Envisory

Project overview

Hale & Twomey, a New Zealand–based energy consultancy, supports clients across Australasia, the Pacific, and Asia. With the retirement of co-founder Richard Hale, the firm recognised it was the right moment to reassess its brand and market positioning.

To guide this process, we carried out in-depth research. This included internal discovery workshops, a review of the existing brand identity, and a detailed analysis of the competitive landscape. We also interviewed eight government and private-sector clients to gain insight into their needs and perceptions of the firm.

The result is a distinctive name that carries the weight of the brand, ensuring it communicates strength, relevance, and clarity in the market.

The new name has energised Envisory to claim its place as a leader in the energy consulting industry—driving a 300% increase in client acquisition since launch.

Industry Context

For more than two decades, Hale & Twomey (known as H&T) has been a trusted strategic advisor in New Zealand’s energy sector. With the retirement of co-founder and namesake Richard Hale, the firm saw an opportunity to re-examine its brand and its name.

The local energy consulting market is relatively small, often made up of individuals branching out on their own after industry experience. However, H&T’s true competition comes from larger consultancies in Australia and even Singapore. To stay ahead, they recognised the need for a modern, relevant brand that could stand out in an increasingly competitive landscape.

The Challenge

The challenge was twofold: how to evolve the business and brand after the departure of a key personality and named partner, and how to reassure an established client base of international government agencies and major private companies that the firm’s expertise and trust remain intact. At the same time, the brand needed to signal progress and relevance in the modern energy consulting landscape.

The brief was not simply to rename, but to determine the best strategic outcome for the business—whether that meant a subtle shift from Hale & Twomey or a complete step change. The final task was to translate this decision into a refreshed identity and collateral that reflected the firm’s strengths, particularly its report-driven outputs that are central to client delivery.

Strategy | Evidence-gathering

We began with a discovery workshop involving the directors and key staff, designed to define the problem, understand the company’s history, and envision the future. From there, we assessed the existing brand—breaking it down to see what was working, how they were positioning themselves, and which verbal and visual cues were in use. It quickly became clear that the brand was dated and needed a bold step forward in order to compete, especially when compared to peers who, while not outstanding, were still ahead of H&T.

A critical part of the process was conducting in-depth interviews with eight clients across government and private organisations throughout the Pacific. These conversations gave us valuable insights into client needs, perceptions of H&T’s services and people, and their recall of the brand. The findings revealed that clients connected more with the individuals than with the brand itself, had limited understanding of the full breadth of services, but strongly remembered the original red colour associated with H&T.

From these insights, we set objectives to modernise and strengthen the brand. We then explored a spectrum of naming options, ranging from subtle evolutions of the existing name (such as HT Energy) to entirely new concepts in the energy consulting space—names like ThinkEn, Ensure, Ensight, and Envisory. While initial reactions from the directors were cautious, careful discussion and rationale around storytelling helped guide the decision.

Ultimately, Envisory emerged as the clear choice, and a new name was born—one that carries the company confidently into its next chapter.

The Name

The name encapsulates their purpose with precision: Energy Advisory. This clear positioning sets them apart from competitors, conveying sophistication and intelligence through a clever play on words. It reflects the authentic personality and approach of the directors and team, ensuring the brand feels genuine. To reinforce this, we paired the name with the tagline Thinking Energy—a statement that underscores the insight and expertise they bring to every project.

Director Testimonial

“The process to produce the new business name involved specialised steps that assessed our core business and values in depth. The process was thought provoking and really focussed our attention in developing a new name that would suit the forward positioning of the business. Understanding market insights and particularly, client feedback was a useful tool in navigating the process.

We were given a large selection of names to choose from and received help from Re:brand in narrowing these down. We felt that we were listened to if we wanted to explore alternatives. It was great to work together as a team and consider different options and designs that we could choose from.

Having the rebrand experts made it a streamlined, more efficient process, than it would have been otherwise. We are delighted with the results, and it has been well received in the market for a company that had been trading under its previous name for 22 years.”