A behind-the-scenes look at how a six-year-old company decided to change its name and build a new brand from scratch. Founded as DTproductions, a video production company, my organization had a unique opportunity to introduce Chispa House -- an aspirational, differentiated, and humanity-focused brand to the marketplace. Even if that meant sunsetting years of brand equity and familiarity. Here's how we did it.

1. How To Convince
A Company to
Change Its Name

2. This presentation was
written in 2018 as
rationale for changing the
name of our company
from DTproductions to
Chispa House.
It was an internal
discussion doc, so it’s not
very pretty.

3. Our goals
To produce award-worthy work and be revered for our craft.
To develop a style that’s unique and desired, but never lose our
blue-collar work ethic or become pretentious film makers.

4. We think big.
A bigger name
will help us
achieve our
goals.

5. Why evolve from DT Productions to
something else?
Three reasons:
1. Chispa
2. Category
3. Competition

6. #1: Chispa is our super power
• We connect brands with humanity by finding the spark – or Chispa –
within people and organizations
• Our ambition is to share this spark and change the world
• Our focused ability, our unique approach, our relationships with
inspiring people, and our body of work makes us unique and
memorable
But there’s a disconnect between explaining Chispa and our DT (“Dirtty
Toe”) name

7. Original Content
We develop incredible content that tells compelling
stories about unique individuals.
Creative & Interactive
Creating amazing content is only half the battle. You
need a partner that can also distribute it to the world.
Film Production
From long-form branded content to :15s, we’re your
full-service video production company
Brand Strategy
Chispa opens the door to making deeper brand
connections. Not sure what yours is? We can help.
#2: We’re more than a production company
Video production is a commodity with over 6,000 companies in the U.S., but we
are growing through deepening relationships and adding more value for clients

8. #3: There are a lot of “DT’s” in the world
• There are DT’s on:
• Facebook – 20+
• Vimeo – 159 search results
• YouTube – 420,000 results
• LinkedIn – 3+
• Google - 7,610,000 results
• And visit DTVideo.com at your own risk
From a brand “ownability” perspective, DT is a challenge

9. Embracing our
Chispa heritage

10. Chispa is the spark
that guides us
One of the many reasons why I joined this company was hearing the
story of the Calderon-Rojas family. Many years ago, the team had a
life-changing experience near the border of Texas and Mexico.
None of them had ever experienced poverty at that level. The family
of four lived in a one-room trailer without any common utilities, yet
their spirits were not broken. The mother, Maria, took five financial
and English classes per week while raising her children. The father,
Juan, commuted from the southern tip of Texas to Tennessee for the
closest stable job he could find.
On the last night of the trip, Maria invited the entire crew over for a
home-cooked meal. They attempted to politely decline because the
clients were paying for meals (and Maria had so little to give!), but
she demanded they eat at her table. As the evening came to a close,
they summoned the courage to ask her why she and Juan were
working so hard.
Her response was “Chispa”, the Spanish word for spark. She said,
“There is a spark inside me that wants to build a better life for me
and my family.”
From that point on, the company’s mission was clear: look for
Chispa, uncover it, and spread it around the world.

11. If we had “Chispa” in our name, it would…
• Connect the company name to what differentiates us
• Reinforce our positioning and promise
• Show that we walk our talk
• Give us something different, provocative, and daring – plus it’s
visually interesting and fun to say

12. We’ve already built an aspirational home
for creatives that’s filled with Chispa:
A Chispa House.

13. The name Chispa House gives us the space we
need to grow & is much easier to own from a
brand perspective
• DT Productions:
• Facebook – 20+
• Vimeo – 159 search results
• YouTube – 420,000 results
• LinkedIn – 3+
• Google - 7,610,000 results
• Chispa House:
• Facebook – 2
• Vimeo – 7 search results
• YouTube – 10,900 results
• LinkedIn – 0
• Google - 2,240,000 results

14. What it would look like
Current Transition New

15. Questions/Discussion

16. Fast forward
four months…

17. Welcome to
Connecting Brands & Humanity

18. Who we are
Every organization has Chispa, the spark that ignites and
inspires action. It’s a story that starts with your people and
extends to your customers.
Our strategists, creatives, and filmmakers specialize in
identifying your Chispa and bringing it to life through rich,
cinematic storytelling.
Our focus is connecting your brand with humanity in ways
that command attention, change behavior, and build
energetic communities around what you do and how you do
it.

19. What we do
Since 2013, clients across the country and around the world
have trusted us for their branded films and humanity-
focused content.
Our work has been viewed over 50 million times and can be
seen on websites, YouTube, Vimeo, Facebook, Twitter,
Instagram, Events, Email, and TV.