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Our Rebrand Story | A New Beat: From Massive to Takt

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Takt
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Twelve years ago, Lindsay Smith founded Massive Media with a straightforward vision: to equip purpose-driven, ambitious leaders with the market presence needed to make meaningful change.

What started as a local marketing studio has since evolved into exactly that: a full-service international creative consultancy collaborating with some of the world’s most ambitious brands and visionaries. Together with our partners, we’ve created brands, digital experiences, and campaigns that challenge norms, cultivate community,  and propel forward-thinking organizations forward.

As we’ve grown, our services have evolved into specialized teams in research, product, branding, web design and development, campaigns, and branded content. Today, we serve clients globally and locally, delivering category-defining creative and strategic business consultation in flawless harmony on a larger scale than ever before.

Yet through all this growth, we’ve held tightly to the qualities that define our work: our West Coast roots, our relentless drive to transcend the ordinary, and our vision to empower purposeful brands to enact positive change in the world.

Evolving with Purpose

As time passed, so did the way we thought, worked, and collaborated. We were evolving, and our brand tried to keep pace with this growth through a series of refreshes. But none of them felt quite right. It was time to do for ourselves what we had done for so many partners before: build a brand that truly reflects who we are and where we’re headed.

This wasn’t just about a refresh. It was about creating a brand structure that aligned with our vision for the future, one that allowed us to continue pushing boundaries while staying true to our core.

What was clear from the start was that our new brand strategy had to support our mission: helping organizations make meaningful change, regardless of where they are in their journey—whether they’re just starting out or already leading their category.

Equally important, the strategy had to scale without sacrificing the culture we’ve carefully built over the years. It needed to maintain the brand-centric approach that’s at the heart of everything we do, from our services to how we operate as a team.

A Family of Agencies, One Shared Rhythm

What started as a rebrand of one agency blossomed into something much bigger—a family of agencies, working together under one purpose. Each division was given room to breathe and thrive, while collectively moving in the same direction. They share operational efficiencies and values but retain the independence to succeed in their own areas of expertise.

A Branded House Architecture

Our brand exploration was deep and wide. We considered ideas rooted in the agency’s legacy, and others that felt entirely new. But ultimately, we landed on a branded house architecture—one dominant parent brand overseeing specialized sub-brands.

Each sub-brand retains its focus—whether it’s product validation, brand and web design, campaigns, or branded content. But they all fall under the Takt umbrella, creating a cohesive presence. By consolidating our divisions, we’re able to maintain consistency and scalability while aligning everything with our core values, mission, and visual identity.

The Name: Takt

Perhaps the most significant shift in our rebrand is the name itself. “Massive Media,” while it carried brand equity, had started to feel like a misfit. It evoked a philosophy of “bigger is better,” something that didn’t reflect how we work or what we believe.

The new name, Takt, felt like a natural fit. In German, “Takt” carries dual meanings: in music, it refers to the beat or measure that guides musicians. In production, it’s the rhythm that dictates the pace of work. Both meanings resonate with the way we operate: thoughtful execution, precision, and an underlying rhythm to everything we create.

Introducing Our Sub-Brands

From the moment Takt was chosen, the names for our sub-brands quickly followed, each rooted in the same rhythm and timing that underpin our parent brand.

  • Resonance/Takt: Our Product Validation + UI division. Resonance reflects the connection between a product and its user. It’s about designing interfaces that hit the right emotional and functional notes, ensuring alignment with user needs and market demands.

  • Signature/Takt: Our Brand + Digital Experiences division. Signature speaks to the uniqueness of a brand’s identity, ensuring it leaves an indelible mark. It’s the custom, thoughtful design that differentiates brands, much like a personal signature.

  • Cadence/Takt: Our Campaigns + Advertising division. Cadence is all about rhythm—the timing, flow, and messaging that make a campaign successful. It’s about crafting campaigns that land at the right moment, with the right audience.

  • Takt/Studios: Our Branded Content division. Takt/Studios is where the creative engine of the agency comes to life, producing branded content that’s culturally relevant, engaging, and deeply impactful.

A Visual Identity Rooted in Simplicity

The more we worked with the word “Takt,” the more we appreciated its simplicity. We created a custom typeface in title case to reflect the brand’s sleek, modern feel—eschewing a traditional logo or all-caps wordmark, which would compete with the individuality of the sub-brands.

Each sub-brand was given its own custom typeface, reflecting its unique name and function:

  • Resonance: Inspired by the fretboard of a guitar, with letters that narrow as you move down.
  • Signature: Built on the original script used for Cadence, giving it the feeling of a handwritten signature.
  • Cadence: Bold, all-caps with ripples, symbolizing the waves created by culturally relevant campaigns.
  • Studios: Simple and minimalist, reflecting its supportive role across the agency.

Ending with a Purpose

As we move forward under the Takt name, we’re more aligned than ever before. Each sub-brand plays its part in the bigger picture, united by a single vision: to help organizations create meaningful, lasting change.