Robert Pearson, Chief Marketing Officer, Steampunk
Steampunk, Inc. was born a little over a year ago, launching an organization in the government IT services space with the brand promise to place people at the very core of everything they do while maintaining a sharp focus on client mission advancement. As the chief marketing officer (and spiritual leader) of Steampunk, Robbe Pearson challenged the status quo of government contracting by establishing a brand that is bold, edgy, fun and disruptive.
Pearson credits steadfast engagement with both its employees and clients at all touchpoints to drive growth and evolve its progressive culture. In just a little over a year into its existence, Steampunk has doubled in size while helping to solve its clients’ biggest challenges.
A fundamental, yet differentiated aspect to Steampunk’s early brand success has come directly from its focus on building the right culture. Pearson attributes Steampunk’s strong corporate values with providing a constant “check-down” to effectively and continually guide the organization along its growth path.
“When you essentially double in size in the first full year, you need to ensure that the culture is able to scale with you,” he said. “Steampunk’s four values of People @ the Core, Thrive Being Uncomfortable, Set the Pace, and Empower Your Community really resonate with our employees and present themselves in a way that they can personalize them. This produces a ‘stickiness’ to Steampunk’s culture that is very unique in today’s landscape.”
Why Watch
As a design-led organization, Steampunk is a well-respected, industry veteran team doing things in a new and inspired way. The company brings humans (true end-users), creative exploration techniques and an innovative, energetic studio environment together to leverage its Design Intelligence methodology with its federal clients.
Pearson has been instrumental in helping stand up and launch Steampunk’s first Design Intelligence Studio, which will be co-located with the company headquarters in McLean, Virginia. The new studio, set to open in late September, will pay homage to Steampunk, the genre, in subtle ways through its industrial-modern décor and vibe.
Pearson’s knack for creating a strong brand ecosystem for Steampunk through its name and integration story, coupled with an exciting culture and an innovative, collaborative environment, is certainly something to watch as the team continues to grow.