Five months of Cartel Agency: an honest evaluation

Our rebranding was no superficial facelift, but a strategic rebranding fuelled with ambition. Ambition to empower our people. To raise the bar for clients. To push ideas to grow quicker, bolder, stronger. It became our growth engine.

With a 50-strong team, we’re building an agency that moves brands further, faster, every day. We help businesses grow through compound creativity by combining creativity, strategy and data to make an impact and to prove that marketing truly works. The results speak for themselves: clients can feel that this is more than just a new name.

The launch of Cartel Agency immediately sparked momentum:

• A flood of congratulations from clients, partners, and even competitors
• Headlines in the trade press and social media attention
• Fresh conversations with old clients and curious prospects

The rebranding gave our brand new momentum. The message hits home: as Friends of Cartel’s creative lead agency, we don’t just craft campaigns… We use strategy and expertise to propel businesses and organisations forward in a sustainable way.

Rebranding is rarely black and white. It’s never just “keep” or “throw away”. In reality, it’s always somewhere between slow evolution and radical revolution. For Cartel Agency, it meant keeping the strong strategic foundations of RCA, but sharpening our positioning with a new name and a bold new look.

Why? Because our offer, ambition, and role are evolving. And a brand that doesn’t know how to adapt, will fall behind. Cartel Agency made clear choices backed by data, brand value and strategic goals.

Usually, a new name takes a while to stick inside the company. With us, it clicked almost instantly. From day one, “Cartel Agency” rolled naturally into every mail, deck and client call. Why? Because we involved every single team member before launch. They carried the story and felt it thoroughly. And that makes all the difference.

Internal involvement is crucial for a successful rebranding. Your people need to feel the brand before you show it to the world. That’s how you build support, pride and consistency.

To keep it real, let’s also talk about the downsides.

Recognition doesn’t happen overnight

A new name means starting over in recognition. The trusted URL rca.be was saved in bookmarks and memories for years. Our email open rates unfortunately are not 100% (whose are?), and even the smartest media plan doesn’t hit everyone.

Not everyone connects Cartel Agency with “the good old RCA”. We still hear: “Oh, weren’t you RCA?” Fair enough, but it takes some explanation every time. And truthfully, we are well aware that not everybody thought it was a smart choice. And that’s okay. Recognition and trust take time, repetition, and presence. And we’re fine with that.

A rebranding is about far more than logos and colours. It’s a journey that starts with the first ideas and stretches well beyond launch day. At Cartel Agency, we chose a coordinated launch: one clear moment, one consistent story. No fragmented rollout, but one momentum. That’s what creates impact and credibility.

A brand only comes alive when your people use it daily, which means ongoing care, fine-tuning and support.

We invested in:

• New presentation tools and branding assets
• Updating cases and digital templates
• SEO rebuilding and domain optimisation
• Internal onboarding and communication

It was an intense process that required time, attention and coordination.

Our new name comes with an edge. “Cartel” sometimes evokes a South American association. We’ve got a full bingo card of jokes by now. And honestly? We just laugh along. Because if your name sparks questions and provokes a little bit, it means it’s working. Better a name that people question than one that nobody remembers.

Five months in, here’s what we’ve learned:

• A new name re-energises. Freshness on the inside, curiosity on the outside.
• Clients see our ambition. They feel that this is more than just a facelift.
• Recognition takes longer than five months. But we’re on the right track, and we’re convinced to keep telling our story.
• A brand is alive. You need to feed it, protect it, and grow it.
• The rollout matters just as much as the strategy.

Cartel Agency is young, but here to stay. We didn’t change because we had to. We changed because it was time. Five months in, the honeymoon is over, and the real marriage has begun. With highs, lows, jokes, and milestones. But above all: eager to continue what we’ve started. Because this is just the beginning.