United Kingdom – Global creative micro-network Iris Worldwide has unveiled a new rebrand that asserts its boldness in creativity. The rebrand comes with a call for brands to stand out, urging them to “participate or perish.”
Iris Worldwide’s bold rebrand includes a bold visual identity that challenges industry players to be more distinct. The new logo bears a wild boar, ridden by a figure blowing a horn, symbolising optimism, movement, and leadership. It veers away from its previous corporate identity.
Beneath the logo are the Latin words ‘Participa Aut Peri,’ a call to action for brands to ‘participate or perish.’ It is built on Iris’ founding principle, participation.
The move is Iris’ response to the sameness it has observed across the industry, now becoming more automated. It also pointed out how more brands are choosing in-housing and network consolidation.
Through the rebrand, Iris asserts how the agency stands out through its unconventional and creative strategies. Extending beyond its new visual identity, Iris also stands for original ideas, creative courage, and its defiance against playing-safe strategies.
The rebrand rolls out globally across all of its offices, accompanied by a new website, updated credentials, case studies, social presence, and branded environments.
Ian Millner, founder and chairman of Iris, said, “In a market where brands are buying their marketing like they buy broadband – cheap, functional, and forgettable – we’re standing up for creativity. We believe the agencies that thrive will be the ones that give clients something they can’t get anywhere else: original ideas, creative courage, and the power to participate visibly and vibrantly in people’s lives.”
“Clients aren’t coming to us for what they can get from their in-house teams or corporate networks. They’re looking for something that’s impossible for them to do themselves – and that’s where we come in. While there are many boutique specialists, we’re the only integrated boutique agency and micro-network. Integration has become systemised, but for Iris, integration has always been about creativity and colliding different disciplines together to produce things that have never been done before,” Menno Kluin, global chief creative officer at Iris, commented.
“We used to spend time explaining how participation works. Now, we just show it through the work. We’ve moved from a philosophy to a provocation,” Kluin added.
Ben Essen, global chief strategy officer at Iris, said, “We’ve distilled 20 years of research on participation – via Iris’s Proprietary Participation Index – into three core outcomes: we help brands stand apart by carving out distinctive space in saturated categories; we ride culture by creating ideas that plug directly into how people live, talk, and connect; and we move behaviour by designing work that measurably gets people doing what we need them to do. It’s a simple framework, but it’s how we bring participation to life through the work, not just the words.”
“This rebrand isn’t just about how we look. It’s a rallying cry for our people and our clients – a reminder that standing apart and moving culture requires a different kind of agency. One that leads with spirit and courage. That’s Iris,” Zoe Eagle, CEO at Iris UK, commented.
Jill Smith, CEO of Iris Americas, said, “In 2025, being bold isn’t just brave – it’s necessary. Playing it safe is the riskiest move a brand can make in a world where audiences call the shots. Relevance, courage, and clarity of purpose aren’t optional; they’re the price of entry. Brands that stay silent won’t just fade – they’ll disappear. As we say, participate or perish.”
