When eCity Interactive was founded in 1999, email was still written with hyphens, e-commerce was an emerging field, and e-books didn't exist. Times have changed, and so have the Philadelphia-based digital design and marketing agency.
Now, the company is updating its name to better fit its brand and product suite. Introducing electric kites.
Principal Kevin Renton said the name is a play on Benjamin Franklin and the fable of the kite and the key. Lewis Miller, Renton's partner and EK's customer service leader, said it's a good fit beyond the Philadelphia partnership.
“I think there are a lot of metaphors that have been passed down to us in the concept of lightning striking and capturing that energy, and the research and scientific process that goes into getting there,” Miller told Technical.ly. Ta. “And we just thought it was cool.”
Electric Kite is part of a larger media group that includes Center City Film and Video. The agency was originally a technology production shop that primarily built websites, encoded videos, and created banner ads.
When Renton joined the company about nine years ago, he saw the digital marketing industry evolve. As more people used his free DIY website options like WordPress and Wix, he and Miller realized they needed to focus on other types of work and creating positive customer experiences. .
“Instead of just selling digital production services, we needed to sell results,” Miller said. “This required a major change in the way the agency operated.”
The company's new logo (provided)
Renton said Electric Kite has doubled its revenue over the past three years and rebuilt its internal processes in the process.
Miller said a combination of service changes to keep up with the industry, changes in work environments due to the pandemic, and increased use of employees and freelancers based around the world ultimately led to this rebranding. .
The 25-person agency began the process informally before the pandemic. One of the earliest changes was to transform the agency's blog into a digital magazine called Volt, aimed at higher education marketing professionals.
The biggest effort to complete the name change has been over the past six months, and it's no easy feat. Renton noted that such rebranding includes not only marketing materials and updates to his website, but also external and internal communications, technology stack, billing and billing materials, and more.
Looking ahead, the agency is excited to continue working with clients such as the University of Pennsylvania and software company Thrive.
Renton and Miller are excited that the company's brand identity aligns with the team's values.
“We felt in our hearts that we had been Electric Kite for a long time already,” Miller said. “I think the quality of the work we do and the standards of the talent within the agency and the clients we work with have also gone up.”
Sarah Huffman is a 2022-2024 corps member of Report for America, an initiative of the Ground Truth Project that pairs young journalists with local newsrooms. This position is supported by the Lenfest Journalism Institute.
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