Aspire Art
Client: Aspire Art
Period: 2022-2023
Arts, culture & heritage
01 The sneak-peek
Africa first — in name, purpose and practice
Aspire Art puts Africa first. BBA Liminal helped the auction house see, and say, that it is bigger than its salerooms — a purpose workshop that renamed Aspire Art Auctions to Aspire Art, an Africa-centred identity, and an integrated communications engine built to thrive in a fiercely competitive market.
02 The liminal moment
The art market is fiercely competitive, and an auction house lives or dies by how clearly it stands for something. Aspire approached BBA Liminal for a brand strategy to thrive in the coming years — and the work began with a question of identity.
The brief was an integrated marketing communications process. We evaluated where the brand stood and workshopped its purpose with the leadership team. What surfaced changed the name: Aspire plays a role in the arts ecosystem well beyond its physical and live auctions — through exhibitions and advisory too — so 'Auctions' came out of the name, and Aspire Art Auctions became Aspire Art. The deeper threshold was self-definition: an auction house recognising itself as an arts institution, investing in the long-term value of collecting African art, and needing a brand, a voice and a communications rhythm to match.
03 The transformation
We found the purpose together. An internal brand alignment workshop with Aspire's leadership team uncovered the brand's compelling reason for existing and produced its purpose statement — the foundation everything else was built on, including the new name.
We centred the identity on Africa. A new visual identity rolled out across every touchpoint — newsletter, social media, print adverts and website. An animated signifier beside the name carries the full offer: auctions, exhibitions and advisory. And a new naming convention gives each auction its own name and identity, helping Aspire stand out sale after sale.
We built the communications engine. Under one integrated marketing strategy, a tactical media plan was set up, updated and actioned weekly, while the social platforms established Aspire as a forward-thinking arts organisation that puts African art first — a steady, current voice on the continent's developments in the arts.
04 The craft
Aspire Art, in motion
A name slimmed down and an identity opened up: the Africa-centred visual system, the animated signifier holding auctions, exhibitions and advisory in one gesture, and a family of named auctions, each with an identity of its own — carried across newsletter, social, print and web.
05 The validation of purpose
The work gave Aspire a brand the size of its actual role. The new name says what the institution has become; the identity and naming system carry it across every sale and surface; and the weekly communications rhythm keeps it present in the market. Most tellingly, the strategy landed where it matters most — with the team who have to live it.
"You guys absolutely nailed the strategy and presentation! Just wanted to say thank you for your hard work putting it together, the team is raving about it, it aligns, it resonates, it's innovative, it reflects our brand ambitions, it stretches those ambitions, and it gives a clear road map to becoming the business we want to be. And most importantly it's something we are excited to execute."
— Kholisa Thomas, Client Advisory, Aspire Art
Naming
Brand & communications strategy
Audiovisual & motion
Brand identity design
Brand platform development
Positioning & narrative
Purpose architecture
