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We are thrilled to share the news that Simon has won the accolade of Brand Strategist of the Year from global brand development publication Transform.

The Transform judges said of Simon:

“Simon Thackway has worked with some of the world’s biggest brands. But, it’s not his work’s prominence but its cleverness that sees him stand out as a strategist of note in the branding industry. His ability to craftily twist a brand’s positioning from commonplace to distinctiveness has created success for clients. He knows how to connect the company’s objectives with its audience and its sector, but inevitably does so with flair and dexterity.

Thackway crafts brands that ‘make sense’, a trait that helped him impress judges, one of which said, “Simon comes across as a strategy-focused leader”. Another praised the “depth to which he has gone to address strategic challenges with strong impact”. His ability to confidently become a brand advisor, win his client’s trust and deliver elevated, effective brands makes him a force to be reckoned with in brand strategy.”

 

Simon: A black X? Did Twitter just die? (laughter follows)
Kat: Is it going to be called X?
Tim: Goodbye to the cutest logo on the internet.
Kat: I wonder what the overall strategy is.
Simon: If his strategy is to destroy the company, he’s picked the perfect brand.
Kat: But why would he want to destroy it?
Simon: I mean, that’s one of the most valuable things Twitter has left – its brand.
Kat: Maybe it’s going to be the X of SpaceX.
Simon: He wants to make Twitter an interaction platform where people will do banking and all sorts of other things, basically dumping what Twitter was.
Samaira: Threads is basically the new Twitter.
Simon: There’s a new CEO, there’s a plan, and if there’s any rational thought behind this it’s that ‘Twitter is holding us back from our big vision, so as quickly as possible we tell the world that we’re not Twitter anymore, we’re something else, so watch this space and find out what we’re going to be’. But would you give these guys give your social and banking details? (echoes of ‘no way!’) 
Kat: So is the company going to be called X then? Reading here, he wants it to be an ‘everything’ app, which is a good idea. An everything app is a great idea. But it’s a sad day when that cute bird goes – and that was the only cute thing about it. People were vitriolic – and all the fake news and everything on there.
Lucinda: There’s a new corporate entity called X Corp. Hmm, interesting bunch of associations…
Kat: x.com – nice url. He must be thrilled to be using it after buying it back for $1 million. I wonder what the comments on Threads are about Twitter.
Tim: Actually, the icon for Threads is black, white on black. Which isn’t very friendly. Now they can take the sky blue.
Simon: They should just take the bird.

For sale: old phone with non-updated Twitter app: $1200.

We are thrilled to announce wins for ‘Best corporate rebrand following a merger’, ‘Best naming strategy’ and ‘Best implementation of a brand development project’ in the Transform Awards North America, 2020 held on Wednesday evening as the awards’ first-ever virtual ceremony. The Transform Awards recognize best practice in corporate, product and global brand development work, with categories that focus on strategy, execution, content and evaluation.

The full list of Thackway McCord’s winning entries in the awards this year includes:

  • Gold: Best Naming Strategy for Onto
  • Gold: Best Corporate Rebrand following a Merger or Acquisition for Onto
  • Silver: Best Corporate Rebrand following a Merger or Acquisition for L3Harris
  • Silver: Best Implementation of a Brand Development Project for L3Harris
  • Silver: Best Visual Identity for the Manufacturing & Engineering Sector for Onto

Founding Partner Simon Thackway said: ‘It’s always marvelous to see collaboration and hard work recognized in this way, especially at the end of such a challenging year. We are tremendously lucky to have had the opportunity of working with amazing clients who are willing to push themselves as they embrace change and creativity.

Transform Awards Founder Andrew Thomas said: “We’ve seen a challenging year, but the number of entries and especially the caliber of entries has just been fabulous.”

Onto is a semiconductor giant delivering advanced process control solutions, created from the merger of Rudolph Technologies and Nanometrics.

L3Harris is the world’s sixth-largest defense contractor, created by the union of L3 Technologies and Harris Corporation.


See a full list of the winners here

Today we are happy to announce the launch of Finseca, a transformative trade organization created from the merger of AALU and GAMA with the goal of serving the financial security community and promoting financial prosperity for all Americans.

For too long the life insurance profession has lacked a unified voice and collective action to overcome challenges and increase impact. As the country navigates its way through turbulent times, with existing financial worries exacerbated by the economic repercussions of COVID-19, the new organization seeks to accelerate its impact through advocacy and professional development to enable better long-term planning for futures with less risk and uncertainty.

Finseca is committed to uniting a profession that serves 90 million American families. By driving transformative change, elevating the value and purpose of financial security professionals, increasing diversity in the profession, and broadening the accessibility of financial security, the organization aims to help deliver the American dream. It will do so by building on three transformational pillars: 1) elevate the noble work of the profession to drive better outcomes; 2) accelerate the market impact of the profession to reach more people; and 3) advocate for public policy to increase financial security for all.

We worked closely with the two organizations over a period of a year, formulating the brand strategy and creating the visual expression of the dynamic new brand.

Simon Thackway, Managing Partner, said: “It was an honor to help shape a brand that addresses something so fundamental – the concern for security that lives at the heart of all of us. Bringing the brand to life engaged us in partnership with an exceptionally driven client team; we are proud to have had the opportunity to be part of such a compelling project.”

Related Links:
Visit Finseca’s new website here
Check out our case study here

Kat McCord, Creative Director and Co-Founder of Thackway McCord meets Pratt Institute Communication Arts graduating seniors today via Zoom to share key insights on getting from school to studio when both are closed.

We are excited to announce that Kat McCord, Creative Director of Thackway McCord will be descending on Montreal today to join the jury of the 10th annual Wolda – the international competition honoring the world‘s best work in the area of for logo design and corporate branding. The competition’s aims also include workshops and exhibitions on the theme of graphic design and especially of logo design and importantly setting up international contacts between graphic designers all over the world.

For the 10th Wolda, Kat joins an international jury of made up of:

  • Norbert Küpper, Designer, Organizer of Wolda, Germany
  • Sara Rankin, Creative Director, Canada
  • Bill Gardner, Gardner Design, USA
  • Christian Baun, logodesign.dk, Denmark
  • Rodrigo, Faustino, Commgroup Branding, Brazil

We are delighted to announce VICI Properties as the winner of three awards in the 2018 Transform North America Awards ceremony, held in New York City on Tuesday October 30th.

In 2017, following the decision by Caesars Entertainment to spin off its property into an independently managed REIT, we worked closely with the new CEO, board, management team and their advisors to name, position and create a best-of-class brand in the US REIT space.

In a competitive year with a lot of exceptionally high-quality contenders, VICI Properties won the following:

• Gold for best visual identity from the financial services sector
• Silver for best naming strategy
• Silver for best strategic/creative development of a new brand

Transform Magazine is the only global magazine for brand development and rebranding, and every year holds awards events in key geographical regions to reward the most innovative, creative and successful brand work from each region.

To view our case study for VICI, click here!
For more information about the Transform Awards click here!

Kat McCord has been appointed to the board of AIGANY, the professional association for design here in New York City where she will be focusing on community.

AIGANY is the New York chapter of AIGA The American Institute of Graphic Arts and the AIGANY Board of Directors represents the chapter’s diverse interests and work to provide the varied and relevant programming and initiatives AIGANY has become known for.

AIGANY works to demonstrate design’s impact and cultivate the future of design in New York City. It elevates designers and the role of design in NYC and beyond. They do this by advocating for issues impacting our professional context; educating and empowering designers at every level and community-building and defining the future of our craft.

For more information on AIGANY and the national organization, AIGA, the American Institute of Graphic Arts, click here: AIGANY AIGA

Following the $9.5B acquisition of RSP Permian, Concho, $31B US oil and gas producer, has hired TM to help take their brand to the next level.

Concho is the largest pure-play oil and gas exploration and production company in the Permian Basin. The company employs advanced technology and large-scale development in resource recovery, and prides itself on its diverse, engaging and teamwork-oriented culture.

Find out more about Concho and their acquisition here.

We are delighted to announce that Kat McCord will be leading an executive seminar at this weekend’s Designation Conference to be held at Spring Studios here in New York City. She will be leading a group of students from across the country in a discussion around the topic of Strategy, Design and the Big Idea.

Designation was founded in 2017 to fill the gap in undergraduate curriculums of the principles that govern design in real agencies, companies, and firms.

The conference is exploration of the versatility of a career in design, how design is applied differently across industries, and what it looks like to be a design leader facing the business and social challenges of our world.

Designation seeks to explore the versatility of careers in design, to understand the differences in application across industries of design and to define how leaders face and solve business and social challenges with design.

Find out more about this innovative student-run design conference here.

We are delighted to announce that we won Gold at the 2017 Transform Awards last night for our brand strategy and design work for Cowen, a global financial services firm.

We won financial services best visual identity for creating the brand positioning and tagline, website, logo and overarching visual identity to better underscore Cowen’s mission to outperform.

Read the full news release here:

Thackway McCord wins at the Transform Awards North America 2017

New York City, 2 November, Thackway McCord’s work with Cowen on the visual identity was awarded GOLD at last night’s Transform Awards North America. Our achievement at the awards recognizes Thackway McCord’s excellence in rebranding and brand development.

The awards consistently set a stronger benchmark for work in brand development while reflecting the growing significance of brand in strategic corporate communications. The corporate brand – and its implementation, positioning and creativity – has become one of the most valuable assets a business owns.

Established eight years ago in Europe, the Transform Awards has evolved into a global celebration of the indispensable talent that exists within the branding sphere. Since the launch of Transform magazine in April 2014, the global publication has led the way in reporting on those leading the way in both creative and strategic branding. With shortlisted companies from all over the United States and Canada, this evening has proved there is much to be celebrated in North America. The awards, held at Espace in New York City, were hosted by Anish Shah.

“The entries this year demonstrated a high degree of creativity and innovation, but not for its own sake. Each submission showed a strong understanding that they needed to solve a defined business challenge. As a judge this year, the entries provided a challenge to me as well. With so many strong contenders I had a number of tough decisions to make. They certainly have raised the bar for all of us. It was a privilege to be able to participate in the judging of the Transform Awards again this year. Congratulations to all of the winners!”
David Ferreira, City of Mississauga

To view our case study for Cowen, click here!
For more information about the Transform Awards click here!

TM launches the second online Annual Report for global insurance giant XL Catlin. Click here to view the report!

Kat McCord, Creative Director and Co-Founder of Thackway McCord presents a real life branding case study to Senior Communication Design students at Pratt Institute.

TM launches the Y-Risk, a fully integrated “end-to-end” insurance solution provider focusing on the Sharing Economy. Click here to view the site in its live form!

On Monday November 9th, for the second in the series of AIGA/NY  Leader member-hosted events, we mixed two of our favorite things – design and music.

We invited Nashville-based Bandit to stop by on their nationwide tour in NYC to play a special acoustic show for AIGA/NY members at the Annex at South Street Seaport. To make things even more fun, we organized a poster throw down to celebrate the band’s new album.

We asked designers to choose a song from “Of Life” and create an 18″ x 24″ poster inspired by any song on the album. A shortlist of 12 were on view at the show and the band picked their fave. The winner was honored with sweet prizes. Of course, all 11 runners up received a set of Thackway McCord / Robin Broadbent chocolate bars!

So who got shortlisted and who won? Click here to find out!

We Won Gold!

We are delighted to announce that we won Gold at the 2015  Transform Awards North America for our rebranding work for ICR, a strategic communications and advisory firm. http://icrinc.com

We won professional services best visual identity for creating the brand positioning, website, logo, tagline and overarching visual identity to better underscore ICR’s market leading-position, and to convey the firm’s unique set of integrated services.

The Transform Awards, held annually in Europe, the MENA region, Asia-Pacific and North America is a global celebration of brand development, reputation management and transformation work. The awards recognize best practice in corporate, product and global brand development work, with categories that focus on strategy, execution, content and evaluation.

For more information click here!

Simon Thackway moderates a panel that looks at why venture capital and private equity companies a investing in brand building to differentiate themselves in an increasingly competitive market place and to increase the value of their investments. For more information about the Transform Conference click here.

Kat McCord, Creative Director and Co-Founder of Thackway McCord presents a real life branding case study to Senior Communication Design students at Pratt Institute.

Welcome Rosie!

We are thrilled to announce Rosie, our new Chief Entertainment Officer, our latest (and most enthusiastic) addition to the Thackway McCord team. She is a 20 week old schneagle from Alabama by way of Virginia and now resides in Soho, where she’s learning to stand tall when passing large trucks! Rosie’s favorite vacation spot is Montauk and she’s a fan of scented typefaces.

Kat McCord, Creative Director and Co-Founder of Thackway McCord tells all to Graphic Design Summer Intensive students at Pratt Institute 14th St Campus Pratt.

Core77 honored us with a Packaging Notable Award for our chocolate self promotion. We partnered with photographer Robin Broadbent to create a gorgeous and tasty chocolate promotional gift.

Made up of three individually wrapped chocolate bars and accompanying note card, each wrapper was printed with a beautiful still life image of Robin’s. The chocolate itself is either milk or dark Belgian chocolate embossed with a Thackway McCord + Robin Broadbent insignia. As an added bonus, once one has eaten the chocolate, one has three mini limited edition artworks.
We have received a wonderful response and a surprising number of new business leads from the gift which was mailed out to clients, prospects and friends.

Each year for our promotional gift, we partner with a different artist, the concept being to create a series of artist multiples that over time our clients look forward to, collect, and comment on. Last year we did a series of coasters with the artist Lucinda Rogers, and this year we are considering working with a poet.

The challenge with our gift each year is to create something functional and beautiful that will be enjoyed by our clients, something that stands out from the mass of fruit baskets and holiday cards. And importantly, as a corporate branding consultancy, something that subtly showcases our creativity and our connection to the arts community.

The response to the chocolate bars has been wonderful and we have converted a number of new business leads that came from the mailing which is very gratifying.

For more information about the Core77 Design Awards,  click here and to see pictures click here!