'Nice work, Nicework' on the Retroviral rebrand

By Leigh Andrews

10 Mar 2015

10 Mar 2015

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Mike Sharman, founder of Retroviral, Webfluenti_al, African Blogger and Shoesonfeet, amongst others

It's hardly breaking news that Retroviral Communication specialises in an industry that is constantly evolving. As a result, the team feels it's important to continue to hunt out trends in order to stay ahead of the curve. And as the agency turns five this June, they've focussed on refining their offering over the past 18 months to a four pillar approach of strategy, content creation, content dissemination, and reporting.

With this came the decision to develop a new look and feel, while maintaining the strength of the brand they've created within the South African digital industry.

The new corporate identity is impressive - see here, so I asked Sharman to share some behind-the-scenes info on the rebrand...

1. Tell us more about what you do and what Retroviral's all about?

Some of the retro imagery used

Sharman: Retroviral is an online communications agency. We make remarkable content, we use the content to emotionally connect with communications. Our intention is then to drive sales in an e- or retail environment, like with e-commerce.

The one thing we have championed since our inception is that there will always be new channels through which to communicate, but the principles of communication are paramount for developing sound strategy, no matter the channel. This is the 'retro' aspect of our offering.

The 'v' in our logo has become synonymous with our brand and something that we wanted to maintain with the evolution of the CI.

2. Love how it was simply 'circled' to keep the old feel but add an element of the new. Did you choose the agency responsible just so you could say 'Nice work, Nicework'?

Sharman: You nailed it! But seriously - Nicework is a great design agency and we have been fortunate enough to work closely together, most recently on the Sansui Summer Cup. There is a very similar culture between the Niceworkers and the Retroviral team, and working on the new CI design together made strategic and creative sense.

3. Let's delve deeper into what went into the redesign process: How much of it was from Retroviral's brief and how much was Nicework's ingenuity?

Sharman: The simplest answer is to say: "Click here for a case study from Nicework that sums up the brief from their point of view."

4. Great overview. What's feedback been like since?

Sharman: It's been incredible. From tweets and Facebook likes, to candidates filling my inbox with CVs to join the team, blog posts from the UK and shares from markets as diverse as Argentina, I'm really proud of how well NW interpreted the brief and how much this new CI amplifies our culture, online and off.

5. Sounds great. Alluding to your first point, Between10and5 called the redesign a case of "paying homage to their unique blend of retro and future-spective thinking" - please elaborate.

What the new CI looks like on the official site.

Sharman: It's pertinent to be both retrospective and future-spective. We don't know what tomorrow holds, so there is always an element of pioneering steps required, regardless of how much planning has taken place. The one aspect that we are heavily focused on is aiding our brands with moving further down the sales funnel. Typically, agencies are obsessed with the awareness phase of a campaign. We are committed to creating awareness that results in consideration for purchase and then ultimately a purchase of the relevant product or service that we are promoting.

6. Lastly, five years in, do people still ask you to 'make it viral'?

Sharman: Obvz! But it's an education job, and we are excited by the current crop of briefs that we are being exposed to. More clients want a new, innovative approach to communication and that's something we relish.

For more of the Retroviral way of thinking, watch their annual recap video embedded below, as it includes some sneak preview thoughts on where Retroviral's headed for the remainder of 2015...