The alchemy of Alkamee
Every once in a while in business, you have to ask yourself some difficult questions. You have to be honest to ensure you stay in touch with who you are, what you’re doing and why you do it.
When you run an award winning brand agency, you give considerable thought and attention to how to make your clients stand out, sharing their stories in the most compelling way. However, it can often be more challenging for the doctor to take his own medicine, so while we may be masters at defining our client's brilliance when it comes to reflecting upon our own, well... that seems much more complicated.
While we know Alkamee is different to other design and brand agencies, articulating why or how can feel like climbing Everest. It’s often difficult for any of us to see ourselves as others see us, we often have a differing view of ourselves, perhaps underplaying or taking for granted something that others can point out is a talent, a unique skillset or even a gift.
We can all too often be humble or suffer from the dreaded 'imposter syndrome’ something well known in the creative industry. We may feel like not wanting to brag, boast or shout from the rooftops our talents, but every year or so, we ask ourselves how are we different? What do we do that others don't or don't do as well? How do we keep innovating? How do we keep learning, growing and inspiring? These questions call for honest inspection, they ask you to tell the truth and sometimes to reset the bar higher, and making sure we're still pursuing the braver path never following.
Alkamee, our name, is a phonetic expression of Alchemy which, as a dictionary explains: a form of speculative thought that, among different aims, tried to transform base metals such as lead or copper into gold. We chose the name because of a wide factor of criteria, but also because of the meaning, turning base materials into gold, that transformative magic is what we feel central to what we do in branding.
So we have given a little thought to this, no actually, we have given a lot of thought to this, a crazy amount of thought, chin rubbing and procrastination, crumbled papers, scribbled notes and deleted text documents, but hey never mind. So in short when we look around we see others in branding say that they do transformative change and build better, yadda yadda, you get the idea, but we know we're different. We know it from having over 50 years experience at the highest levels achieved in highly regarded agencies as far as Australia. Its this distillation of all that we’ve gleaned along the way to the tangible results we achieve and most importantly from testimonials received. It's this feedback that enables you to see yourself afresh and drives you to do more.
SO, how are we different? Well, without going into a long-winded discourse about great branding, what it does and how, we could go on and on about it because, we really love branding. But for the purpose of this piece, we’ll keep it brief.
3 things that make us different:
01 We’re empathetic, we go to ridiculous depths to get under the hood of a company, into the shoes of those that deliver its promise and into the hearts and souls of those it's trying to reach. It's research, yes, but we seriously make it personal. We go way deeper to get these factors; we build their worlds, find the people, see their challenges, and get what they love. If they have a favourite chocolate bar, we figure it out; we believe research is both of the head (you understand all the elements, figures, pie charts and demographics) and the heart, and we don't move until we really feel it within.
02 We're Agnostic; essentially, we don’t focus on branding in specific sectors. We're not wedded to one industry; we love immersing ourselves in new worlds, businesses, and lives. It's our work's most fascinating and challenging aspect; all clients are different. We use experience, ingenuity and endless curiosity, making sure what comes out the other side is human, actionable and inspiring.
03 We're Ambitious; when we go through our process, time and time again we find the magic; we find that particular element, that glistening diamond, rough but at the ready for us to do what we do best and make it shine. We’re ambitious on our client's behalf and genuinely thrilled when we can see a clear vista ahead; what once seemed like an obstacle can often become springboards, clouds are cleared and an ocean of opportunity lies ahead. We push ourselves to find the best outcome; we don't rely on tricks from the past – that relentless desire to continually work harder, to do better and to be more imaginative comes to the fore. We're never happy with the middle of the road or just doing marginally better. Our ambition is always to deliver gold, to truly transform a business, organisation or charity, enabling them to see themselves in a new light, with a new focus to always reach higher.
Empathic, Agnostic and Ambitious is how we're different. We deliver the bravest brands with the best possible outcomes. We love branding, the power and potential of it and there's really nothing better than seeing the fruits of your labour add value and deliver for those you work with. That’s gold.
We've defined our difference and the compelling purpose of some of Ireland's most successful businesses. If you want to uncover what makes your business unique, just drop us a line or give us a call: hello@alkamee.ie.
