What happens when you kill Territorio Creativo? Good Rebels 3 years later

“If people like you, they’ll listen to you. If they trust you, they’ll do business with you.”

Zig Ziglar

Once you’ve decided to start your business, branding is the best way for a group of professionals to build trust. After 20 years of working day in day out to deliver results to clients, Territorio Creativo had consolidated itself as a relevant, admired and, above all, a credible brand within the Spanish market. 

As an independent company within a sector dominated by large communication groups, we had managed to generate confidence in our brand which, together with our recognised specialisation in the social sector, allowed us to maintain sustained growth.

But on January 17, 2017 we decided to end Territorio Creativo and give birth to a new brand: Good Rebels. Were we fully aware of the risk we were taking? 

It was in 2005, fifteen long, digital years ago, when we decided to launch a tool that was both novel and unknown in Spain’s corporate world: a blog. Making ourselves known and sharing our knowledge through this tool, was unexpectedly a very effective way of building relevance for Territorio Creativo. And over the following years, that relevance just kept growing.

That’s why in 2017, ‘killing’ the Territorio Creativo brand was such a difficult decision to make. Giving up the brand meant ending the ‘factory’ of notoriety and relevance that was the Territorio Creativo blog.

A particularly difficult decision not only for me, who speaks to you as the original founder and inventor of the name, but also for our clients and followers who did not understand at first why we were giving up Territorio Creativo at its peak of recognition and notoriety.

But it was necessary for two reasons. The first was our European vocation. We were already operating de facto in England, in Brighton, through the acquisition of a British company. To do this we needed a global and international name, criteria that Territorio Creativo did not fulfil.

The second was that we were at the end of a phase in which our brand had positioned itself unequivocally at an expert level in the field of Social Media Marketing. But for years we had been deploying more ambitious and holistic skills, which went beyond the creation of content for customers and which were not yet credible under the ‘classic’ brand. Accompanying brands in digital transformation processes was one of the most in-demand services in the market, and this was an area where we wanted to build a new confidence in our capabilities, beyond what we had already achieved. And now, after three years of being Good Rebels, have we succeeded?

The first thing we discovered when embarking on this journey is that it is easier to change a brand in the days of Google than it would have been in the past. With the right technique, anyone searching for “Territorio Creativo” would find us under the new name.

But that was the easy part. During this time we had to explain many times who we were and who we are, because whilst changing the name made logical sense to us, this did not mean that the market understood it at first. 

This ‘drawback’ actually became a great opportunity, because we were able to resume something that we were initially doing and that we had abandoned over time: presenting the brand in the market. A magnificent opportunity to talk to companies and clients, to understand their needs and to strengthen the links that we have managed to maintain over time. Today, this relationship still provides us with new opportunities for collaboration. 

With our new, more ambitious and fully functional services, we will become a 360º digital partner that combines its expertise in 4 areas: Strategy and Digital Transformation, Digital Experience, Engagement, and Performance. This allows us to generate a real impact on our clients’ business and continue to be relevant in a constantly changing market.

The road to 2020 has not been easy, after burying Territorio Creativo in its virtual graveyard, but now it makes sense that we took the risk. The rewards have more than compensated for the risks of rebranding.

When in 2010, Fernando Polo, a partner and brother who had recently joined the company, made us see that the future of emerging social media marketing was a mix of business consulting and communications agencies, we found it difficult to fit in. Today, ten years later, agency associations are debating whether to expand their partner base to include consulting firms as well… time has proven us, and especially Fernando, right in the end! 

You only have to take a look at the panorama presented by the sector to realize that the conditions to not only stay afloat, but thrive, basically consist of 3 elements: 

• Being international, as this allows you to accompany your clients’ ambitions beyond their borders.
• Handling three ingredients with ease: Data, Technology and Creativity, to transform the vision of marketing in companies. 
• Generating a real impact on the customers’ business. Building trust and delivering results.

And the future from here? With 23 years behind us, we have travelled many roads, but only one allows any organization to continue to fulfil its years with the necessary solvency: growth. Our goal for 2020 is to incorporate more talent into our ranks, and to continue providing what moves the world: confidence and results. 

They will buy for the former, repeat for the latter. 

That’s how business goes 😉