Growing Up and Out: RED VELVET Gets A Makeover
Tomorrow RED VELVET turns 18. The company is officially out of its teenage years and will find itself a freshly minted ‘adult’. The timing is a bit ironic because this year - regardless of our ‘age’ - we’ve been forced to grow up in ways we couldn’t have anticipated. That’s probably true for all of us!
So this year, in preparation for its (re)debut to the world, RED VELVET got a makeover. It was a long time coming. A little over two years ago we moved into our forever home, with a vision to grow into the space by filling it with employees, clients, meetings, experiences and activations. We’ve done that and more and we’re so thankful for everyone - our colleagues, partners, clients especially - who’ve made that possible.
Around about the same time, we began re-examining our strategy. When we opened in 2002, our focus actually was more on independent meeting planning work, but as a result of so much growth in central Texas, we quickly earned a strong reputation as a creative Austin DMC (Destination Management Company). And that made sense - we grew up here and we know it like the back of our hand.
But was it our future? Could we truly scale? And most importantly, could we offer what we do best to clients in the DMC model? We felt torn, because while on the one hand, we were doing gangbusters, but on the other hand, we were itching to grow and knew we needed to expand. To deepen our longer lasting client relationships. We wanted to be known for more than just how to throw a great party. Because we do so much more than that for our clients. All the time.
This year - amidst a pandemic, no less - we shifted to an agency model. This change reflects a more focused approach to planning and a deeper working relationship with clients. It allows us to think more broadly about our clients’ problems and opportunities and leads us to bigger, better solutions for them. We restructured the team to work more collaboratively and strategically with each other and our clients. And we rethought how we would show up to the world under the banner of a new brand identity that you see today.
WE CREATE EXPERIENCES THAT ENABLE HUMAN CONNECTION.
Another big decision we made was to officially strike ‘events’ from our name. Though we’ll likely always be known for events, we know we need to broaden not just what we DO, but how the world sees us and how we see ourselves. We create experiences that enable human connection. Sometimes that’s through events. Sometimes that’s through design work. Sometimes that’s via an activation. We aren’t JUST an event company, and we want to make this known. And, while Austin is our home, we offer services nationally and internationally.
What hasn’t changed is our people. They are at the core of it all. We have always and will continue to set the bar high and meet or beat it, foster lasting relationships with our clients and each other, put the customer/attendee at the center of each and every experience we design and produce, and stay on the cutting edge of innovation in our field and others by learning, seeking and stretching. We will always be tenaciously optimistic too - it’s just in our DNA and it’s the red thread through everything we do. Our people make us who we are, and who THEY are enables us to push through just about anything (even a pandemic) to create exceptional work for our clients.
So yes, we’ve changed. You might even say we’ve grown up. Don’t worry, we’ll always throw a great party! And if you’re coming in from out of town, we’re always happy to be your destination agency of choice because we still know the ins and outs of Austin like no other. But we won’t be able to help ourselves - we will behave, plan and execute as strategic partners and consultants. We’ll always recommend what we believe will make for the best end attendee experience.
We are here for YOU. Let us know how we can help bring your vision to life, in any way, shape or form. We love a challenge, and we’ll always rise to meet it.
Need some strategic insight for your next brand activation? We’d love to hear from you.
