Seigel & Gale to stake future on e-commerce

New York-based international branding group Siegel & Gale is to stake its future on the development of e-commerce. The group is pushing for more on-line work, and is unveiling a $10m (£6.29m) advertising campaign in a bid to establish itself as the dominant player in the field.

In a name change to reflect its new positioning, the group will now be known as Siegelgale, so that its Internet URL and official name can be the same.

The company is expecting staff numbers to grow by 50 per cent, to around 445 worldwide, to cope with the demand for e-commerce design. “The company predicts e-strategies will come to dominate the shaping of brands and believes a new breed of branding communications company is needed to exploit the full potential,” says a company spokeswoman.

She says the company will not abandon its work in more traditional branding fields, but that “over time, the balance will probably shift”, in favour of on-line projects.

Siegelgale creative director for the UK and Europe, Peter Rae, says the group’s London office has recruited four additional designers in the last month, and that new staff are expected to join at a similar rate for much of this year. “We are tailoring our strategic experience and technological expertise to the changing market,” he says.

Rae describes the changes as an acknowledgement of how important e-commerce is. “This is very much about bringing the company up to date,” he adds.

The company will kick-start its push for e-commerce dominance by running ads, designed in-house, in the Financial Times and The Economist.