How hfco Rebuilt Its Brand to Compete Beyond Compliance

Prior to the rebrand, hfco — then known as Haefele Flanagan — had built a strong reputation over decades for responsive, high-touch client service, expanding from a tax practice into a full-service advisory, audit, and accounting firm. Marketing had historically been under-resourced and therefore unable to focus on a growth strategy.

An internal due diligence review found the firm's digital presence rated fair to poor across organic search, content mix, and review sites, with visibility concentrated in tax content rather than the advisory services that made up a growing share of the business. Client interviews also surfaced that the firm's former name, Haefele Flanagan, was difficult to spell and remember — echoing a rebrand trend already underway among larger peer firms (e.g., Ernst & Young to EY, PricewaterhouseCoopers to PwC).

The firm needed a modern brand identity and website that reflected its advisory-first capabilities beyond audit and tax, a structured go-to-market plan to compete against larger firms and newly PE-backed consolidators, and an ongoing marketing partner to execute sector-based campaigns and report results against a defined set of KPIs.