With the advent of the internet, we built our first website (our own) at the end of 2001. This kicked off both traditional channels and brand services as we embarked on our 20-year journey to date into digital.

Our move from one shared desk to a small loft above a clothing store in Balwyn was dubbed ‘The Taj Mahal’ (though it certainly was nothing like that). In our minds, it was just as grand and we employed our first two team members.

Working with well-known brands such as Sherrin, Pfizer and Top Flite we began forging growth and continued to add to our team.

Back then in our Balwyn office, just having a phone that could be transferred across rooms and a desk that was converted from a door holding two machines was major progress. We embarked on various rebrands, began advertising on search engines as they emerged and grew our awareness and revenue.

We bought our first portable Apple screen to use in meetings to impress clients and display our wares. Carrying it in a steel case from meeting to meeting would have been a sight to see.

Whilst branding and design was at our core, the development of the internet and requirement for website solutions progressed in the background and was beginning to form a greater part of our overall offering in the market.

Corporate Image rebranded to CI during this period as part of our evolution to be relevant and stay ahead of the trend.

CI was officially renamed and rebranded into Bellman to cater for changes in market needs and to adjust the business’ positioning and personality for future growth.

Working with well-known brands such as Carlton Draught, Orica and United Energy kept us very busy during these years.

Our rebrand and marketing changes aligned with our move to the Hawthorn office which was in need of its own renovation to align with our grand plans. With careful planning and a lot of sweat and effort, our space was converted from top to bottom to where we reside and operate today.

The growth of digital also allowed us to split our digital offering into a new brand called Emote Digital. We needed another name to identify digital — we had always been a full-service agency but the market identified and understood digital through a specialist brand more effectively.

This was a period of significant change and excitement for the business and Bellman flourished!

Our team grew significantly as we added to all departments, specifically in digital across web development and digital marketing.

Bellman went through various positioning and branding changes to stay ahead of the market. As a business we were constantly evolving internally and externally, always practicing what we preached.

During this period Bellman really made its mark in the branding market in Melbourne.

Working with Australian Unity, Ego Pharmaceuticals, Open Universities, Figurehead and Suzuki the business expanded and evolved.

Our content and storytelling capabilities deepened and became a core part of our offering.

During COVID, we spent a huge amount of energy sharpening our tools and working on our own game to position ourselves perfectly for post-pandemic.

Over the last 20 years, we’ve seen and done pretty much everything you can experience across the branding and digital space.

We’ve been there from the beginning, weathering the GFC, beating COVID and always maintaining our growth mindset to create and manage brands beautifully for our clients.

Come and join us for our next 5 year journey.