CASE STUDY
Vistra
Building a category of one in corporate solutions
Challenge
EQT Private Capital Asia (formerly BPEA EQT), the Asian private equity arm of EQT, made significant investments to merge Vistra and Tricor, forming a powerhouse brand in the professional services industry. The newly combined organization was poised to become a top five player in corporate and fund solutions. And with its diversified business portfolio, the new Vistra brand boasts substantial scale, reach and global capabilities.
Recognizing the need to stand out and redefine the standards for the industry, the newly integrated company faced a series of challenges. Retaining the Vistra name, it needed to reimagine the Vistra brand while integrating Tricor’s brand attributes. Vistra had defined a clear purpose and a brand promise of “Progress Without Friction,” but the full brand power behind it was missing. It needed a purpose-driven brand strategy, a complete visual system and a new culture to bring that purpose to life.
Vistra embarked on a bold transformation journey to launch the newly integrated company, reimagining itself as a purpose-led brand. It wanted to set a new standard for the professional services sector, both internally and externally. The ambition? Propelling Vistra into a Category of One.
Solutions
Our journey began with a comprehensive immersion into Vistra’s brand ecosystem. We analyzed strategic reports, brand strategy documents, and merger materials to gain a deep understanding of existing initiatives. Engaging with the steering committee and conducting in-depth interviews with employees and customers, we uncovered insights into the appeal of Vistra and Tricor, including customer loyalty trends and post-merger expectations.
We quickly understood that while the Corporate and Fund solutions industry had changed significantly due to macroeconomic, technological and regulatory shifts, the key players hadn’t moved the industry forward. This stagnation presented Vistra with an unparalleled opportunity to redefine the brand and become a Category of One.
Prophet worked closely with stakeholders throughout the extensive brand, visual and culture development process to make sure that it resonated with those who embody the brand and culture in their daily lives. After extensive research, we introduced Vistra’s new brand positioning “The Progressive Ally,” proclaiming the company as the global authority in enabling business growth. This positioning shaped new creative principles that guided Vistra’s verbal and visual identity and helped formulate core brand messages and tailored communications to meet the diverse needs of Vistra’s audiences.
With Vistra’s expansion through mergers and acquisitions, it was crucial to align the sub-brands within the portfolio. Through competitor and industry analysis, we adopted a strategic, data-driven approach, creating a decision tree that gives management flexibility to organize all sub-brands effectively. This will help build a relevant, credible and differentiated brand portfolio.
To truly empower the organization to live its vision, Vistra’s leadership team understood the importance of transforming its culture. Working closely with the Vistra team, we set out to define a new culture and values focusing on leadership ambitions and employee voices. We conducted “Big Conversation” sessions with Vistra employees worldwide to get their input on the company’s new purpose, values and behaviors, as part of the co-creation process. These were then developed into a brand-culture narrative: Our Story.
A complete visual system including a brand book was developed in parallel to get employees and customers excited about the new brand and to signal change.
With Vistra’s expansion through mergers and acquisitions, it was crucial to align the sub-brands within the portfolio. Through competitor and industry analysis, we adopted a strategic, data-driven approach, creating a decision tree that gives management flexibility to organize all sub-brands effectively. This will help build a relevant, credible and differentiated brand portfolio.
To truly empower the organization to live its vision, Vistra’s leadership team understood the importance of transforming its culture. Working closely with the Vistra team, we set out to define a new culture and values focusing on leadership ambitions and employee voices. We conducted “Big Conversation” sessions with Vistra employees worldwide to get their input on the company’s new purpose, values and behaviors, as part of the co-creation process. These were then developed into a brand-culture narrative: Our Story.
A complete visual system including a brand book was developed in parallel to get employees and customers excited about the new brand and to signal change.
Results
Vistra officially launched its new brand identity and ambition in March 2024 with an exceptionally positive response. Employees said they felt excited, proud and energized.
The Vistra team has spoken highly of Prophet as a creative, thoughtful, and pragmatic partner in the time-critical brand development process. As a strategic partner, Prophet continuously supports Vistra in successfully launching and implementing the new brand.
“Prophet has been an indispensable partner as we reimagine our business from the inside out, recognizing that our culture and values underpin the experience we offer. This provides an important opportunity to differentiate our customer experience and proposition and ultimately further establish ourselves as a trusted partner and employer of choice.”
Melanie Fitzpatrick
Chief Purpose and People Officer, Vistra
Crafting a bold new vision
In line with the brand strategy and creative principles, the reimagined Vistra brand is visually bold, confident, direct and purposefully simple. The logotype is distinctive and precise, with a leading edge on the V and rounded angles for resilience. Its simplicity optimizes dynamic use across print, digital communication and new media.
Every element in the visual system contributes to the reimagined Vistra brand, ensuring it appears boldly and vibrantly. All visual expressions, from graphics to motion, are inspired by the concept of “progress.”
Adding symmetry and balance
We crafted the symmetrical and balanced V and A as supergraphics within the system, signifying the symbolic meaning of “vision” and “strategy.” In its kinetic form, it showcases the idea of driving positive momentum for its clients, making seamless progress alongside and opening countless possibilities from within.
Enriching the digital experience
We developed a complete visual system, including a full brand book and supported the web design development process, to build excitement about the new brand and to signal change. We translated the brand’s creative principles into UI design recommendations such as visual hierarchy, readability, engagement and simplicity. We packed these principles into use files and UI components, equipping the Vistra team with the necessary resources to begin the website development.