Delve Underground

The Challenge

Rebranding any firm is a big lift. Rebranding a 330-person underground engineering firm—with a legacy dating back to 1954—on a five-month timeline is another matter entirely.

The firm formerly known as Jacobs Associates faced a real problem: constant marketplace confusion with Jacobs Engineering, compounded by the recent dissolution of a prior merger. They needed a clean break. But they also needed to retain the underground engineering legacy they’d built over nearly seven decades. The new brand had to create separation without erasing history.

The Approach

We started with our DRIVE Brand Strategy process. That meant internal discovery meetings with leadership and staff, plus external client research that reached all the way to Australia and New Zealand. We wanted to hear directly from the people who hire this firm: what they value, what they’d miss, and what the market actually needed the new brand to say.

From that research, we developed new brand voice and brand essence statements—the foundation everything else would be built on. Only then did we move into naming.

The name had to do heavy lifting: signal the firm’s deep specialty, stand apart from every “Jacobs” in the industry, and feel like it had always belonged to them. We landed on Delve Underground—a name that says exactly what they do and where they do it.

The Work

With the name approved, we built out the full brand system:

• Brand identity—a new visual identity designed for a firm that works below the surface.
• Brand guidelines—extensive guidelines developed so a 330-person team could implement the new brand consistently from day one.
• Custom website—a new site built on Craft CMS, designed to showcase their project portfolio and support recruiting.
• Brand extensions—we helped Delve Underground envision the new identity across print and digital collateral, social media, proposal templates, and concepts for branded apparel.

All of it—strategy, naming, identity, guidelines, website, and rollout materials—delivered within the five-month window.

The Results

The new Delve Underground website has achieved high Google rankings, contributing to their online visibility. It has helped with recruitment and the acquisition of new clients—affirming that the strategy is driving real business growth and expanding their market presence.

More importantly, the firm now owns its own name. No more confusion with Jacobs Engineering. No more explaining who they aren’t. Just a clear, confident brand that leads with what they’ve always done best: engineering underground.

At a glance

• Complete renaming and rebrand of a 330-person firm delivered in 5 months
• New Craft CMS website achieved high Google rankings, supporting recruitment and new client acquisition
• Clear market separation from prior merger confusion with Jacobs Engineering