Brand and digital design consultancy Thompson Brand Partners has announced a company-wide rebrand of its business to ThreeTenSeven.
The move aligns with the Leeds company’s strategic shift towards design and brand transformation consultancy, primarily within the health and wellbeing sector. The agency has played a vital role in facilitating transformations for brands and businesses in this arena, notably the NHS.
The dedication to social purpose at the core of the agency has already been illustrated through helping organisations with development of health brands and sensitive campaigns, shedding light on their services to support vulnerable communities, including survivors of female genital mutilation (FGM) and individuals recovering from substance use disorder.
The rebrand took place under the leadership of MD Rachel Cook and partners Chris Skelton and Paul McGuigan – all of whom were involved in the company’s 2018 MBO. Throughout the process, Thompson Brand Partners’ existing brand equity and pre-established reputation, with a portfolio boasting household names like Morrisons, were considered.
The agency’s recast strategic branding services, led by McGuigan, now leverage behavioural psychology and change consultancy, delivering far-reaching organisational transformation, and the decision to rebrand was inspired by the need to “embody the progressive and analytical approach that the consultancy takes.”
The new name, ThreeTenSeven, references a quote by entrepreneur Jim Rohn: “There are only three colours, ten digits, and seven notes; it’s what we do with them that’s important”, encapsulating the agency’s belief in the transformative potential of creativity.
McGuigan said: “In the last few years since the MBO, we’ve helped major organisations like NHS England transform their brand strategies to become more fluid, digitally engaging and, ultimately, more successful operations with greater clarity of purpose at their heart. The recognition of this impact and strategic approach to brand consultancy led us to pivot the business”.
As part of the strategic shift, ThreeTenSeven has developed a suite of services tailored to work with organisations at critical moments of change. Eight new programmes of work have been introduced by the agency, which guide organisations on the importance of considering brand as a critical dependency when embarking on change programmes such as mergers & acquisitions, accelerated expansion and new brand development.
The services include brand strategy development, brand value optimisation, visual identity design, employer branding, employee engagement initiatives, and ongoing brand management support. While the health and wellbeing sector will be a primary focus, ThreeTenSeven will continue to work with some clients outside of this space, with a caveat of ensuring they align with the agency’s purpose-led values and present creative opportunities.
MD Cook added: “We’ve been in business as Thompson Brand Partners since 1984 and have traded profitably since, so we carefully weighed up the risks of making a substantial change like this – just as we would advise our clients to do. But the benefits of moving from a generalist proposition to a well-articulated, differentiated proposition are proven, and our own market analysis and client consultation supported the business case.
“We saw a clear market need for a consultancy that can harness an understanding of brand theory, change theory and behavioural psychology, and combine them to transform brands, including as part of large-scale transformation programmes.”
