Accenture rebrands $14 billion Interactive division as Song

Accenture’s design agency is undergoing a global rebranding exercise of its own. As the company looks to push ahead with post-pandemic growth plans, it will shed its former Accenture Interactive moniker in favour of Accenture Song.

Originally founded in 2009 by consulting giant Accenture, the Accenture Interactive brand billed itself as an “experience agency”, and set itself apart from competing agencies by utilising ‘brand purpose’ into its clients’ value propositions, and their communication. Meanwhile, leveraging the might of Accenture’s global capabilities, it is able to provide data-driven, holistic analysis of its work.

Accenture Interactive has subsequently been one of the advertising and design space’s biggest stories in the last decade. Fuelled by a seemingly endless campaign of acquisitions, as well as rapid organic growth, the organisation is now recognised as one of the biggest companies of its kind, anywhere in the world. With projections that its revenue will hit $14 billion by the end of the 2022 fiscal year (rising 12% from last year), this has been recognised by AdAge, which now bills it as the world’s largest digital agency.

But even after all that, the firm’s leaders do not believe the firm stands out enough. Instead, they have decided that the time is right for a brand-overhaul. The Accenture Interactive name is being retired. Enter: Accenture Song.

Accenture Song

The result of seven months of planning, the unveiling of Accenture Song is a naming evolution which unites more than 40 agencies acquired over the past decade, under one distinct brand. This is preferred to uniting the properties around an ‘Interactive’ term which leader David Droga told Forbes that the firm felt had become “a little generic.”

The CEO and Creative Chair of what is now known as Accenture Song, Droga asserted that the changing profile of the agency needed to be reflected by its umbrella name – as its capabilities now apply to “solving problems for every chair in the C-suite”. The name change is an external method of signalling this to Accenture Song’s roster of acquired agencies – as well as to clients.

“We created a name [our people] can give personality and dimension to, that can be given more context and meaning by different people, globally,” Droga explained. “Everyone can get their own fingerprints on it, and I want to run an entity that people feel they can bring themselves to.”

New harmony

So how does this relate to the way clients see Accenture Song? Upcoming research from the company suggests nearly 90% of C-suite executives believe the needs of customers and employees are changing faster than they can adapt their businesses. Meeting this emphasised demand for new growth models is a key part of what Accenture Song hopes to convey. With the term ‘Song’ conveying an enduring and universal form of human craft, connection, inspiration, technical prowess and experience, the firm hopes to invoke impressions of its diverse abilities, and of unleashing the imagination and ideas of its people to deliver tangible results for clients.

Julie Sweet, Chair and CEO of Accenture, added, “The companies that will lead in the next decade will undertake total enterprise reinvention, and Accenture Song is uniquely operating at the intersection of creativity, technology, intelligence and industry to help our clients reinvent connections and meaningful experiences, including in the metaverse continuum, sales, commerce, marketing and new business platforms. From idea to build to operate with strategic managed services, we are enabling our clients to access ideas, talent and results much faster.”

The change also reflects the way the firm hopes to harmonise its work with enterprises across many new growth frontiers. As well as teaming with Capri Holdings, a global fashion, luxury group consisting of the iconic brands Versace, Jimmy Choo and Michael Kors to boost their digital experiences – aligning them with the unique desires of their customers to accelerate sustainable growth – Accenture Song is also looking to harness new technologies to reach clients in emerging markets. This recently saw the announcement of Accenture Metaverse Continuum services: providing deeply skilled professionals and market-leading capabilities to design, execute and operate clients’ metaverse journeys.