Algert

Drift, Building a Unicorn Brand

Founder & CEO

You could say our agency was born out of Drift.

When Drift was still the “new kid on the block,” I was onboard as employee number five, working side by side with the leadership team, helping shape the brand vision that set Drift apart in a crowded B2B space. The tone, the attitude, the personality, and the visual direction that made people stop and pay attention.

Those early years defined more than just Drift. They shaped how I think about branding, storytelling, and the kind of creative work that actually moves companies forward.

And because of that, I wanted to share the story in my own words.

The challenge

Drift’s founders recognized something simple and powerful: the traditional B2B marketing playbook wasn’t cutting it anymore. Buyers expected brands to move as fast as their tech — but too many were stuck in slow, predictable patterns. They were filling out forms, waiting days for a response, then asked to schedule a call. Buyers were over it.

So the ask was clear: build a completely new category of brand, educate the market on conversational marketing, and do it with a visual identity that didn’t just fit in—it stood out.

"As a CEO, I value the passion and energy in the people I work with. Algert brought a lot of that to Drift. His design aesthetic is always on point, and his vision for branding is worth gold".

David Cancel Founder & CEO, Drift

Phase 1: Brand Development (The Drift Brand Cookbook)

At our agency, we like to turn the Pareto Principle upside down. Instead of saying 20 percent of the work drives 80 percent of the results, we flip it for creativity. Eighty percent of the work is grounded in core brand guidelines, and the remaining 20 percent is intentionally left open for exploration and experimentation. It gives teams the structure they need and the freedom they want.

Who knows, maybe one day they will call it the Algert Principle. I am not holding my breath, but it does sound good.

I used this approach as a principle when creating the Drift Brand Cookbook and later carried it into our agency. The guide is built on three ingredients: Human, Bold, and Playful. The result strikes a balance between visual consistency for immediate recognition and enough space for imagination to keep things fresh, a statement and a question.

Phase 2: Bringing the brand to life

With the ‘ingredients’ in place, the Drift team was eager to bring the brand to life.

We collaborated closely with them to brainstorm fresh ideas and creatively engage their audience in new ways. While many amazing projects came out of this partnership, a few stand out as our favorites:

Seeking Wisdom Podcast

A key part of Drift’s strategy—and their success—was creating content that didn’t feel like marketing. As their marketing efforts grew, so did the brand (along with many sub-brands).

Now, we’re not saying Drift started the thought leadership content trend we see everywhere today, but they were definitely one of the first B2B brands to experiment with podcasting as a marketing channel. And it worked. This later evolved into an entire network of chart-topping podcasts, known as ‘The HYPERGROWTH Network.’

HYPERGROWTH

Community building was another core part of Drift’s marketing strategy. The team wanted to create a space where marketers could connect, share best practices, and brainstorm together.

HYPERGROWTH, Drift’s annual customer conference, was a major part of this effort. We helped develop the event’s branding as an extension of Drift’s overall brand, creating all the assets needed to bring both the event and the brand to life.

Books & Publications

As part of their content marketing strategy, Drift’s executives co-authored several books, including Conversational Marketing, This Won’t Scale, and Hypergrowth.

We collaborated with the team to bring their vision to life, creating full-fledged sub-brands for each book. This included everything from visuals and cover art to digital landing pages and more.

From Brand to Unicorn

In 2020, Drift saw a 70% increase in annual recurring revenue (ARR), a testament to the incredible results their customers were experiencing. By 2021, Drift reported generating $5 billion in revenue for their customers. That same year, Drift was acquired by Vista Partners for $1.2B and later became part of SalesLoft.

We’re beyond grateful to have had the opportunity to contribute to building a brand that became part of a unicorn story 🦄.