New brand for longtime area CPA firm

‘Weaver’ will become the new name, brand and logo of longtime Fort Worth CPA firm Weaver and Tidwell LLP, effective Nov. 2.

The new name – along with the accompanying logo – will be used on the firm’s Web site, media materials and an upcoming advertising campaign. The new name and logo also will be used at the firm’s new Fort Worth headquarters at 2821 West Seventh St., the office component of the West 7th development. The firm plans to move into the new location on Nov. 20.

“We’re looking at the new brand as a way to reflect some of the changes we’ve gone through in the last five year,” said Tommy D. Lawler, managing partner and CEO of the firm. “We thought it made sense. Our initial branding and current branding goes back 15 years – our logos, color schemes, et cetera. The firm’s changed quite a bit in that time period. We wanted something that reflected where we are now rather than 15 years ago.”

In the past 10 years, Weaver has executed a number of mergers with other accounting firms to broaden its reach both around the state and into different industries. It now has offices in Fort Worth, Dallas, Houston, San Antonio and Austin. And where it once focused on manufacturing, construction, real estate and government clients in the Fort Worth and Dallas area, it has expanded its focus areas to include energy, health care, hospitality and technology.

“Fifteen years ago we just had offices in Fort Worth and Dallas; we had a different management structure and a different organizational structure. Our clientele has changed dramatically. Our regulatory environment has changed. The whole industry has changed, not just us. We just hadn’t revisited the branding in 15 years and it was time to,” Lawler said.

Originally founded in 1950 as Weaver and Tidwell LLP, the firm, currently employs about 400 employees, including more than 280 accountants and consultants. The privately held firm predicts it will have estimated revenues of $58 million in 2009, up from $50 million in 2008. In most cases it has merged with other accounting firms to enter new markets, but in Austin, the firm has opened “cold,” hiring local accountants and opening an office in June of this year.

“We think Austin will be a good market for us and what we learn there working with technology firms can be applied elsewhere,” Lawler said.

In May, the firm had a major management change, as longtime managing partner and CEO, W.M. “Mack” Lawhorn, became chairman and Lawler became managing partner/CEO and Kerry D. Caves was named COO.

The process of choosing the new brand occurred quickly.

“We wanted to get it done before we moved to the new location here, so we fast-tracked it in three months,” Caves said.

Weaver used Washington, D.C.-based brand strategy and design firm, Greenfield /Belser Ltd. to develop the new brand.

“It didn’t start as changing the name,” Caves said. “It was looking at our logo and advertizing. Really the change in the name for branding purposes was a byproduct of interviews with us and getting our clients involved and running some of the ideas we talked about by them. We wanted to come up with a brand that reflects who we are.”

Greenfield/Belser came back with an overall summary of findings and then started looking at re-branding.

“They came up with 40 or 50 different options initially, then we narrowed it down to the top 10 and went back and did some modifications until we had three,” Caves said.

Giving a brand a facelift can help infuse a brand with its perceived culture and show stability if it is executed correctly, said Doug Briley, a principal at Warren Douglas, a Fort Worth advertising and marketing firm.

“Look at what was NCSB, which was North Carolina State Bank that then changed to Nation’s Bank, then Bank of America. It’s been very consistent in its branding despite all the changes,” he said. “If you do it well, re-branding can be effective and help energize a brand.”

Lawler said the new Weaver brand also reflects the fact that the company remains aggressive.

“We’re not through expanding. We’ll go where the opportunity is,” he said.