Identity today announces its strategic transformation, uniting the strengths of Identity and Smyle to create a single, global experience agency.
Six months in the making, this transformation marks a new era of strategy, creativity, and purpose for clients worldwide, while maintaining full independence to continue providing a boutique service.
The world of experience is entering a golden age. Client needs are evolving, technology is accelerating exponentially, and audiences are demanding deeper, more meaningful engagement. These three converging forces – shifting client demand, exponential change, and the golden age of experience – are redefining what brands expect from agencies.
In response, Identity has been purposefully built to meet this new era head-on: an agency that combines scale, creativity, and strategic depth to deliver experiences that move people, build brands, and shape futures.
A unified capability
The new Identity brings together over 250 specialists across strategy, creative, delivery, and measurement. It is an agency that can operate at both global scale and human depth, delivering world-stage events, brand activations, and digital experiences with equal agility.
From government summits to cultural moments, from tech showcases to sport, Identity’s integrated model connects insight, design, innovation, and production under one roof.
This transformation builds on Identity’s long-term strategic ambition, Destination 2030 – a roadmap to grow its global reach and capability while remaining grounded in purpose, creativity, and sustainability.
Experience Changes Everything
At the centre of the transformation sits a single organising principle: Experience Changes Everything.
More than a line, it’s a belief system that shapes every part of the agency’s work, from how it builds teams to how it designs and delivers for clients. Identity believes that experiences, whether live or digital, have the power to shift perception, inspire belief, and drive meaningful action.
For clients, this means working with a partner that doesn’t just execute, but helps them achieve change through experience: changing how people feel, think, and act towards their brand.
The tribar – the mathematical symbol for ‘identity’
The new brand identity is the outward signal of this strategic transformation. Designed to reflect both creativity and clarity, it translates the agency’s philosophy into a distinctive, modern visual system.
At its heart is the tribar – the mathematical symbol for ‘identity’. A simple, powerful mark representing equality, partnership, and ambition. Each bar signifies one of the equal forces now united under Identity: the agency’s heritage, its people, and its clients.
Clean geometry, confident typography, and a vibrant colour palette – black with neon green, electric blue, and subtle red – express the agency’s fearless creativity and forward-thinking mindset. The system has been designed to perform across every environment: physical, digital, and AI-driven.
Leadership perspectives
Michael Gietzen, Group CEO of Identity, said: “The world is changing faster than ever before. Clients need partners who can anticipate, not just react; who can help them navigate complexity and deliver clarity through experience. That’s what this transformation is about. Identity and Smyle came together with purpose: to build an agency ready for the next decade of change – the golden age of experience.
‘Experience Changes Everything’ is more than a belief, it’s a commitment to how we work, think, and lead. Our people are the engine of that change: incredibly talented, diverse, and united by a culture of equality and collaboration. The new brand is our signal of intent – proof of the scale, creativity, and strategic clarity that will define our path to Destination 2030.”
Emma Gardner, Executive Design Director, said: “Design is strategy made visible. Every element of this new brand, from the tribar to the colour system, has purpose behind it. The tribar captures equality and connection – ideas that define how we work internally and with clients. We wanted something timeless yet flexible, confident yet human. It’s not just a logo; it’s an expression of who we are and what we stand for.”
Dan Colborne, Executive Creative Director, added: “This is about more than design; it’s about creative impact. The experiences we build for clients must move audiences emotionally and deliver results commercially. That’s why we’ve built an agency that unites strategy and creativity, art and science. Whether it’s a live environment or a piece of digital storytelling, our goal is the same: to create moments that change how people feel and behave. That’s what ‘Experience Changes Everything’ really means.”
Jonathan Boyne, Strategy Director, said: “This transformation responds to a defining moment. We’re in an exponential age where client budgets are pressured while costs rise, yet expectations keep climbing – experiences must work harder, live longer, and deliver measurable impact. At the same time, the way audiences engage with brands is changing dramatically: attention is fragmented, trust is harder to earn, and experiences have become the strongest form of connection. Our unified agency model allows clients to harness the full power of creativity, technology, and behavioural insight in one place. It’s a future-facing response to a world where experience truly does change everything.”
Looking ahead to 2030
The new Identity marks the beginning of an exciting new chapter: Destination 2030. One agency, one purpose, one promise – to create experiences that change everything.
For clients, it means simpler collaboration, global reach with local precision, and the confidence of working with an agency built for the decade ahead. Every partnership, every brief, every experience, crafted with creativity, intelligence, and impact.
Identity’s specialist group of agencies – NJ Live, The Sports Presentation Company, Dreamlike Studio, Powered By Humans, and Beyond Business Travel – retain their unique identities while benefiting from Identity’s capabilities, creativity, and expertise.
