Firespring

As of today, the company that I work for — Digital IMS, Inc. — is no more. We’ve unveiled our new brand and identity, and from now on, will be known as Firespring. You can read the official announcement here.

This has been a long process, as I imagine most rebranding processes are. The challenge was finding a name and identity that was memorable and helped us stick out from the crowd, and that also communicated something about the company’s values and spirit. At the same time, we didn’t want to pick a name that sounded good simply because it sounded good. We didn’t want something that would seem trivial, dated, or cheesy 5 years from now.

In other words, we didn’t want anything remotely “Web 2.0.”

Needless to say, we went through dozens of names (and logos and branding concepts). Some of them were good, but just didn’t fit. A lot of them were crap, plain and simple. But once we arrived at Firespring, something clicked. There was refining, of course, but the more we thought about the idea and worked with it, the more it felt like a natural fit, as if we’d been using it all along.

In order to drum up excitement for this momentous occasion, we held “Firespring Spirit Week.” Yes, a spirit week, just like the ones you had in high school. Costumes, department decorations, theme days (my favorite was “Frontier Day”), contests — they were all there. And if you walked by 12th and “N” streets last Friday around lunchtime, you might have seen our block party with friends, families, and clients. It was a great day, and a great week, to kick off a new and exciting time in the company’s life.

Regarding the old name, I don’t think anyone will be shedding too many tears over its passing. Not only was it unwieldy and no longer descriptive of what we do, but it also had the unfortunate effect of making anyone who said it sound like they were drunk (go ahead, give it a shot). Not exactly the best association you want for your brand.

And no, we’re not going to call ourselves the Firespringers. That’s just too close to “Jerry Springer” for comfort.

On a somewhat related note, we recently bid farewell to our creative director, who oversaw much of the rebranding. He’s in the process of moving to San Francisco, so if any of you work in an advertising agency in the Bay Area, and some guy named Jeffrey DeLong comes knocking, do yourself a big favor and hire him. It’ll be one of the best investments your company could make.