Two decades ago we were a small creative collective working with big brands like Burton Snowboards.
Today, we’re makers pushing past market expectations, branding experts working alongside clients who value one-of-a-kind work, and risk-takers solving complex problems with creativity.
In the in-between, we’ve built a team and portfolio that’s gained a reputation for being unapologetically authentic.
Whether you’re here looking for your next ad partner or to make your next career move, there’s one thing we want to make clear about this business—we all have a choice: we can either follow or Defy.
The foundation of great work is a strong strategy. It’s what guides the courses we take to get clients where they want to go.
We prefer open communication with our clients to learn their businesses, develop relationships with their team, and jot down the small anecdotes that lead to big ideas down the line.
DEVELOPING GREAT WORK REQUIRES TRUST.
We believe an environment that promotes our team’s physical and mental health creates an atmosphere of inspiration and collaboration. So that’s just what we do. Together we’ve developed a flexible workflow that allows us to influence culture from the inside of our office or from the inside of our homes.
Our investment in people grows well outside our workspace. We understand this is all bigger than ourselves, so Defy continues to serve nonprofits and the ad community at large.
Don’t see a position for you? Send your stuff to team@wedefy.com. We’re always interested in putting the best talent on our radar.
Case Study
Arborcrest
2018 -
Current
TO ATTRACT ENTERPRISE TENANTS TO ITS RENOVATED CORPORATE CAMPUS IN BLUE BELL, PA, SPEAR STREET CAPITAL CAME TO DEFY SEEKING A FULL MARKETING SUITE, ANCHORED BY A DYNAMIC DIGITAL FLAGSHIP.
When Spear Street Capital walked into our office following a train ride down from Manhattan and a full day of meetings, they were looking for a partner in the Philly market who could help breathe life into branded elements for their nearby corporate campus called Arborcrest.
They had an identity system worked out, but the challenge was helping them to build the larger brand story – a brand story worthy of this new, one-of-a-kind offering in suburban Philadelphia. What Spear Street found in Defy was a unique creative partner who could handle all of their needs and then some.
Whether it was the development of their overall brand, video production, website design and development, or the creation of various collateral sales tools and print materials from business cards and brochures to a hard-bound coffee table book, we had all the capabilities they sought. Just as importantly, we could work within their abbreviated timeline, delivering what they needed when they needed it.
Our approach was kickstarted when Spear Street came to us with the beginnings of a brand, and we met them where they were, honing in the best parts of what they had and using that as a foundation for the larger creative concept. From that base, we went to work outlining project timelines and key milestones with the ultimate goal of delivering a fuller brand story that was authentic, flexible, and immediately actionable.
We jumped right in, hammering out a lean production schedule to gather as many video and photography assets as possible to help fulfill the client’s preferred list of deliverables. With ambitions that included the creation of a suite of video assets that would showcase Arborcrest’s recent renovations, the design and development of a sleek website, and the design of a collateral suite including a brochure, floor plan templates, and a coffee table book, we developed a production plan that would shoot a wide variety of assets over two (very full) production days. We scouted and selected actors that fit the story we were trying to tell, and partnered with production crews to deliver the look we aligned on.
Our takeaways from this project were instrumental in other projects that have followed Spear Street. From start to finish, we were able to deliver a full suite of materials within sixteen weeks from the day the Spear Street team entered our offices.
Now, several months later, Arborcrest is fully occupied, and boasts a fully-developed brand that’s got years of use ahead. As tenants come and go, and as Spear Street continues its campus improvements, these materials will continue to drive the brand to success.
2.15.21
You always had a choice. Instead of following, you chose to Defy.
As you’ve come to know from our relationship, we always looked to push beyond limits to help our clients create work that stands out from the norm.
Over the last 12 months, we’ve finally gotten around to focusing this same approach on our own agency.
Moving forward, the agency formerly known as [ 2 one 5 ] Creative will go by Defy.
Our new brand name honors the spirit of our beginnings as an artists collective 20 years ago, and lights an exciting path ahead for an agency that continues to grow and evolve.
Together, we look forward to continuing to defy the conventional, limits, and expectations in 2021 and beyond.
