Mirror mirror on the wall…

While there are tens of companies claiming “branding” expertise in their portfolio of services, customers vote with their wallet. A quick look through the newly released official 2005 turnover figures suggests the following Top 3:

1. FutureBrand/BrandTailors/McCann-Erickson – 574k USD (based mainly on McCann-Erickson’s clients),
2. Brandient – 470k USD,
3. Chrysopeea – 405k USD (a good design company from Cluj-Napoca that talks little but does much).

Further down the pyramid — under 350k USD turnover — there are many design, web-design, events and production companies (e.g. Grapefruit, Brânzaș Design, Synopsismedia etc) and freelance designers that cover parts of the branding jobs.

On a side note

Some of the also-runners are over-vocal for their size and portfolio, which is okay as long as it’s a Darwinian “survival of the noisest” attempt. Nevertheless, it is outright goofy when a contender (respectable otherwise) that didn’t even make it to the Top 3 is self-proclaimed “the largest Romanian branding and design consultancy”.¹ In branding, bluffing is the worst strategy. In business, it can stain not only the bluffer’s reputation, but the credibility of the whole industry.

¹ See capture. Website was modified since.