The refreshed Mediazoo is a statement of who we are and a promise of who we’re becoming. It’s rooted in our foundations but built for a digital age. It’s about bold ideas and meaningful actions.

It wasn’t exactly like that, but it wasn’t far off. I was sitting at an awards ceremony in 2023 where our CreativeStudio had been shortlisted, and we were in with a very good chance of coming home with some hardware. I was in a great place, projects were running well, we were winning great work, and this night was a celebration. Sitting in an SLT sandwich, my CEO to my left, my MD to my right and a very senior client opposite, we were chatting about brands, sponsorship, who’s doing it well and setting the world to rights. In between the free pouring Malbec and the call of our agency peers over the pulpit, I got hit with a bombshell.  
 
The client, incredibly focused, looked right at me and challenged me to, “Find the Media Zoo logo for me in this program. You guys are a title sponsor…” Caught off guard and instantly embarrassed, I couldn’t find it. I couldn’t separate our logo from a sea of logos on a sheet. Not great.  

So that was the trigger. But not to be too trigger happy, I knew it needed testing and qualifying. Overlooking the processes we go through with clients when doing work for ourselves is a trap many agencies fall into, and one that we wanted to avoid.  

 I joined this business in late 2022 at a time of rapid growth and an updated brand refresh had just happened. I didn’t want this to be a me thing. Redoing an entire business’ brand proposition, strategy and visual identity is not an easy task nor one to be taken lightly.

I knew there was a desire among the business, but it was also met with fatigue and disbelief. “Do we really need to change?” was a common question and it took me a while to find the right response. From testing internally and externally, it was a resounding yes in secret but nobody wanted to say it aloud. Enter the Irishman.  
 

Fast forwarding to today. We are about to launch the brand and I’m writing this entry about 5 days before it makes its way into the world. Every brand has a story, but not every story is told well. Nine months ago, we looked inward and saw a gap between who we were and how we presented ourselves to the world. Our mission to inspire positive change felt as sharp as ever, but our visual identity didn’t quite carry the same weight. It was time for a change, and not just a superficial one. This was about creating something that truly reflected the soul of Mediazoo: who we are, what we stand for, and the future we’re building. 

 
 

What followed was a journey of discovery, collaboration, and creativity. The Design Studio is a team I’m incredibly proud of. I love our work, the ethos of our people and the diversity of thought within the team. A small but vibrant community of incredible creatives, each person on the team expressed interest in shaping the future of the agency, “for the last time”. That’s a promise I made them which I plan to keep. 
 
Over the course of nine months, we listened to feedback, gathered insights, defined our direction, and poured our energy into crafting a brand identity that feels bold, meaningful, and unmistakably ours. It’s a statement of purpose. 

This wasn’t about trends. It wasn’t about a quick fix. This was about depth. It was about asking the right questions and refusing to settle for anything less than a brand that feels alive with meaning. 

The process started with listening. Brand audits, focus groups, and surveys revealed the truth: while our storytelling work is celebrated, our brand wasn’t carrying the same impact. It wasn’t distinctive enough. It didn’t quite reflect the energy and ambition we bring to every project. That realisation sparked something big: a commitment to building a brand that speaks as powerfully as the stories we tell. 

From there, we began the work of definition. We brought teams together, workshopped ideas, and honed our identity into something we could all stand behind. This wasn’t just about words or visuals — it was about getting to the heart of what drives us.

We reached out to every single team in the business to gain their perspective. I wanted opinions from everyone. When I made it up to the first floor from our studio I was met by the minds of the Transformation team. Transformation sits at the core of everything we do, and that’s where our some our best work emerges. It’s deceptively simple but deeply resonant: transformation driven by the fusion of art and science, guided by the lenses of people and purpose, and realised through storytelling. It’s a beautiful thing and that team is made up of experts who I hold in massively high regard and have learned a lot from. I wanted to embody some of their thinking to interrogate this project from end to end. 

Enter the gorilla and the manuscript. The creative process was where the ideas really came to life. We explored, tested, and refined. From reimagined gothic blackletter typography that nods to our journalistic roots and the familiar kah-klunk of the printing press, to the "M" motif inspired by the quiet strength of a gorilla in a staunch stance, every detail was chosen with intent.  
 
The gorilla, with its calm power and resilience, became a perfect metaphor for how we approach our work — making a meaningful impact without shouting for attention. The typography, meanwhile, bridges tradition and modernity, celebrating the foundations of storytelling while embracing the possibilities of the digital age. The “M” is a custom addition, and a graphic interpretation caught somewhere between gothic blackletter and a classic sans serif. 
 

And then there’s the colour palette — a vibrant mix of Purple Haze, Ultra-violet, Signal Red, and Golden-hour, balanced by the grounding simplicity of off-black and off-white. These emotional cues, chosen to reflect the energy, trust, and creativity that define Mediazoo. Every element tells its own story, but together, they create a brand that feels cohesive, bold, and unmistakably ours. 
 
I couldn’t help but squeeze in some of the familiarity of home in there too. Note: Isle. 

 

Of course, a brand is more than just a logo and a colour scheme. It’s a living, breathing system. We made sure this identity wasn’t just beautiful but practical, flexible, and ready to live across everything we do. We tested and refined it through collaboration, making sure it worked for every team, every project, and every touchpoint. 
 

This wasn’t just about the destination; it was about the journey. From workshops and sketchbooks to feedback loops and prototypes, every step brought us closer to something that feels true. What we’ve created is a reflection of our mission to inspire positive change, not just in how we look but in how we show up in the world. 
 

The refreshed Mediazoo is a statement of who we are and a promise of who we’re becoming. It’s rooted in our foundations but built for a digital age. It’s about bold ideas and meaningful actions. It’s about transformation, not for its own sake, but to create something better. Because at the end of the day, that’s what we’re here for: to tell stories that matter, to connect people and purpose, and to make an impact that lasts.  
 
This is a commitment to keep evolving, to keep pushing ourselves to be better, and to keep leading with the belief that storytelling can change the world.  

So now it’s the start of 2025 and when award season rolls around I will be sitting at those tables with my head high and my heart full knowing that beyond me or my team, this entire agency got behind the new direction and has firmly cemented the Mediazoo name and brand as leaders in our industry with the sole focus of inspiring positive change.