I’m Jess, the founder, and I’m so glad you’re here. In this post, I’ll give you the backstory on our rebrand and who we work with.
Three reasons: First, whenever I’m immersed in a project, my hair magically finds its way into a side pony — it's my DND, if you will. 😉 Second, the album 'Sidepony' by Lake Street Dive is a constant echo in our office; if you’re not familiar, I highly recommend you give it a listen. To say I love Lake Street Dive is an understatement.
And, have I mentioned my lifelong love for horses? I especially love the feisty nature of ponies. If you've ever met a pony, you'll know that their small stature doesn't make them a better mount for small people. They're scrappy, and so am I.
And, well, marketing is in our name because it’s what we do.
When I started the brand, I had a small roster of clients and just needed a site with a cohesive look and feel and a basic logo in place as I started to build. I honestly didn't put much thought into our brand look and feel (one of those "do as we say, not as we do" type things and I do not recommend this approach, a great brand gives your business an amazing start!). So, the initial brand was clean and had a “good enough” aesthetic, but I always knew it wasn't where we'd land. It just didn't feel like Sidepony.
Throughout 2023, we poured our hearts into reimagining our brand and how we wanted to show up in the world. The result? A modern retro vibe that encapsulates our essence. Our team is both modern and retro. We embrace and love change and know that, as great marketers, we have to stay current on trends, tech, and new ways of doing things. But, we're not newbies; we've been around ... one might call us retro, even.
So we had our vibe and our word mark, core messaging and all the things that make up our brand strategy, except we wanted to include one final visual piece. An icon to support our wordmark. And this, is a good story.
A starry epiphany
Morgan, our incredibly talented Creative Director, had spent a lot of time sketching, researching, and mulling our new brand icon over. She knew I loved an icon she created as part of our iconography to support our north star analogy that we use as part of our brand strategy process. We had already landed on using stars as a motif throughout the brand aesthetic, and she wondered if she could incorporate the stars into the new logo.
With this in mind, she Googled "horse constellation" to start from somewhere. The obvious one, Pegasus, came up. But, it had too many stars and an overcomplicated shape for a small icon...but wait...what's that other smaller constellation that's right next to Pegasus? Equuleus! Equuleus is Latin for "little horse" or PONY. It's one of the smallest modern constellations in the sky, and he's right BESIDE the much more known constellation Pegasus. He is the SIDEPONY of the night sky. Small but mighty, just like our team.
We collaborate with businesses, organizations and PEOPLE that we believe in and whose values resonate with ours. We think that treating people fairly and creating products and services that improve lives or support people and their communities matters. We know that you can treat people right and still make a profit, and we only work with people who feel the same. Our Canadian and American clients are as passionate and value-driven as we are.
Our team is intentionally small, favouring balance and quality over quantity. This means we’re selective about our projects, ensuring each one gets the attention and quality of work that it deserves.
Our values are clear:
Be What We Want to See: Positivity, integrity, and empathy matter. We show up as our best selves for our clients and each other. We believe our work should be fun, inspiring, and have a positive impact. We know that balance creates happier, healthier humans, and so we only take on projects we believe in.
Always Evolving: Stay curious, keep evolving, and embrace growth. We believe that’s how you succeed at work and in life. We support and challenge ourselves and our clients in reaching our potential. Marketing is constantly changing and evolving, and so are we.
Authenticity Leads the Way: Real strength lies in authenticity and integrity. We’ll always be honest — even about the hard stuff (a little tough love isn’t a bad thing!). Our communications are clear and genuine, and although we may be bold, we communicate with a commitment to what's right for our clients and our community.
If our story resonates with you and you’re seeking a marketing partner who gets it, reach out to us. We’re excited to explore if we’re the right fit to support your business or nonprofit. You can book a discovery call, or find us on LinkedIn or Instagram.