Just before the grand reveal of our new agency name and branding, some good people and business partners asked me — why Mater? And even though we’ve spent more than six months deciding on the new name and even longer than that working on the new branding, for a moment there I was left speechless.
Why did we choose Mater in the first place?
It’s not that the ‘why’ got lost in the process and the endless lists of pros and cons, I just needed to take a step back and remind myself of the real reasons we made this brave new step.
Formerly known as…
But first, let’s take a leap through time and take a look at the name we proudly represented for more than two decades. Why Euroart93? Some of you will say because it was founded in 1993, and you will be right, but the initial idea was to name it Euroart, minus the number.
The unfortunate sequence of events made it impossible because such name was already registered, so it was decided a number 93 would be added to the name, to mark the year and satisfy the legal conundrum.
You see, back in the 90s it was really popular to stick a year to the name so you could find quite a few bars and pubs in Sisak called Cro92 or Storm 95. Just that alone should be a good enough reason to change the agency’s name!
Euroart93 eventually became a studio and just before the turn of the century transformed itself into a digital agency. So even though the company itself was founded over 30 years ago, the agency that you know today is still in its mid-twenties.
Change will do you good
Definition of Mater – An informal use of the Latin word for mother; sometimes used by British schoolboys or used facetiously. type of: female parent, mother. A woman who has given birth to a child (also used as a term of address to your mother)
Mater is caring. Mater is always there, watching over her children. Always finds the right words. Mater supports. Mater forgives. Mater is wise.
Mater simply knows.
As we were brainstorming and throwing around ideas for our new name, we asked our loyal and long-term clients how they would describe us and how they perceive us. This is what they said:
You are always there for us.
- You suggest, educate and come up with creative ideas.
- You give personality to each of your projects.
This insight helped us realize that Mater is here to stay. Yes, the digital industry is all about creativity and immersiveness, but at the end of the day digital doesn’t tolerate slow responses and demands quick action and effective user experience.
Mater is the one who holds these pillars as the foundation of its existence.
What is different?
Almost everything.
To the outside world it may seem like just another visual rebranding, but it couldn’t be further from the truth. In the past couple of years we’ve made a number of changes behind the curtain. We rewrote our processes and procedures, refreshed our communication strategy and those are all things you might not see at first glance.
We have a brand new, clearly defined process for digital products called Mater.flow, which is the foundation of every digital project in the agency. It helps account managers, designers, developers and the sales team track the progress of each project, with all its elements, from start to finish.
As I am writing this article our team is putting the finishing touches on our first ever Company Culture Manual, a 40-page booklet for new and existing employees, celebrating our company values and helping our team members get answers to any questions they might have.
Why am I here? What are our values? How to communicate? How can I use my vacation days? Who should I contact if I have a problem?
It should go a long way in making our new employees feel like valued team members right from the start.
And finally, we have a new claim. Born Digital.
We were born into a digital world, it’s where we’ve done most of our work, where we matter and where we reign supreme. But what really counts are our clients, fellow digital natives, their services and products in the digital realm. It always has been and will be our job to keep them shining bright, relevant, emphatic, and oh-so-authentic.
And now, as we embark on this thrilling new journey, we’re thrilled to unveil our brand new website, a testament to our evolution and the start of something fresh. After a quarter of the century in the digital realm, it feels like we are hitting the reset button, ready to explore the uncharted territories and confidently navigate those we’ve already explored.
We can’t wait to see where this new chapter takes us, and we’re stoked to have you along for the ride. Let’s make magic happen!
