Archrival, a full-service branding agency, began as an experiment when its two founders—Clint! Runge and Charlie Hull—were in school. Starting the firm was “more or less a way to avoid getting a real job,” they say. Ten years later, Archrival has expanded to a staff of 19; some of the recent client work keeping them busy includes Red Bull’s NASCAR program and a full redesign of the Spam website (the lunch meat, not the e-mail).

But this is just the tip of the iceberg. This dynamic agency, nestled in Lincoln, Neb., has a remarkable array of projects in the works, all of which have one very important thing in common—youth branding. Spinning business know-how with an intimate understanding of the 18–35 market remains the core focus of the firm’s work. That said, within their tight focus is an impressive array of capabilities.

DISCIPLINES REROUTED
Although Runge and Hull have landed more firmly on the advertising/design side of the coin, they both earned degrees in architecture, which they feel has done more than just diversify their offerings—it has, in a sense, trained their design thinking. Runge explains, “Architecture is not just building buildings, it’s thinking about every little detail. When we started getting into branding projects, that process carried over as we examined every touch point possible. So going beyond just the aesthetic of the brand, we knew to examine materials, uniforms, music, signage, virtually any contact point with the consumer. Even voicemail matters.”

Hull adds, “We’ve learned a rigorous design process that is holistic in that we learned how to approach a problem from a wide variety of angles and never limited ourselves to any traditional advertising thought process or tactics. I think that’s been a huge part of our success.” And those same philosophies are evident in Archrival’s business strategy—looking at the business broadly and not limiting thinking to traditional models.

360-DEGREE BRAINS
Listening to the two principals, it’s clear their brains are able to shift pretty seamlessly between left and right, a characteristic most evident when it comes to outlining their overall business plan. Hull explains, “For several years now we’ve been working on developing a strategy where our business, in the long term, becomes a lot less dependent on client or hourly billing, and where we develop revenue streams from brand ownership that will help us essentially—not to be clichéd—diversify our portfolio and create revenue streams and stability for our company.”

Yes, he said brand ownership. In some cases this entails Archrival taking a percent of the earnings from a brand or product rather than charging a design fee to the client. In other cases they are developing completely new product lines and businesses. Risky? Potentially, but they waited to roll the dice until their agency was secure enough to support these kinds of ventures. For Runge and Hull, that meant achieving financial stability, getting 10 years under their belts and building a solid staff with low turnover.

SOMETHING VENTURED, SOMETHING GAINED
Their first opportunity to test their concept of brand ownership was a rebranding job for a French skincare line. Excelsior Beauty—a consultant specializing in bringing small European niche brands to major U.S. retailers like Walgreens, Target and JCPenney—contacted Archrival to do a full rebrand on a premium French marine-based skincare line, which Archrival eventually named Spa Aquatique. This brand, already well-established in Europe, needed to be reimagined to appeal to younger women in the U.S. market. But after evaluating the scope of work, Archrival determined that dedicating the time required to craft a campaign that would allow the line to become a success would demand a budget that was simply not in the cards.

Not wanting to pass up an opportunity with such potential, Archrival proposed to take on branding, design and marketing support in exchange for a percentage of sales income—in lieu of charging the client a traditional design fee. This arrangement reduced much of the client’s up-front risk and created a strong incentive for Archrival to not only invest the time needed to do the best job possible, but to keep backing the brand post-launch by supporting it with marketing.

The plan worked even better than the partners envisioned. Walgreens picked up the rebranded Spa Aquatique line in 2006 as part of an initiative titled the European Beauty Collection, now featured in 981 stores nationwide. This offering of seven luxurious European beauty brands, exclusively available at Walgreens, combines the perks of department-store shopping—detailed product leaflets, testers, gift sets, free gifts with purchase and expert onsite advice—with the ease and accessibility of a local drugstore.

As a result of Archrival’s work on Spa Aquatique, the agency was then chosen to develop the entire European Beauty Collection’s branding, display and website. What’s more, in the process Archrival was introduced to another French manufacturer, Sano- flore, whose organic product was under consideration to be part of the collection. Here was another luxe skincare line in need of a makeover. Archrival proposed the same percentage-of-sales arrangement in return for developing a new brand and packaging design. The strength of their design solution sealed the deal with Walgreens, which selected the newly named brand, La Fleur Organique, as the seventh and final brand in the collection. Soon after, L’Oréal bought Sanoflore, including its new signature brand La Fleur Organique!

Walgreens is so pleased with the way the new collection has taken shape in their stores that they are now turning to Archrival for counsel, asking, “What do we do next? What is the next thing?” Not a bad position to be in—and Archrival is poised with bold new ideas for collaboration.

SETTING THE BAR
Perhaps the most ambitious project Archrival has taken on to date is cofounding Nomad Lounge, an upscale nightlife destination in Omaha. The four partners in Nomad Lounge, which include Runge and Hull, had been watching the city blossom and were inspired by its transformation. Runge explains, “There is a great scene there. One can almost start to feel a cultural rising of the creative class.”

Although the ownership is unique, the club’s hip persona signals things to come for the community. Nomad takes its inspiration from outside U.S. borders and communicates its nod to those influences through an eclectic interior, specialty menu of “destination drinks” concocted from a global collection of liquors, a worldclass wine list and an internationally influenced appetizer menu.

The concept was born out of the wanderlust Nomad’s four owners share. Their concept for a fresh evening alternative in Omaha was realized in late 2006. The partners—Hull and Runge; Nick Hudson, a global citizen who has visited 66 countries and worked extensively bringing high-end products to the mass market; and Tom Allisma, a friend from architecture school who has opened several trendy and successful Omaha restaurants—each bring a vital piece to the table, both in terms of expertise and funding. The four contribute equally, with end-of-the-year net income split between the partners. That said, Nomad is a completely separate company from the founders’ main businesses, and they have a dedicated staff for day-to-day operations. As for Archrival, Nomad hires the firm to do brand development, advertising and event marketing.

DESTINATION UNDEFINED
Nomads by definition shift from one location to another, so when it came to crafting the Nomad brand, Archrival took much of its inspiration from a variety of international currencies for the logo, collateral, even artwork in the lounge. Money, although a rather stiff representation of a society, offers up in gorgeous display the traditions, folklore, historical figures and even economic strengths of a nation, making it a key of sorts to the defining elements of a culture. The diverse iconography offers authenticity—a necessity in the center of America for creating an environment dedicated to truly transcending its location.

The well-appointed interior of Nomad’s 100-year-old quarters creates a sense of earthy placelessness with hardwood floors, heavy beams and exposed brick—universal building materials that defy both time and location. Supple leather couches, artifacts from around the globe and more than 100 space-illuminating candles further communicate the “any place but the middle of America” theme. This unique meeting ground certainly does not feel like Omaha, but with such a composite of both specific and nonspecific visual cues, the Nomad brand—spicy, sweet and smoky in nature—rings loud and clear.

In an effort to further enhance this otherworldliness, Nomad hosts “destination events.” Each focuses on a particular region and features appropriate food and music. An Argentinian night featured authentic cuisine and beverages, with tango dancers and regional music spun by a DJ. Larger “premier events” require tickets and are more theatrical in nature; the team goes to great lengths customizing every aspect of the experience for patrons. The first premier event was a New Year’s Adam and Eve Party: The interior was re-crafted for the evening, complete with themed artwork and trees offering apples patrons could pick. Menus were bound in Bibles (open to the story of Adam and Eve, of course) and six Adam and Eve models performed an artful fashion photo shoot on a custom stage. The party was a huge success, and by the end of the night guests were on the stage posing for each other and likely asking, “Are we really in Omaha?”

BUILDING ON THE NOTION
Nomad has proved to be another successful test of Archrival’s brand ownership strategy. Quickly it’s become the spot of choice among local creative professionals, and much of this has to do with the founders’ attention to details. Not only have they crafted a unique and inviting environment where everything has been taken into account—from the reduced music level and grouped couches to promote conversation, to the intentionally difficult-to-find location, making for a naturally select clientele—but Archrival’s nontraditional thinking has set it far apart from its competition. And like Spa Aquatique, the result has been a domino effect of new business prospects. Runge notes, “Now that Nomad Lounge has launched … there are people coming to us saying, ‘Hey, I have an idea—we want to partner with you guys on this.’”

In terms of self-initiated projects, a 24-hour diner is now in the works, and a design hotel is at the top of the list of projects the partners would love to take on. On the client side, Runge notes, “I’d like to do something for Duck brand duct tape. Any kind of popular culture icon like that. Spam, for example—I love it because it has such a crazy, tasty pop-culture appeal to it. That’s the kind of thing creatives here get excited about. I know I do.” That said, one gets the impression that Archrival “gets excited” about all the work they choose to take on. And that’s what makes the work so memorable.

www.archrival.com

TOP: SPA AQUATIQUE IS A PREMIUM FRENCH MARINE-BASED SKINCARE LINE THAT ARCHRIVAL WAS HIRED TO REBRAND FOR THE U.S. MARKET. ARCHRIVAL’S CLEAN AND SOPHISTICATED PACKAGING SOLUTION SOLD WALGREENS ON SELECTING IT AS PART OF THE EUROPEAN BEAUTY COLLECTION CURRENTLY SOLD IN 981 STORES NATIONWIDE. IN LIEU OF A TRADITIONAL DESIGN FEE, ARCHRIVAL GETS A CUT OF SALES INCOME FROM THE LINE.