GSD Company rebrands as Plative
New York–based IT consultancy GSD Company has rebranded to “Plative.”
The rebranding followed months of market research, planning, and the engagement of top New York City branding agencies. In the end, the firm chose Plative because “it evokes the legacy of Greek philosopher Plato, founder of the Academy of North Athens, traditionally considered the first university of the western world.”
Branding in the consulting world is generally less high-stakes and dramatic, as they are business-facing businesses, rather than consumer-facing ones. It’s generally similar to law firms, where old stalwart firms shorten their names to acronyms from whatever amalgamation of partner surnames, maybe with a refreshed font and color scheme.
But old firms like PwC or EY have reputations and legacies – staid acronyms work less well for newer consultancies, offering little differentiation and even less of an idea as to what they do. This matters less in B2B, but with myriad tech-focused boutique consultancies launching in the last decade, it’s not a terrible idea to differentiate a firm with some sharper marketing.
Gregory DelGenio, partner and CRO of Plative, explained: "In Ancient Greece circa 429 BC, your socioeconomic disposition was largely determined by the circumstances you were born into. A farmer's child was destined to farm, a baker's to bake, a blacksmith's to forge, and so on.
“Plato's formation of the Academy is symbolic of his apparent belief that an individuals' capability should be limited only by the limits of their ambition and willingness to work to learn and achieve a better life. We believe that this symbolizes the highest form of human ambition, and we could not imagine a better principle to base our new identity around."
2019 was a strong growth year for the firm, which acquired Toronto-based NetSuite specialist Audaxium, opened a new office in Mumbai, and landed a spot on the Inc. 5000 fastest-growing companies ranking.
Founded in 2014, the consultancy focuses on cloud transformation, with expertise across Salesforce, Oracle Netsuite, and Amazon Web Services. Plative has offerings in planning and advisory, implementation, integration, and app development, among other areas, and has offices in NYC, Irvine, Toronto, Vancouver, and Mumbai.
“We wanted to create a new and timeless identity for our company that would encapsulate the ambitious spirit that got us here while evoking our mission and vision for the future which extends beyond simply providing excellent outcomes for our clients,” Naushad Parpia, partner and CEO of Plative, added. "We're truly making a meaningful impact on the world by improving the performance of many industry-leading companies.”
