Fifteen years ago, down in a small, coastal town in South Carolina, we dipped our toes into the world of marketing to start a branding agency called Motto. We were twenty-something, had $250…
Motto® works with leadership teams to rally people around bold battle cries, launch new products, and brand innovations that shape our world.
✳︎ It starts with an idea
The world’s greatest companies are more than famous names and coveted products—they’re ideas. Ideas that begin in the heads and hearts of a few fiercely ambitious people that end up touching millions.
This can’t be achieved by thinking about your brand only as an external set of assets. It has to start from the inside-out. From your head as a visionary to the minds around you. From your DNA as a leader to the pervasive culture of your company. From your personal fire to the talent that shares it and can take you further.
At Motto®, we’re uniquely built to take bold ideas and fuse them with visionary thinking, rigorous process, and inspirational brand-making. We can join you for the whole mission or give you an adrenaline shot in the form of a talk or workshop.
What We Do →
● RADICAL
THINKERS
Motto® is proud to be among the 0.1% of agencies owned by women.
Our founders Sunny Bonnell and Ashleigh Hansberger are bestselling authors and prominent figures in the world of business and brand. But despite their success, it’s their bruises and backstory that define who they are and the kind of company they’ve built.
Meet the Founders →
✳︎ FEATURED
CLIENTS
Through our ongoing partnership with the official Google Merchandise Store, Motto developed the “Greetings From Google” collection. We continue to support new product drops and ideas.
In pursuit of innovation “beyond beer,’ Motto’s ongoing work with world-famous Brooklyn Brewery is focused on aligning leadership perspectives around common priorities and evaluating what ideas to invest in or build.
Our advisory and consulting work with Virgin Voyages focuses on internal/external alignment and empowering the crew to embody the brand to deliver on its external promise.
Embedding the principles of our book, Rare Breed, into the culture of Microsoft Advertising has been a high honor. Our relationship continues to inspire diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts and fuel winning the talent wars.
Motto led NIP—the largest and most legendary teams in the world—through what’s been called “the greatest e-sports rebrand in history.” We continue to be a strategic advisor as they set the pace in their industry.
● RARE BREED
Motto® is one incarnation of the ideas that drive us. Another is our best-selling book, Rare Breed.
Authors Sunny Bonnell and Ashleigh Hansberger light fires and tear up the rule book with seven unconventional virtues that lead to great breakthroughs. Endorsed by Seth Godin, USA Today, Fast Company, Inc., and NY Post (to name a few), Rare Breed teaches you how to channel these defiant, dangerous, and different qualities to achieve serious impact.
Buy Rare Breed →
✳︎ LOVED BY MANY
“I've consistently referred Motto to everyone who asks for an all-around creative powerhouse. I've felt we were more than just a client, but a true partner. They do not disappoint.”
Ally Kuzyk
Global Program Manager, Google®
“None of this would have been possible without the brilliant team at Motto led by Sunny Bonnell and Ashleigh Hansberger challenging our thinking and carrying us through the rebranding process.”
Hicham Chahine
CEO, Ninjas in Pyjamas
“I've been lucky enough to work with Sunny and Ashleigh. Then I read their book Rare Breed. The same off-the-charts EQ, empathy and professionalism they have in-person shines through.”
Annie Wang
VP of Marketing, Artnet
“Our team worked with Motto to rebrand our company after a merger. They are incredible. They always have a point of view but allowed us to also come to our own decisions. Most importantly, they are values-aligned and care deeply about their people and their clients.”
Johanna Lyman
Diversity & Inclusion Expert, Kadabra
“Motto is unbelievably attentive. They are innovative with forward-thinking ideas. They communicate passionately, listen intently, and push you to new heights as a company. Truly transformational.”
Boris Oak
Founder, Evolvh
“Our hearts exploded with love for everything Motto created for us.”
Lauren Ready
Senior Video Producer, USA Today®
● INSIGHTS
Why Extraordinary Rare Breed Leaders Can Come From Anywhere or Any Age
Unless you’ve been down in your basement binge-watching The Social Dilemma, you’re familiar with Greta Thunberg. She’s the fearless Swedish teenager who launched the global student movement against climate change in 2018…
Is Your Brand the Rebel, Hero or Lover?
There is an indescribable, alluring quality to the world’s most beloved brands. We’re enamored with the sense of nostalgia that Coke inspires. Patagonia awakens the explorer and begs us to experience the…
● HOT PRESS
Fast Company
The founders of Motto say that the most innovative workers approach problems and solutions with blinding originality despite all their quirks and sharp elbows.
Motto Wins 5 GDUSA Awards
Motto’s award-winning client work that has been recognized by GDUSA this year includes Google, Hello Alice, Hopscotch and more.
Ninjas in Pyjamas Rebrand in Forbes
Motto leads Swedish Esports giant Ninjas In Pyjamas through a global rebrand and unveils an incredible new look.
Founder Ashleigh Hansberger weighs in on Aunt Jemima Rebrand AdWeek
It’s a delicate balance to hold onto brand equity while moving beyond racist roots with a new name.