Branded by Berkeley Q&A: Discussing brand storytelling with Creative Director, Matt Smith

Berkeley Communications has helped businesses reassess and revitalise their brand for many years already. But now, the branding side of the business has a new look – with the exciting launch of Branded by Berkeley.

Branded by Berkeley is a new service offering from the Berkeley group, that embraces storytelling to help disruptive businesses connect (or re-connect) with their customers. From brand ethos and messaging, to logos, website design and video production, Branded by Berkeley can deliver everything required to stand out from the crowd.

Following its launch, we sat down with Branded by Berkeley’s Creative Director, Matt Smith, to find out more about the new venture. Here he discusses why Branded by Berkeley is a natural extension of Berkeley Communications’ services and how it will help clients to embrace the power of story in every area of their business.

Hi Matt, congratulations on the launch of Branded by Berkeley! Can you start by giving us a bit of background on what prompted this move?

I think, really, it just felt like the next logical step in the evolution of Berkeley Communications. We have been offering branding services for a while, and achieving a lot of success in this area, so it felt right to bring all these brand services together under one roof.

We now have a dedicated offer that provides compelling branding services to our clients. This allows us to demonstrate our expertise in creating and re-establishing brands as a full functional service, instead of being an extension to our PR and media communications capabilities.

Branded by Berkeley is fully aligned with the rest of the business, using the power of story to provide an undeniable direction of travel for the delivery of both the written and visual elements of brand identity.

What sets Branded by Berkeley apart from other design and branding companies?

We embrace the Berkeley Communications ethos around the power of storytelling, meaning that everything we deliver has a reason behind it and its own tale to tell. Our branding services are all underpinned by a compelling north star message – from taglines and brand narratives to the logos, typefaces, colour choices, website, and graphic design.

We are also backed by a huge amount of experience, with a good 20+ years already under the team’s belt, and we are supported by colleagues around the world. The team have been pivotal in the inception of many exciting new brands over the years, and for a new service, we have plenty of positive reviews already.

Other than that, well, we’re just pretty darn good at it.

How do you see the ‘Branded by Berkeley’ service offering growing over the next five years?

As with anything, it will be a learning experience. We will continue to grow by paying attention to the needs and wants of our clients, and the challenges in their markets, adding to our already extensive range of services with additional offerings and capabilities.

At the end of the day, our goal is to help provide deeper interactions between our clients and their customers. We constantly strive to improve our ability to do this, as this is where we can add real value.

Thanks Matt. Final question: given the importance placed on storytelling, how will the Branded by Berkeley team ensure this is integrated within its projects?

Storytelling is our ethos, and it is something we were never going to steer away from. Without it, there would be no direction of travel, no sense of purpose, no reason to even begin the process. It not only provides the focus every time we are commissioned, but it also gives a narrative to our clients, that becomes part of every facet and asset associated with their brand.

We don’t need to ensure storytelling is integrated within projects because, honestly, we wouldn’t know how to do it without.

With an exceptional 25-year pedigree, Branded by Berkeley is already working with some of the most ambitious, innovative, and disruptive companies in the UK, Europe, North America, and Australia. Its goal is to offer fully integrated services designed to strike a deeper, more meaningful connection with global audiences and produces brands that resonate long into the future.

For more information and to find out how it can revitalise your brand, get in touch with the team today.