Our biggest brand architecture & rebrand project to date

Names should open doors, not box you in. The name said Origin and Cause, but the work had grown far beyond fire investigations. The team now delivers technical inspections, product safety testing, and building and design, reaching a much broader audience.

In 2024, 11 years after we began working together, we brought senior leadership into our workshop to re-evaluate the brand, the category, and the positioning. What followed was our most ambitious brand transformation to date.

Origin and Cause:
A bold repositioning for a national engineering firm

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Needs assessment
Stakeholder interviews
Competitor audit
Brand strategy workshop
Renaming process
National rollout
Public relations

WHAT WE DID

a major business expansion called for complete brand retooling

The business had outgrown a niche label. “Origin and Cause” telegraphed forensic specialization while the company operated as a full-service engineering partner with national reach.

The brand needed to reflect the broader expertise, support four service lines, and equip sales and marketing to speak with one voice.

Over 18 months, we partnered with the internal marketing team to plan and execute the rebrand from strategy through launch. We began with a facilitated workshop for 12 senior stakeholders to align on a new name OCI Group refresh buyer personas, and define the brand strategy:

Updated market positioning to present the company as a national expert
Key messaging that clarifies what OCI Group specializes in and why to choose them
A sales and marketing alignment plan to support business development across all four service lines

By putting people first, we ensured our recommendations didn’t just look good on paper—they were rooted in the realities of everyday work.

Our approach

With the strategy set, we developed a modern identity and a clear sub-brand treatment, then moved into design and content production:

New logo, typography, colour system, and brand guidelines
A rebuilt website with all-new copy and information architecture
Social content and a paid digital campaign to build awareness
Collateral, signage, presentation templates, and report covers
Team uniforms, wearables, and branded promotional materials.

Amid the rollout, the company completed two office relocations. We supported logistics, external communications, and new exterior signage.

Developing the design system

Above: we brough the new brand to life across digitial and print assets.

From coast to coast, we introduced the new OCI Group brand and messaging to staff, explaining the strategy behind the design. Every employee received a brand ambassador kit with clothing, notebooks, pens, and other essentials so teams could represent the brand with confidence.

Internal brand launch

We timed the public launch to coincide with two high-visibility industry moments: a major insurance conference and OCI Group's national education tour. In parallel, we activated a brand-building campaign across digital channels. The market saw the new name, the new look, and the expanded story in lockstep.

Public (external) launch

Interest spiked. Website traffic doubled versus typical months, and qualified leads followed. The team is now better equipped across sales and HR, with messaging and a website that clearly present the full range of services, not just the firm's forensic roots. A complex, multi-milestone brand architecture program demanded careful planning and tight execution, and it landed smoothly.

For OCI Group, the rebrand marked the start of a new chapter. For Hop Skip, it showcased our ability to deliver strategic, high-stakes brand work, from planning to execution.

What was the result?

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