What you can learn from Bjarke Ingels’ approach to brand building
Danish Architect Bjarke Ingels is nothing short of a visionary in his field. Celebrated as one of the great designers of his generation, Ingels has cemented his place in the architectural history books. His buildings, like the iconic waste-to-energy plant Copenhill that features a ski slope roof, stand out in the urban landscapes they inhabit. As well as being a leading force in architecture, Ingels has a key sense for what makes a strong brand and go-to-market strategy. He’s built a global business in less than two decades that is founder-led and connected to his identity, but still able to stand alone and scale as a company.
— The iconic Copenhill building features a ski-slope roof
Naming
When he founded his company in 2006 Ingels made a subtle but very smart choice. Like many small business owners with founder-led brands, he named his practice after himself. This is especially common in the architecture space where it’s the skills of the principle architect that drive the brand growth - they become well known, and naming their company allows them attract talent and use the momentum of the personal brand to power the company.
But Ingels had grand visions for where he could go and added one simple thing to his brand name - Group. Bjarke Ingels Group was born, or BIG as it is better known. BIG became his brand, expanding it beyond his persona whilst still keeping him central to its offering. This ultimately enabled him to take his brand to a global stage and build a lasting legacy, while ensuring that he could safely step away from as needed.
Bjarke Ingels
Experience
Being a designer first and foremost, experience is everything to Ingels. He had a very particular view of the way he wanted to design buildings – having them make bold statements on the landscape – a design approach that was also perfectly captured in the name for his brand. However, the brand aesthetic extends beyond his buildings, and is ingrained into all the brand materials. If you engage with BIG in the physical or digital space, you’ll have a keen sense it’s all from the same brand.
Marketing
In founder-led brands it’s inevitable that the founder is a key part of the story. Ingels brings his persona to the way the brand goes to market and is front and center of the marketing and PR efforts. But the story that Ingels is telling is bigger than himself and his talents - and that’s key. He has created a narrative around the mission of his business and what it can deliver to the world which comes through in everything he does. He has a clear vision for his business and it drives the way that he tells that story.
THE TAKEAWAY: Be structured in your approach to naming and going to market with your brand. Ensure you have a strong mission, vision and view of where your business can go.
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