Defining the Perfect Balance

When Celerity (then called CelerityIT) first came to us, they had already established five offices in the Mid-Atlantic region — but their leadership could come to little consensus about the firm’s strategic focus or future vision. CelerityIT was a business and technology consulting firm with an identity problem.

As experts in program & project management, software engineering, and staff augmentation, the firm was struggling to define itself and articulate a coherent message. In addition to its strategic challenges, the firm recognized that its visual brand didn’t convey the highly credible image the firm needed to expand its market share.

In the beginning, Hinge was hired to redesign CelerityIT’s website. “We recognized early in the process with Hinge that our brand was affecting everything we did — this was not just about a new website,” says Kevin Coyle, a partner at Celerity. “The competitive landscape was heating up, and we needed to call out our differentiation in a way that our clients could relate to and understand.”

To gain perspective on the situation, Hinge interviewed employees, clients, prospects and influencers in the community. We also conducted an audit of major competitors. The findings suggested that Celerity was not communicating its mission and services in terms that resonated with customers. Hinge facilitated a strategic session to outline exactly what clients needed to hear from Celerity.

Hinge worked closely with a core team of stakeholders and staff to clarify the firm’s positioning. We helped the firm understand how their seemingly disparate services fit neatly into a unified strategic approach: providing the people and processes clients need to accomplish their goals. This transformation has changed client perceptions of Celerity from “service provider” to “partner.”  

We advised the firm to shorten its name from CelerityIT to Celerity. By shedding “IT”, the firm would be better positioned to sell its strategic business consulting services. A shorter name would also provide more solid footing for a memorable brand. Once the firm was able to secure the Celerity.com domain name, the name transition moved forward. To communicate the firm’s breadth of expertise, Hinge crafted a new tagline: “Your vision. Our versatility.”

We immediately went to work translating Celerity’s new positioning into a clean new visual identity system. We developed a new logo, website and marketing materials to support and communicate the new positioning.

Today, principals and staff at Celerity’s five offices are using their new positioning and branded sales tools to engage new business in the lucrative government and corporate markets.

Upon launching its new brand to the marketplace, Celerity experienced a doubling of revenues, and a successful diversification strategy that opened doors to new industries. The firm continues to grow at an impressive rate. Their ongoing success enables Celerity to attract the best and the brightest employees and deliver expanded services to current and future clients.

“This initiative enabled us to change the conversation we had with our clients,” said Coyle. “Our sales strategy, delivery approach, methodologies — everything — became very focused, versatile and client-centric. If we had approached the marketplace with our former messaging, I am convinced we would not be where we are today.”

Celerity has been recognized in Inc. Magazine and The Washington Business Journal for its impressive revenue growth. Alex Orfinger, publisher of The Washington Business Journal, describes Celerity as a fun company to watch in the years to come, and a rising star in the region.