In the grand tapestry of nature, few creatures embody the spirit of resilience and joy quite like the hummingbird. And when you meet Wendy Coulter, it makes immediate sense why the tiny iridescent bird has played such a significant role in her life.
Several years before she named her award-winning full-service branding firm after the creature, a high school friend referred to Wendy as a hummingbird because she “just kind of fluttered around and got along with all the different groups of people.”
A little over a year after she’d earned her degree in industrial design at NC State — and after a brief stint in marketing for a nonprofit during which time she was working in set design and interviewing for architecture and industrial design jobs, as well as freelancing under her own name — Wendy describes herself as being “part of the gig economy before there was a gig economy.”
Little did she know that a 1995 Cary Chamber of Commerce expo would be the very thing to help her career take flight.
After signing her first three clients — Mike Anderson of Advent Screenprinting, Ken Pasfield of Carolina Job Finder, and Michael Currin of Greenscape/Franklin Hill Farms — at the event, Wendy shut down the “craft-like booth” she’d been running with her mom. She did however keep the name they’d used, Hummingbird Designs, because, as she explains, “the hummingbird is so close to my heart and the way I am.”
When it came to the agency she was about to start, “Just like the bird,” Wendy knew, “I wanted to help my clients navigate their branding in all directions — give them everything.” Thanks to the new clients that helped catapult the agency, and an inspired namesake, Hummingbird left the nest. In the 30 years that followed, it would spread its wings and ultimately soar as a powerful agency with a mission to empower clients through innovative branding strategies.
After all, the ability to fly forward, backward, upside down, and sideways — like a hummingbird — and mark territory is what branding does. Good branding transcends mere aesthetics and represents qualities that inspire and uplift. Branding isn’t just about logos or names: It’s about the customer’s experience and perception.
Contributed photo
“Your brand is what people say about you when you’re not in the room,” Wendy says, quoting Jeff Bezos and underscoring the importance of creating a strong, authentic brand identity that is consistent throughout the organization.
Branding is necessary for startups and particularly crucial during growth opportunities, when companies are introducing new products or services, or during significant transitions such as company mergers or acquisitions. “When businesses focus on differentiation,” Wendy explains, “they can significantly increase their market value.” This insight has made Hummingbird a go-to agency for companies looking to elevate their brand presence in the Triangle and beyond.
As Hummingbird has traveled greater distances and encountered more diverse environments, its client roster has likewise expanded. “Stockton Graham was pivotal for us,” Wendy says, citing early partnerships with brands like Stockton Graham & Company and BizCom Global that provided the agency with invaluable opportunities and experiences.
Another long-standing relationship is with Banks Law Firm, based in Durham, which has been a client for over 15 years. This commitment to building lasting partnerships is a testament to Hummingbird’s tireless work to stay aloft, as hummingbirds are renowned for their remarkable ability to hover in midair. This feat requires both immense strength and agility, as the bird must constantly flap its wings just to maintain its position.
Hummingbirds are also resilient and adaptable. “Being in the Triangle region,” Wendy explains, “we tend to gravitate towards life science and healthcare … but we also have a lot of fun like when we get to do a brand launch in the community.”
And the agency’s role in the local ecosystem is prominent: one that comes in the form of a continued commitment to nonprofit organizations. Pro-bono and discounted work have always been important to Wendy, who shares: “I can’t imagine that we would have achieved what we’ve achieved without being an integrated part” of the Cary, Triangle, and North Carolina communities. “Being part of the community is essential to who we are. … We thrive on helping others succeed.”
What, then, is Wendy Coulter’s brand?
Wendy credits a supportive family for her success, including mother Betty, husband James, and daughter Callie. Contributed photo
“I think it’s hard to separate the personal from Hummingbird,” she says about how others would describe her when she’s not in the room. “I think they would say I’m creative and innovative. … I really hope they say I’m creative and innovative because that’s what I’ve tried to build!”
An understanding of business and finance is deeply important to Wendy, as she believes that sometimes marketing leaders aren’t given enough credit in these areas. “I try to make sure when I’m in rooms that people know that I can hold a conversation about finance and business value and it’s not just about being creative,” she says.
This philosophy that skill sets or traits aren’t necessarily mutually exclusive extends to her mentorship of young women in business. “Women today are lifting each other up more than ever,” she notes, contrasting her own experience three decades ago when she was mentored “from a distance” and, though they advocated for her, largely by men.
Now, as founder of the NC Women Business Owners Hall of Fame, established in 2018 to celebrate the legacy of the women who have built impactful businesses and added to the economic development of the state of North Carolina and preserve their legacies, it will come as little surprise that Wendy wants “to be a champion for women business owners and help them recognize their unique strengths.”
She cites the many programs available today for women — The Women’s Business Center of NC, the National Association of Women Business Owners, and the Women Business Owners Network here in Cary — that are reaching a lot more women who are coming into the business community and starting businesses and realizing that doing so can give them more freedom with their families and the ability to focus on that differently than they would with a 9-to-5 corporate job.
Wendy credits a supportive family for her success, including mother Betty, husband James, and daughter Callie. Contributed photo
Back when Wendy was just 24 and Hummingbird was a mere hatchling, “a lot of women had to make themselves ‘hard’ in order to survive in a world that did have more men at the top,” she says, “and therefore they were hard towards other women.” When it comes to her 16-year-old daughter and what’s important to Wendy, it’s that young girls are “able to see that women can have their place in the business world and impact the economy.” And she doesn’t mean just as consumers — but as “leaders who can bring economic change to communities in a big way.”
As Wendy looks toward the horizon, there are plans for masterminds, authorship, and initiatives to educate other creatives about the financial aspects of marketing. “I want to empower other creative professionals to understand their worth and the impact they can make,” she asserts.
Despite celebrating its 30th anniversary this year, Hummingbird continues to exhibit the spirit of innovation. “The key to longevity in business is adaptability,” she states. By surrounding herself with a diverse team and embracing new technologies, Wendy ensures that her agency remains at the forefront of industry trends. “I love mentoring younger team members and learning from their fresh perspectives,” she shares. “It keeps me energized and inspired.”
Wendy is clearly a “glass half-full person,” so when she had to choose a personal word of the year in a workshop activity, “joy” may seem like an obvious pick. But at the time, she says she “didn’t really understand how big of a role joy played in my life.” As she started to embrace the word, though, she came to recognize that joy is related to the hummingbird.
Joy, she asserts, “is the word of my life.”
So, when it comes to Wendy’s journey with Hummingbird Creative Group — and the vibrant creature itself — and with the distance that still stretches ahead, she’ll carry with her the same lessons: We all have the power to uplift ourselves and others and the capacity to spread happiness and positivity.
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