say it
By gaining a deep understanding of your business and target market, we work with you to identify the select few key messages that you can really rally around. Plus, we'll help define the personality and tone so these messages speak with your voice.
3
BRAND CONCEPTS
Confirming a design direction before we get to the final product
We'll agree on a clear design brief with you and then present some different possible directions that the final brand could take. We prefer this collaborative approach rather than working in secret until the final reveal.
4
IDENTITY SYSTEM
Developing the fully fledged visual identity package
Once we have an agreed direction, we produce polished and fully-rounded brand identities... not just a nice logo. We'll include fonts, colours, brand devices and example layouts to give you the full kit to play with.
5
BRAND GUIDE
Supply you with the guidelines for how to make use of it
We understand that consistency is the key for long lasting brand value, AND that you can't call on us to create every last bit of communication. So we produce easy-to-follow guidelines to ensure anyone creating work for your brand is singing from the same hymn sheet.
6
WEBSITE
Bringing it all together on the web
Your website is often the culmination of all the great branding work to date. We bring together the new visual identity, your key messaging, and our expertise in design and development to create a website that you're proud to show off, and that delivers you new leads.
SWIPE
Not for everyone.
Pro services are our people.
Legal teams looking to level up and re-write the rules
Accountants who want to show how much they have to offer
Financial services firms who add value beyond just the numbers
Architects and interior designers who colour outside the lines
Recruiters that are all about the human side
Education & training orgs that want to spread their message
Management consultants with a fresh approach to solving challenges
Tech providers with innovations that push things forward
We're a fun-but-serious crew of business brains
We've been in the branding game for over a decade, and before that dabbled in various commercial pursuits... this experience outside the design industry gives us a unique insight into how businesses work and how to uncover what sets you apart.
All that experience has given us more than a few greys, but it's also given us the understanding and perspective that manifests itself into high-quality, insightful work for you.
Dave Prince
New biz + strategy
Ant Rees
Design guru
Mark Campbell
Strategy + dev
Our clients love us
Nissa
Talentpath
Our website desperately needed a revamp. It wasn't functional and didn't accurately reflect who we are as Talentpath. We got to work with Ply to elevate the functionality and amplify our brand's voice so it truly embodied the Talentpath look and feel.
Still have some questions?
Deciding on who to partner with to work on your branding and website is no small decision, so we want to give you all the info you need to make the right decision for you.
If there's more you'd like to know then let's chat.
Not at all. Some of our clients like businessDEPOT came to us already with a pretty clear idea of who they were, as well as a logo they wanted to keep. We kept those things in place but just evolved the rest of the branding around them.
We've since evolved their brand a second time after their business grew and their services expanded, but kept the same essence and simply refined the parts that no longer suited where they were at.
Ah, that's the million-dollar question! No two creative agencies are alike. When it comes to choosing the right company for your project, there are a few key things to consider:
What kind of experience do they have? Check out their portfolio and look for references from previous clients. This will give you an idea of what kind of work they can do and the level of quality you can expect.
What is their process? Ask questions about how they will approach your project. This will help ensure that you get the best outcome from your collaboration.
Are they a good fit? See if they have experience in your industry and understand the challenges you face. A good creative team should be able to create a brand that meets your unique needs.
Choosing the right branding partner is an important decision, so take your time and do your research.
Distinct and well-executed branding is important because it plays a critical role in how users interact with and perceive your company. Good design equals good first impression when people first encounter your brand, great copywriting and clear messaging shows you've got personality to back up your good looks, and a well structured website tells your story and shows your clients you are uniquely positioned to solve their problems.
Our goal is always to build something fairly timeless when we develop a brand. We have clients we still work with 10 years on - in many cases still using some of the work we crafted in the very beginning.
Your brand shouldn't need to change for years when done correctly, and same goes for your website.
That’s an easy one to answer and it comes down to two things - our process & standards.
The way we craft brands and build websites is radically different. We are strategy experts and we take the time to learn about your business, your goals and how we can really add value. Then we have a proprietary method for developing your unique strategy, that leads to great design and then we build your website with market leading tech.
You should also know we don’t do cookie-cutter design or build on templates, because they are very restrictive and you’ll look the same as everyone else. We custom design and build. It’s better, way better.
And then there’s our standards. We have a high bar for the work that we put out, so if you care about your brand and how you're perceived to your customers, we are going to be a nice match :)
We're a small senior team working closely with each of our clients. This means you get access to all our experience and insights across the entire project - not just at the beginning.
We've been in the game for over a decade, and have helped guide many professional services firms to create brands they still rave about years later.s
Absolutely! Our process is very collaborative, and we include a set number of revisions at each phase of the project to make sure you're happy with where things are going before we move onto the next stage.
We use a central Project Management platform that's designed to be client friendly... making it easy for you to see where we're up to in the creative process at any time. It also allows us to keep all chats, files, feedback and details in one central place.