Agency Profile: Design Coup

By LAUREN KAMINISKI Design Coup is a strategic and creative award-winning agency that prides itself on determining a company’s identity and brand management. The six-person team focuses on taking a company and starting at the back-end to create something exciting. “When we approach a project, we work completely backwards,” Bruce Miller, Design Coup co-founder said. “We think about who is the end customer and what is their need, and then we build it out from that end point.” The creative team specializes in brand strategy, corporate identity, web and e-Marketing, print materials, video or multimedia, packaging design, and trade show design. The company was established 15 years ago, and has worked on anything from fast food to healthcare and coffee to banking. “We’re kind of moving into and partnering with the franchising world, helping franchises set up a more efficient and consistent process,” Michael Higgins, Design Coup co-founder said. Because franchise brands need the look and feel of a national brand much earlier in their life cycle, Miller acknowledges that they can easily bridge this gap to give a smaller up-and-coming brand the look of a national brand. He says this is the agency’s sweet spot. “Franchise brands are the ultimate customer for what we do because if you’re selling a franchise, the different between opening a mom and pop or buying a franchise is the existence of a brand,” Miller said. “We can create a brand that has value.” Design Coup builds excitement from creating something out of nothing. They have built their agency by focusing on the bits and pieces about what makes a product or service unique. Miller finds that a company is frequently focusing on the wrong thing, so Design Coup comes in, evaluates all the aspects, and then creates a campaign to makeover a brand. The creative team looks at what works and what doesn't within a brand. The majority of consumers think of brands as an identity or a logo, but a brand consists of a set of perceptions a customer has about a company. “A brand is almost a living and breathing thing, people have personality and loyalty to,” Miller said. “So to build a brand people can connect to and relate to is like creating the perfect date for someone.” Design Coup has all the right pieces to find the right match for anyone out there looking for a new mate.