What’s in a name?

“What’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.”

As Shakespeare points out so eloquently, a name doesn’t define you entirely. But it sure helps identify who you are or where you come from. And as you may have seen in Week 2 of this Forty4Forty series, TriAd Marketing & Media has had some transformations in both name and logo over the past 40 years.

So how did we get here from there? Imagine a time and place where the Secretary of State was responsible for making sure every single business in the state had a totally unique name. That time and place would be Ohio, 1972.

Rooted in the idea of three founders coming together as advertising collaborators, TriAd had been born but the name was already being used by a drinking establishment in Lima, Ohio. Because the pub had beat us to the punch, our name was registered as Tri’Advertising, Inc, dba Tri’Ad, Inc. We even had to secure a letter of release from the bar to use the “doing business as” name of Tri’Ad!  Enough of the legalities!

Changing Tri’Advertising into Tri’Ad, and subsequently into TRIAD, was simply a series of deliberate choices we took as we moved toward cleaner and simpler branding over the course of four decades. In 2011, we made an additional transformation to TriAd Marketing & Media, blending our roots in traditional advertising with today’s digital and multimedia channels of communication. We believe it clarifies what we do and keeps our brand identity strong. The world in which we work, live and play is constantly adapting and knowing how to adapt with it is a prime requisite for success. By staying on top of trends, learning, adapting and evolving we can best meet the ever-changing needs of business and our clients.

Along with our name variations came variations to our family of logos. Our first logo conveyed the idea of three separate skill sets that melded the company founders’ unique backgrounds. That trifecta of creativity, cost-efficiency and powerful solutions remain as core principles that we still follow at TriAd. And it’s applied to every project, every day!

It would be too simple to say that the logo – and the name of the firm – simply evolved over time, though that is surely part of the story. The fact is, as we matured as a company we worked with progressively more talented men and women in all facets of business. As our services evolved, and our team expanded with strong artistic and creative thinkers, so did our logo.

While our vision remains the same, our talent has diversified and our services continually expand. Today, we believe our name and logo captures our essence and helps tell the world that we are a dynamic blend of creativity, service and business support.