After years spent with the same classic sans-serif logo in orange, the newly united Deutsch Inc. quietly redesigned its visual identity over the holidays.
The newer, blockier logo is the most immediate part of this change. We might call it more assertive and off-center than the Deutsch of old.
The agency doesn’t plan to issue a release or provide more information on the change, but we hear that the new look has been in the works for a while and that it’s tied to the IPG shop’s recent decision to emphasize that its New York and Los Angeles offices are part of one organization working under the same leadership for the same clients.
It’s definitely something of a refresh as #DLife moves into 2016, though.
As 2015 comes to a close, we would like to wish all a warm #NYE. The year was an awesome run—looking forward to 2016’s surprises! #Dlife
— DeutschInc (@DeutschInc) December 31, 2015
Deutsch has made some more pronounced changes in recent months, promoting former SVP/director of business development Jeff White to CMO and partner in L.A. and going through a round of promotions in New York that included new CDs/VPs/SVPs in addition to parting ways with a chief strategy officer, an ECD, an EVP and New York creative lead Kerry Keenan.
The small logo and name changes feel like an effort to further separate the all-in-it-together Deutsch of today from the organization that Donny led for many years following the West Coast-focused executive promotions that took place last January.
On a side note, New York CEO Val DiFebo recently discussed workplace niceties with the Wall Street Journal, saying:
“You have to have a thick skin to work here…I think it’s actually more big-hearted and caring to be confrontational in that way than going behind someone’s back.”
That’s an interestingly direct take on agency culture, no?
We do expect many announcements to come from Deutsch in 2016, most prominently the appointment of a new CCO in Manhattan.
Also: more pizza and tacos.