The Making of Distl

Good businesses go to work each day to put some runs on the board, but the great ones exist to build something meaningful.

Here at Distl, our clients are the latter. We work with them to find their unique reason for being, then use a game changing combination of strategy, brand, web and marketing to move them toward their goals.

We’ve helped hundreds of businesses over the years. So, when the time came to revisit our “why”, we ended up transforming our business from the inside out.

This is the story of how we became Distl.

The initial spark

Our business was doing better than ever. We had more clients, more projects. We were continually expanding our team to manage our burgeoning workflow.

From an outsider’s perspective, we were a thriving agency riding an upward growth trajectory, but on the inside, something wasn’t right.

Our evolution

When we started out 26 years ago, we felt we had something to prove. We were hungry for opportunities, for the chance to learn and grow. We were a small business fuelled by passion, and we were out to make our mark.

Almost 3 decades later, we’re an experienced agency with a well-honed skillset and broad spectrum of capabilities. Where once we were youthful and eager, now we are calm and confident, backed by in-depth knowledge and specialist expertise.

But while our business evolved, our two brands remained unchanged.

Two brands, one business

Our agency was comprised of two different brands, BirdBrain and Luminosity.

Built for efficacy and speed, BirdBrain was a lean digital machine made up of technical specialists and creative marketers.

Then there was Luminosity, the yin to BirdBrain’s yang. Measured and meticulous, the Luminosity team were branding masters who could and communicate the essence of any business.

We had two powerhouse teams working side by side, but not quite in sync. Individually, we were making some good things happen, but with a more cohesive vision we believed we could be unstoppable.

We needed to move forward as one and become united in our purpose.

The lightbulb moment

It took a lot of soul searching, but when we found our purpose, everything fell into place.

Our director David Metcalf is no stranger to the perils of unsustainable business growth. His personal experiences opened his eyes to the true meaning of business success.

He realised it was never about having more. More staff. More turnover. More locations. Because being bigger isn’t always better.

The real aim of the game is to build equity. It’s about building a resilient business with the strength to weather any storm.

Our mission

Our focus evolved to building and communicating growing equity into our client’s brands. With a renewed reason for being, we had a clear sense of direction guiding everything we do for our clients.

The only problem was, it didn’t translate to our brand.

We realised we couldn’t fulfil our purpose as BirdBrain or Luminosity. There was no turning back; it was time to make a real, lasting change.

A new era

“Distl is simplicity. Minimalism. Honesty. All those experiences, all those things we’ve been through over the last few decades, distilled down into something that’s very pure.” – David Metcalf.

By mixing the brand building world of Luminosity with the digital smarts of BirdBrain, we’ve created something far greater than either could ever be on their own.

At Distl, we’ve become the best version of ourselves, all in one agency.

The same, but different

We may have a new face, but the core of who we are hasn’t changed.

Behind Distl, we’re still the same people, we’ve simply found a better way to express who we are and what we do.

Now that we’re one consolidated team, we can collaborate like never before. We can provide seamless, integrated solutions, and deliver even more value to our clients.

The future

We’re beyond excited to shake things up and step into the world as Distl.

Everything we’ve been through has led us to this moment. It’s taken blood, sweat and tears to get here, but it’s all been worth it.

We’re ready to make a bang and more importantly, make a difference.

We are Distl. Brand purity. Digital potency.