The Wolff Olins way: creating transformative brands that move the world forward

Global CEO Sairah Ashman shares more on the evolution of Wolff Olins as we welcome the new era of brand.

We wrote the playbook for creating transformative brands nearly 60 years ago and have been evolving it ever since. We’ve always been pioneers, and today we’re sharing how we’ve been learning, growing, shifting, shaking things up and enjoying the ride in partnership with our ambitious clients. 

Our vision for the future of brands is about transforming businesses through brand, culture and experience - and always in our own wild and wonderful Wolff Olins way. Today's landscape is highly competitive, complex and messy. Obliging brands need to ignore convention in order to find new and better ways forward. To make this a reality, they must act holistically to achieve success. This has always been at the core of Wolff Olins, but this is more true and vital than ever in a post covid, hybrid-built world.

Create your future through Brand. Inspire your business through Culture. Make it real, inside and out, through Experience. We are using the three levers of Brand, Experience and Culture to supercharge business strategy for our clients. A single powerful future vision and ethos made true inside your business through your culture and employee experience, and outside through each and every interaction with your audience.

Since our creation in 1965, we have been continually defining new eras for brands - and while others have often followed our lead, clients and talent tell us that nothing quite replicates the experience they get working with us at Wolff Olins. We have an innate empathy that makes things personal, the conviction to break new ground and the drive to make work truly transformational. We bring maths and magic to major business challenges and inspire leaders with the confidence to think differently, to act and, ultimately, create new value.

As organisations have become fragmented, so too have their agencies - and this leads to fragmented solutions. We’ve never really felt any need to follow the herd or a trend, preferring to explore what feels right for us. Through our approach, we - and clients - use brand as a galvanising thread to draw together the pieces of the puzzle, overcome silos and bring people along. The transformation that clients then drive from a leadership position becomes a reality that is felt by their people everyday, by their customers and society more widely.

We can’t do this without the people and the special way we work. It’s been a joy to see our incredible team of industry-leading experts evolve and grow, with some amazing new talent joining the Wolff Olins family this year to deepen and expand our culture and experience offers with clients. Not to mention our expansion on the West Coast, with a new presence in LA.

And as part of this evolution of the shape of our business and our approach, we have taken a look at our own identity to better reflect the culture and experience of working with and for Wolff Olins. 

Our new expression more clearly signals who we are and how we do what we do. Always strategic, always creative, driven by people and supported by our own distinctive approach. We’re ambitious for the work and optimistic for the world, and while the work we do is serious business, we want everyone working with us and for us to enjoy the ride. Which takes us to some unexpected, wild and wonderful places to create brands that have the power to be truly transformative.

The W and O of our new wordmark represent the magic and the maths, the fusion of the creativity and rigour that has always been at the heart of Wolff Olins.

The W of our new logo captures one of our core pillars, enjoy the ride - inside the business as a team and externally with our clients. Enjoy the ride has long been a key part of our culture, where people can express their individuality, find their fit without cutting off edges, experiment and play, unlocking creativity that helps us imagine new possibilities for our clients. We value how our teams enjoy the ride, producing the best work of their lives, just as highly as we do growing our client base. One can’t come without the other and it’s a core part of our ethos.

The W also reflects the non-linear journey we go on with our clients. It’s not about the easy or most obvious path to find the solution. Sometimes there are twists and turns, we pivot, look sideways. There are no egos, just honesty to uncover what’s right and create transformative brands that give our clients their competitive edge.

The O of our new logo represents our commitment to strategic rigour and precision. This combination of creativity and rigour has been with us from day one, along with a deeply rooted commitment to find better and more positive ways to do business and make a difference in the world. It’s this mix of curiosity, creativity and strategic discipline that drives everything we do and deliver.

We thrive when partnering with ambitious leaders at pivotal inflection points. Whether it’s for a new vision or a new venture, category disruption or an IPO, we help our clients create transformative brands that move businesses, people, and the world forward. 

For six decades, we have had the best times and created the most significant change when we’re pushing boundaries, breaking categories, and occasionally spinning heads.

We stand for brands that defy convention, redefine expectations, and ignite positive change. And we always enjoy the ride in the process.