Penelope Bettison | Thursday 21st March 2013
I’m a bit brand obsessed, I admit it. It influences every aspect of how we run Pitstop Marketing. While many think our recent decision to move office is a logistical exercise, we see it as a significant brand decision.
While our location and environment says a lot about who we are to clients, it’s what it means to us internally which has driven us to think strategically about the move.
We felt it was an opportunity to let our brand and its values come to life. And that’s about more than logistics. It’s environment, proximity to our kid’s childcare and to our homes, it’s about being inspired in our workplace. This results in a happier team, more productive outputs for our clients, and ultimately gives us greater work satisfaction.
Due to time constraints and the benefit of an independent and objective view, we engaged an interior designer to help bring our brand story to life in the office. The essence of our brand is centred around an “Explorer theme”, an individualised space that reflects the team and the work that we do, embarking on adventurous journeys, seeking new solutions and experiencing new challenges.
Amelia Earhart features on our main wall, a brand metaphor for our business. Vintage maps, which have significant relevance to our individual lives also feature. We have a wall of photos of our families to remind us about the balance we seek to achieve. Individual inspiration pin boards allow us to make our space our own. We have balanced the use of vintage and new furnishings, as a fusion of tradition and modern approaches, much like our work.
It all comes back to what we want our brand to stand for. We need to live it, breathe it and believe in it for it to succeed. Only then will our clients come to understand what we are building. Not from our work environment but our attitude and belief.
So if you are considering a move, or even a rework of your work environment, ask yourself a few key questions:
- What culture is the business trying to build?
- Is the team engaged in the process?
- How is the business demonstrating its values?
- What marketing opportunities does the move present?
- Is it an expense or an investment?