How does a company – that desires to break the mold of an ‘agency’ or ‘web design company’ or ‘creative shop’ – figure out what to call itself?

A few weeks ago I told the story behind the inspiration that prompted MediaSauce. I promised at that time to also give some insight into how our name came into being.

Looking up the definition of ’sauce’ in the dictionary gives a wide variety of results, but I’d summarize the overall points to:

1. Adding flavor, moisture and visual appeal to dishes – often a unique element to cuisines around the world
2. to give piquance or zest- to spice up the experience
3. to add value and change the ordinary into something unique

The term ’sauce’ really stuck with us as we looked at all the amazing things our creative team was capable of putting together – and the dreams and ambitions we had for the company in our early days.

Add sauce to the term ‘media’ (derived from the creative team’s artistic background working with ‘media’ of various sorts) and we had an option.

Turns out, the deciding factor was that mediasauce.com was an available domain for us to buy.

Name? Check!

Logo? Oy…a whole other set of issues.

Our original tagline was “tastefully blended digital bits of information” with the steam being a cute assimilation of 1’s and 0’s. A bit too literal perhaps (hey, I admit we’ve grown our branding experience and team skills exponentially since those early days), but the concept was on point. In the early days our commitment and belief focused on the fundamental shift in brands, conversion and commerce migrating to a 24/7 online world.

A good cook once told me, a great sauce must shift to the meals it is being prepared for.

It couldn’t be more true. Today, we’ve morphed MediaSauce into a firm that deals in all forms of media, from traditional to events to experiences; centered around online integration that leverages digital and social media to create a whole new result.

In a world where commoditization of products and communication has created a high degree of confusion, boredom and disengagement; having the right sauce is critical. And understanding that every meal (and business situation is different) requires the acumen and experience to adapt those past experiences for the current challenge at hand.

We didn’t know how our business would evolve; yet seven years later the name MediaSauce couldn’t be any more relevant.

What’s in your sauce?

The challenge for your business is to decide what’s in your secret sauce as you transform your company for the digital world ahead. What are you going to blend or create that provides a more flavorful experience for your audiences? A lot of companies are experimenting with new ingredients, but many are failing to lead the way hoping that the same-old ingredients will be enough to get through.

We’re seeing sauces, being created all around us; creating new, fresh and inspiring work product. The same won’t do. We can’t afford it, it doesn’t resonate and it’s not what consumers in this Interconnected Age are expecting. I dare you to add a little spice to your business – or risk missing out on the opportunities ahead.

Bryan Gray is co-founder and CEO of MediaSauce. He’d like to hear about the moment of inspiration that sparked your business. Contact Bryan at 317-218-0500, on Twitter @bryansgray or email him at bryan.gray@mediasauce.com.