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Why Partner?

  • You Can Beat the Competition

    Most companies you'll encounter in competitive bidding situations give away names and taglines as a freebie or at a deep discount. We will make it the core of your solution - everything flows from the selection of the right identity. Why would anyone who cares about a brand ever just create one as an afterthought?

    If you're in a competitive situation - be it an RFP or a less formal approach - we have something none of your competitors can touch. We bring proven naming expertise, backed by case studies and RFP-suitable content that puts your package of services out of reach for your competitors. Our process and body of work in combination with your area of expertise create a package that no one else can even give a quote for - because they won't be able to reproduce the work required to fulfill it.

    We've won more RFPs than we've lost. (In fact, as of October 2007 we've never lost an RFP that a partner brought to us. How many other firms have a record like that?)

  • You'll Blow Through Roadblocks

    The number one reason clients and partners call us in is because they're stuck. In one instance a new $40 million boutique hotel and night-club needed a name. The naming project started before we were contacted with five people considering ten potential names. By the time they called us (six months later) they had over twenty people involved and more than sixty names under consideration. It took us less than five weeks to bring the team to a new identity. This is a common occurrence for us - and we're confident we're the right team to get things done when things aren't progressing the way they should

  • You'll Find It Easy

    • We're an Open Book
      If our client allows it we will provide copies of our work to you so that you can carry on themes we develop or influence project direction while the we're still in development.

    • We Want Your Input and Involvement
      We encourage you to participate - you'll hear the client's wants and needs in their own words - and you'll understand the struggle involved in coming up with just the right words to use in a name, a tagline, or brand strategy. If you're up for it we'll even use your talents during the creative stage to help the client see the potential of some of the early-stage identities. There's no reason why graphic design, PR, marketing, advertising, and the like can't be one of the driving forces behind the selection of a brand that works.

    • We (try to) Anticipate Your Needs
      We don't tell you how to do your job. We do help you see the intent behind the work we provide. For every job responsibility that follows the selection of a name and tagline we provide basic guidance or recommendations based on our experience or intent. We'll try to warn you about known linguistic issues, artistic concerns, or topics that were seen as too risky, progressive, conservative, or otherwise undesirable for the client. On the flip side, we'll also let you know of any directions we would explore if we were in your shoes. It's up to your team to use the information that's most useful to getting the job done right.

  • Your Imaginative Side Gets a Workout

    • We Enable You to Take Risks.
      Our process is built around the pursuit of smart risks. We help our clients identify and appreciate risk and how it can be used to strengthen a brand. The concept has applications beyond just names and taglines - it applies to every follow-on step. Your work in graphic design, PR, marketing, advertising, or any other field can benefit from a bit of risk taking. Not only does it have the potential to make your work more powerful - it will challenge you to bring your A game so that you can take advantage of the opportunities provided by an informed client more willing to go out on a limb than your average customer.

    • We Give Your Dream Work a Chance of Approval
      We enable your team to not only show your more creative side - but to get the more creative work approved by the client. Our identities are typically highly visual in nature, factoring in word-shape, potential imagery, sense involvement, and many other considerations that naturally lead to the potential for highly creative and evocative work.

      And if the client approves of it we'll even bring you in for the creative sessions that will provide you with even more ideas that can lead to ground-breaking design.

    • You'll Work With the Deciders
      Many of our partners have told us they typically work with marketing managers and directors. Due to the nature of our work and its importance to the success of our organization we must connect closely with the senior executives. In fact, we cannot take on a contract unless the highest person in the organization with the ability to say "no" to an identity is involved in the project. This means we deal with CEOs, executive directors, and presidents on a daily basis. We open the door to the executives (if you haven't already opened it for us) and pave the way for approval at the highest levels right from the start.

    • You'll Have a Say
      Some of the best ideas don't come from within Stokefire's brain-trust. We are always on the lookout for ways to improve the pool of potential names or even our internal or external processes. We've had dozens of iterations and improvements over the years - many that are traceable to constructive advice provided by a partner.

  • You'll Be the Prime

    This is still your opportunity and we're here to support both you and the client. We do everything we can to make the entire project team look brilliant by hitting all our marks and delivering a product that not only makes the client happy but gives you something to work with as you begin rolling out the new brand.

    And while we can't completely disappear, we've been known to minimize our own brand message to blend in to a team of experts working under a prime contract holder. If you'd like us to reduce our brand footprint for your project we can make it happen.

    (On the flip-side, when called upon for project leadership we can come in and fill the Prime role very capably - but you've gotta ask for it. We love trotting out our corporate letterhead, presentations, and RFP responses, but we're fine using yours if you'd prefer.)