Tully’s Hires Seattle-Based Creative Tether for Brand Makeover

The group reviving the Tully’s Coffee brand has hired Seattle-based creative agency Tether to handle all new marketing and a brand refresh.

The existing Tully’s Coffee logo

“Having a Seattle-based agency that knows the ins and outs of the coffee business was very important to us in making our decision and Tether’s experience with major global beverage brands like Gatorade and Pepsi is stellar,” Michael Avenatti, chairman of Global Baristas, the group that bought Tully’s after the chain closed dozens of stores and filed for bankruptcy late last year, said in a company announcement. “We immediately felt a synergy with Stanley and Tether’s creative team and are excited to count them as our partners.”

The announcement comes just one week after actor Patrick Dempsey, who was expected to have significant operational control of the company, sued Avenatti and eventually walked away from Global Baristas.

Avenatti says Tether will also help with a complete interior redesign of Tully’s coffee shops, a project that Global Baristas has already devoted $6.5 million to over the past four months. Though Avenatti failed to mention it, Tether’s portfolio also includes some recent film and video work with another Seattle coffee company, Starbucks.