GYRO MOVES CLOSER TO THE ENERGY OF CHICAGO
Published in Reel Chicago, November 2014
Last month, business to business marketing firm Gyro unveiled a new office in the Wrigley Building that successfully delivers on a concept to function as a multitasking extension of the agency itself.
Designed by internationally renowned architecture firm Perkins + Will, the 13,000 square foot space provides an ideal environment for servicing Fortune 500 brands like John Deere and USG while simultaneously reinforcing the shop’s role within an expanding global network.
But to most visitors, the first thing that catches the eye is a replica of destruction near the reception desk.
“As you walk in,” explains EVP and managing director Mike Hensley, “there is a wood wall that we’ve burned black.”
The charred fixture is a reference to The Great Chicago Fire of 1871. It introduces a tribute to the city’s resilience that continues into the work area by way of an “an intricate trellis that simulates the grid that grew in Chicago after the fire,” he says.
Inside, the walls are finished with terracotta tiles that match the ones on the Wrigley tower seen through the northern windows. They form a black and white color scheme that favors people over decoration.
“It emphasizes humanity,” says Hensley.
Further along, a series of glass conference rooms called “ice cubes” curve like the banks of the Chicago River. An open section called “The Hub” serves as a work and collaboration center. Equipped with a bar, a pool table and a lot of cozy furniture, it offers views of the river, the lake and Michigan Avenue.
The agency chose the Wrigley Building for its proximity to “the energy of Chicago and Michigan Avenue,” says Hensley. It chose the eighth floor to be closer to that bustle, an invigorating update from their former location in The Quaker Oats Building at Kinzie and State.
Gyro originally came to Chicago in 2008, after targeting the city as, “a market for growth,” he adds.
The move happened at nearly the same time that Gyro’s London-based HQ announced a merger with Cincinnati-based HSR, a shop that Brand Republic called “it’s rival.”
Hensley was instrumental in making that merger happen: he founded HSR in 1981 with partner Rick Segal, who was appointed president emeritus of Gyro in January.
“We wanted to expand our organization internationally and we realized that that meant being acquired internationally,” he says.
The hundred-million dollar, cross-continental results seem to be exactly what he was hoping for.
“What we have created in this merged entity and led by our CEO Christoph Becker is a stong culture, vision and purpose,” he says.
Gyro Chicago’s recent work includes a brand campaign for USG that won best of show at the 2014 BMA Tower Awards. It features a new logo, tagline and graphic identity as well as an Olympic sponsorship.
It also reflects Hensley philosophy that “the purpose of B2B is to leverage the emotional core of business decision making;” in this case, “connecting contractors and architects with people who build buildings.”
“People believe business decisions are made on rational inputs,” he continues. “Far more often they’re made on emotional attributies.”
In light of his enthusiasm for the new office’s connection to Chicago, it is fair to say that he practices what he preaches.