Okay, what I’m about to write probably has so many worthy exceptions, there will be a flood of comments on it as soon as Monday rolls around. (A guy can dream can’t he?) However, I still think there’s enough truth in it that it deserves to be said. And that is, be careful of agencies where the principals have named the place after themselves and they are still in the building. I’m talking about last names here, not just initials.

Aside from the simple, “It sounds like a law firm” factor, there is a real issue of identity. At some point a business, just like a person, develops an identity of its own and if it needs to be different than how the principals see themselves you run headlong into the dreaded “But it’s my name on the door” response.

This is not a true argument since it really translates into “I know you have a point, but I don’t see myself that way so I can’t see my business that way.”

Imagine having a child who always introduces himself as “Mark’s son,” instead of giving his name. At 5 this is adorable, at 12 it’s worrisome and at 31 it’s time for electro shock.

Now there are many, many, many exceptions to this, just as there are exceptions to any red flag.

For example, Butler Shines, Weiden Kennedy, Cliff Freeman, Crispin Porter, Richards Group and Goodby Silverstein have all evolved real identities, but I can’t help but think that organizations like Modernista, Rethink, Gyro, Creative Energy, Red7e, Drugstore and the like gave themselves a true identity advantage right from the start.

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