Magnetic rebrands following completion of merger
Following a year-long merging of Fluxx and magneticNorth, the combined entity has relaunched as Magnetic. The new identity represents the coming together of the two brands, as well as the need for businesses to pull together to help solve the important environmental and social issues facing the modern world.
Since first announcing a merger in 2021, Fluxx and magneticNorth have worked as a holistic innovation and digital design powerhouse. In this capacity, the combined entity experienced an exponential increase in demand for its combined services – with clients including Abellio, John Lewis, KPMG, Parliamentary Digital Service, adidas, Google and The Economist, among others. Later that year, the firm announced that to better position itself to meet this demand, Fluxx and magneticNorth had opted to transform the organisation’s board structure.
Now, to further cement the merger, the firm has sought to signify this new unified structure and culture with a rebranding exercise. Looking ahead, the firm will trade under the name of Magnetic – a title which a release from the firm states represents “the duality of design and innovation”, while also giving “a nod to the necessity of organisations and changemakers coming together”.
Magnetic CEO Jenny Burns – who heads the firm alongside Chief Creative Officer, Lou Cordwell, and Chief Financial Officer, Richard Poole – further explained, “Covid has amplified the moral obligation we have to improve the world around us. It’s spurred the long-overdue reinvention of how we live, how we work, how we interact, the use of urban spaces, and the application of technology.”
Relating to this pursuit of moral obligations through business transformation and technology, over the last 12 months, Magnetic has been building momentum on a number of fronts. The firm has served as a catalyst for action against climate change, supporting global engineering consultancy WSP’s 7,000 engineers to think greener; while also collaborating with Innovate UK to boost post-pandemic business growth via a design programme that is projected to inject £88 million into the economy. And the firm even worked with an organisation named balance, to deliver a digital health product to empower hundreds of thousands of people around the world to care for their bodies during menopause.
Looking ahead, Burns added, “The trend towards adoption and accessibility of digital products and services has fast-forwarded by years and the lines between place and online have rapidly blurred, which means design and innovation capabilities will be more critical to business than ever before.”
Magnetic has already enjoyed a successful year on the back of this demand – while also harnessing the energy to build its own inclusive firm. Since April 2021 the organisation has grown by 25%, while over 60% of the leadership team identifies as female. And unlike other firms struggling to hire during the Great Resignation, the firm has sustained its hiring by quickly adapting to embrace an ‘outcome over hours’ policy, attracting the UK’s best talent with flexibility.
“We’ve reimagined how, where and when work gets done by creating a thriving work environment, where we support our people and acknowledge the importance of holistic wellbeing. This means we can service the organisations we work with at our best, and consistently deliver amazing results,” Burns concluded.
