PROJECT: VISUAL BRAND REFRESH
SOLUTION: MANAGED PROJECT
INDUSTRY
Agribusiness expanding into finance and banking, manufacturing, and professional services
HEADQUARTERED
San Jose, California
COMPANY SIZE
$18 Million, 150 Employees
This growing professional services organization was evolving from a single-industry focus and needed a flexible marketing partner that could create a successful, fresh experience for employees and customers.
THE CHALLENGE
Visual Confusion with a Narrow Scope
The client wanted their branding to exemplify the company as a modern, experienced, professional services firm—a brand that employees can be proud of and inspires them.
Though they had expanded into other industries, their brand remained focused on Agriculture. Visually, there was a disconnect between how they showed up in person and their online presence, from website to social and beyond.
With an overabundance of colors, overlay treatments, imagery that didn’t reflect their people, offices, or customers, and typography with accessibility issues, their offering and message were often unclear.
This was reflected in their social media postings and other collateral. The headlines were often lost in the visual busyness of the overall graphic.
Visual Brand Refresh Key Milestones
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We conducted discovery sessions with the team to learn current internal points of view.
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We research a range of competitors and industry organizations to create a visual benchmark of prominent brands.
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We analyze all the information collected thus far and provide a formal review of the client brand and recommendation for improvement. We gather feedback to create an aligned approach before entering the design phase.
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Our creative director/design team provides new visual comps for review.
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Once we have an approved design, we update the brand guidelines. For this particulate client, we transitioned from a static PDF to an online, real-time brand guidelines documentation.
OUR SOLUTION
Refresh the Visual Brand to Better Align with Company Mission, Vision, and Values
Refresh the Visual Brand to Better Align with Company Mission, Vision, and Value
The 3X Marketing team focused on getting to know the client, their origins and aspirations by conducting a discovery session. We wanted to know who they are, their core values, and where they’re going.
We collected data on the client’s target audience(s), their current visual identity, competitors and industry. Armed with this information, we did an extensive competitive sweep, learning as much as we could about the brands and the positioning within the industry.
Using these findings, we recommended a two-phase approach to help the client reach their goals in a manageable timeframe and with a realistic budget.
In Phase 1, we created a visual refresh to carry their brand forward immediately. This included new typography, photography, and palette–a visual redesign. We also implemented the use of an online brand guideline site that would adapt and grow with their business.
Phase 2 provided recommendations for future updates including a logo and tagline refresh based on market research and focus group testing; minor identity updates to voice and tone; and a, professional photoshoot for customized content.
THE RESULTS
Initial Project Grows into Powerful Partnership with Executive Leadership Backing
Since the initial meeting, this client has become an important, repeat client and their team has developed a true partnership with the 3X Marketing group.
From the start, the client was in need of a team of experts that could adapt and produce results to meet changing demands, often on a tight timeline. They needed to trust that this partner could tackle big projects like trade shows at the 11th hour and not only get everything done, but create a fresh experience for the client and the customers they serve.
What began with a small project to understand how we work and what the relationship may look like, grew into a solid relationship with 3X Marketing as a main point of contact for all creative execution.
The end result was a wildly successful event and the support of the client’s executive leadership to partner together on future work.
Opportunities for Improvement
Overuse of color and textural elements
No clear understanding of visual personality–confusing and over-stimulating
Textures are disjunct and appear dated
Images do not demonstrate what the company actually looks like/does
