Design

CASE STUDY

International Health Partners

Reimagining a software system to drive growth and global impact

Challenge

International Health Partners (IHP) is a global NGO committed to providing quality, long-dated medicines to disaster-hit and vulnerable communities worldwide, regardless of location or demographic.​ In pursuit of this mission, IHP developed Boaz, a cutting-edge product donations management software designed to enhance efficiency and compliance in the donations process. However, IHP encountered a significant challenge in actualizing its growth ambition for Boaz. Seeking to transform the software into a driver for expanding global access to medicines and generating a sustainable revenue stream, IHP sought assistance from Prophet.

Solutions

With a multidisciplinary team, Prophet set to work to support Boaz’s growth ambition focusing on brand enhancement, user experience refinement and operating model optimization.    

Collaborating closely with the IHP team, we conducted a strategic review of Boaz’s brand and user experience, with the aim of elevating its customer journey to a premium, scalable level while ensuring operational sustainability. This involved the development of a comprehensive Boaz customer experience map, meticulously detailing each step of the user journey. Through iterative testing and refinement with Boaz users, we ensured that every interaction with the platform was intuitive, efficient and aligned with IHP’s mission.

We then crafted four distinct brand territories, leveraging Boaz’s strengths and unique differentiators to create a compelling brand positioning statement that effectively captured its purpose and promise. This involved communicating Boaz’s impact, engaging Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and Environment, Sustainability and Governance (ESG) teams and maintaining visual cohesion with the overarching IHP brand.

Moreover, we equipped the IHP team with the operational organization setup necessary to bring Boaz’s vision to life. Through capability assessments, a detailed 5-year roadmap and financial modelling, we provided actionable insights to guide Boaz’s growth trajectory and ensure long-term success.  

Results

Armed with the expertise and resources provided by Prophet, the IHP team seamlessly integrated Boaz into their operations, utilizing the materials and support across various initiatives, from sales pitches to committee budget reviews. Boaz’s webpage is also now live, marking a significant milestone in their journey towards expanding global access to medicines. 

Client Testimonial

“The comprehensive support provided by Prophet, spanning from the brand guidelines to pitch formulation and customer journey mapping, has left us with a clear roadmap for our next steps. We now have a solid foundation and actionable insights to drive Boaz forward and maximize its potential.”

Colleen Harrison-Dodds
Director of Compliance and SaaS at International Health Partners

CASE STUDY

Beflo

Creating an innovative connected desk brand from concept design to activation 

Challenge

With the pandemic resulting in people balancing both work and life activities at home, there was a growing demand for furniture solutions that were more versatile, comfortable, and functional. Our original equipment manufacturer (OEM) client saw the opportunity to create a DTC brand that would deliver a solution to empower people to enjoy a better way of living and working from home. They partnered with Prophet to help create and launch their first consumer brand.

Solutions

With a blank slate, we worked collaboratively with the client to create a brand that would be relevant to today’s working-from-home customer. 

We used an AI-powered online research tool and interviewed 135 potential U.S. customers to understand their unmet needs and expectations around their WFH set-up. Our research revealed critical insights about how consumers need to not only prioritize their physical health but also their interest in a good work-life balance – including ways to optimize all the various parts of their lives.

From this, we created a new brand purpose, “We believe happiness comes from being in the flow in all activities we do at home.” We then created brand principles, tone of voice, and the tagline “Work. Flow. Home” to bring the brand to life in a unique and distinctive way against other competitors. The name “Beflo” came out of the idea of being “in the flow” when everything you do works seamlessly and effortlessly.  

Beflo began developing a desk prototype, combining motorized height-adjustable settings with modular tech accessories around cable management, charging features and other productivity tools. As part of that, we worked with them to create brand principles based on their new purpose that would have implications for their product design.

The visual identity also used the “flow” concept to create a simple and ergonomic-looking logotype with rounded letterforms and the curved ligature between the “f” and “l” that mimicked the side profile of the curve on the desk’s legs.

From this, we created a new brand purpose, “We believe happiness comes from being in the flow in all activities we do at home.” We then created brand principles, tone of voice, and the tagline “Work. Flow. Home” to bring the brand to life in a unique and distinctive way against other competitors. The name “Beflo” came out of the idea of being “in the flow” when everything you do works seamlessly and effortlessly.  

Beflo began developing a desk prototype, combining motorized height-adjustable settings with modular tech accessories around cable management, charging features and other productivity tools. As part of that, we worked with them to create brand principles based on their new purpose that would have implications for their product design. 

The visual identity also used the “flow” concept to create a simple and ergonomic-looking logotype with rounded letterforms and the curved ligature between the “f” and “l” that mimicked the side profile of the curve on the desk’s legs.

Results

The brand concept, name, visual identity and product design successfully came to market in 2023. The branding was recognized in the 2021 Transform Awards as the Best Visual Identity in Technology, Media and Telecommunications. 

Results

The brand concept, name, visual identity and product design successfully came to market in 2023. The branding was recognized in the 2021 Transform Awards as the Best Visual Identity in Technology, Media and Telecommunications. 

Positioning Around the “Flow”

Keeping the target consumer in mind, we developed different brand territories that would be relevant to their needs, and our positioning ultimately landed on the territory of Flow.   

“We believe happiness comes from being in the flow in all activities that we do at home.” 

The flow state was where people could fully immerse themselves in the task at hand and find enjoyment in the present moment. This resonated with the targets’ needs to balance multiple priorities and to find enjoyment in their WFH routine.

Meet Helena.

We developed a creative representation of our target customer who has a desire to improve their WFH set-up, anxiety around balancing all of life’s priorities and a strong interest in interior design resulting in a design-oriented approach to buying furniture. She prioritizes physical health, good work-life balance, success and connection with the community. This helped us imagine all our work with a certain persona in mind.

Applied Brand Principles

We created brand principles to serve as a guide for uniquely delivering on their brand promise. The four principles: Adaptive Comfort, Ultimate Ease, Holistic Wellbeing, and Lasting Innovation were then expanded into tangible guidelines and were applied in both the product design as well as the surrounding consumer experience.

The Visual Concept

The logo and visual system reflect the “flow” concept by embracing an equally weighted, san-serif to not disrupt the eye, but have a balanced and cohesive look. The crafted ligature between the “f” and “l” characters also creates a unique element that creates a visual “flow.” The system consists of the same curved elements that incorporate a soft flow across all communications and visuals, all the way down to the actual curved corners of the actual desk legs.

A Distinctive Verbal Voice

We created tone of voice principles to ensure that all communications had a cohesive tone of voice. Messaging guidelines offered guardrails around practical dos and don’ts as well as messaging examples.

Shopify Design

We created Beflo’s first Shopify design, creating both the site architecture, content hierarchy of each page, and design layout. Everything from imagery style to navigation and input fields was carefully designed to support the new brand.

A Cohesive System

We brought the brand strategy and identity to life by creating a visual system with a unique perspective on photography style, color palette, typography and graphic elements. This unique look created an unmistakable identity across all their applications from product design to digital interfaces and print communications.

Activating the Brand

We created an activation rollout plan to help Beflo navigate the different horizons of growth. We also developed a content marketing playbook to help create compelling and relevant content to attract, engage and convert consumers along the customer journey with recommendations across channels and partnerships to consider.

“Working with Prophet undoubtedly helped us build a rock-solid foundation for our brand; we wouldn’t be where we are without them. The branding groundwork they laid out has been our guiding north star, enabling us to stay focused and coherent with our work.” 

Beico Chiu
Founder CEO, Beflo

CASE STUDY

Grand Josun

Extending the Josun heritage to create a premium hotel brand for families

Challenge

Josun Hotels & Resorts was facing competition from new entrants that raised the bar on luxury hospitality in the South Korean market. During its separation from the Starwood Hotel brands, Josun Hotels & Resorts had ambitious plans for growth.

Prophet first partnered with the client’s teams to create a cohesive brand portfolio strategy that leveraged the Josun name, provided a level of cohesion and integrity and maintained its distinctiveness within its portfolio. Having created a rejuvenated brand identity for Josun Palace, the group’s highest-grade luxury offering, Prophet worked with the hospitality group to create a new premium family-oriented hotel.

Solutions

We started with understanding the real needs of Josun Hotels & Resorts’ varied audiences which included families with kids, young couples and business travelers. Insights into these pain points helped to inform what experiences its hotels needed to deliver to its audiences. Based on these insights, we created the new family-oriented hotel brand Grand Josun.

We clarified the brand’s unique distinction as a pioneer and leader in South Korea’s hospitality landscape, crafting its brand positioning as “Reimagining a heritage of excellence”. Combining both Josun’s legacy with fresh modernity, we took its signature customer service and infused the brand with new moments of delightful discovery throughout the customers’ stay, with a refined sensibility that is always balanced, intuitive and multi-sensorial.

The strategy came to life with a variety of new activation programs, amenities, F&B, design and service elements tailored to meet the distinct and high expectations of the audience. We created unique signature elements such as Josun Junior, a comprehensive offering that creates a memorable holiday experience for children to explore their creative energy, discover lifelong skills, and connect with the destination they are in. Another signature program that was rolled out was the Lending Library, a hassle-free supply for everything a guest may need at a hotel whether on business or for family.

Next, Prophet created a visual system that brought the bespoke and delightful experiences of Grand Josun to life, speaking to the heritage of “Josun” with a modern twist. The symbol is a carefully crafted monogram paired with a classic modern typeface and complemented by contemporary and balanced hues of emerald, natural and light secondary colors and copper accents. We also created a cohesive color and textural palette to communicate a warm, natural environment that allows families to feel both comforted and energized while reflecting the refined sensibilities of the brand. The “terrazzo” pattern was incorporated both in the overall hotel as well as modified for the kids to create a cohesive but also tailored experience.

Results

Grand Josun was successfully launched in Jeju and Busan in 2020. Many of the signature experience ideas we created, including the Josun Kids program and Lending Library, have been successfully implemented with outstanding reviews.

The addition of Grand Josun hotels not only expanded Josun Hotels & Resorts’ reach in the South Korean travel market but is also expected to be a new growth engine for the group, unlocking new possibilities in its journey to become a global hospitality brand.

And, our work with Grand Josun hotels received recognition from Transform Magazine’s Transform Awards Asia 2022, earning bronze in the Best Visual Identity from the Sports, Travel, Leisure and Tourism Sector.

CASE STUDY

Josun Palace

Creating a luxurious hotel brand under a winning portfolio

Challenge

Established in 1914, Josun Hotel has become an exemplary brand in hospitality, transforming into the current Josun Hotels & Resorts yet maintaining the original “First & Best” mentality that it originated with.

In a market where new entrants have raised the bar on luxury hospitality, Josun Hotels & Resorts wanted to position its brands at the forefront of hospitality experiences in South Korea. It was in the process of separating from the Starwood Hotels brand and came to Prophet for help creating an independent portfolio of brands.

Solutions

Our teams first defined a winning portfolio by sizing the South Korean travel market and conducting customer segmentation. With a hybrid brand architecture, we went on to create relevant flagship brands, with Josun Palace being the luxury namesake label. We focused on its flagship offerings and aimed to redefine the luxury and lifestyle hotel experience in Korea. 

Our brand strategy was built to appeal to the sensibility and finesse of Josun Palace’s target audience – “The Cultured Connoisseur.” To speak to this audience, three experience principles were created from Josun’s unique DNA and heritage but also focused on remaining relevant to today’s and tomorrow’s target consumers. The “Josun Touch” principal marks Josun’s quality service standards that guests have always come to expect. The “European Sophistication” principle demonstrates how the brand has always been inspired by global design, culture and lifestyle while providing a comfortable introduction to the Korean travel market. The “Timeless Innovation” principle demonstrates that good experiences with high-end technology should be felt but not seen.

We then developed a draft of a future-state guest experience map to guide a focused collaborative exploration of potential signature touchpoints. This was followed by a hierarchy containing distinct levels of signature experiences.

With this in place, the three principles came to life in the creation of a bespoke and crafted crest symbol that brings the unique heritage and symbology of Josun in perfect balance with sophisticated European visual cues. The symbol reflects the premium stature for its luxury brand with a custom modernized serif logotype that highlights the iconic Josun name, referring to Korea’s royal dynasty.

This modernized classic logo is supported by a light and modern set of visual elements including a sans serif typeface, P22, in a variety of weights along with lighter pastel color palette and graphic elements that complement the strong logo and its chiseled font.

Results

The rejuvenated Josun Palace was launched in May 2021, welcoming guests around the world and elevating its customer experience across all touchpoints. The optimized portfolio and architecture strategy has maximized revenues across the group’s existing brands. Additionally, the portfolio strategy left room for future growth, enabling the group to effectively add new brands in support of local expansion.

The new brand identity of Josun Palace encapsulated the key essence of the hotel’s heritage while ensuring that it was distinctive in its own way among other flagship brands. Prophet was successful in launching a prestigious brand with five-star reviews and part of the Marriott Autograph collection.

And, our work with Josun Palace was recognized by Transform Magazine in the Transform Awards Asia 2022, winning bronze for the category of Best Visual Identity from the Sports, Travel, Leisure and Tourism Sector. It also was mentioned as highly commended for the Best Creative Strategy category.

CASE STUDY

SPI

Burnishing a value proposition for a medical technology brand

Challenge

SPI, an innovative start-up in medical technology, is transforming the surgical experience, helping teams choreograph workflows and analytics in the operating room. Now a part of Johnson & Johnson, the fast-growing, young company needed to clarify its value proposition. It also wanted a brand refresh to show a relevant, robust and consistent face to its complex network of partners and customers.

Solutions

To better understand this rapidly growing and evolving marketplace, Prophet interviewed the company’s surgical procedures teams, colleagues at J&J and external stakeholders, including surgeons and hospital purchasing experts. We complemented these interviews with creative and problem-solving sessions in addition to research into the surgical software and MedTech landscape, including an analysis of competitors. Next, we dug into many possible trajectories of the surgery and robotics industry.

Our team then developed a new brand promise: “Transforming surgery. Enabling teams to excel.” This promise enables SPI to differentiate itself in market and speak to the company’s pioneering technology and the benefits the organization provides its surgical teams. We partnered this with a supporting value proposition, product architecture and naming approach that better conveys features while remaining flexible for SPI’s fast-growing catalog of products.

This strategic work was the foundation from which we built a brand identity that reflects SPI’s vision of surgical excellence. Through multiple iterations and explorative workshops, we created a modern, bold and dynamic brand fit for the fast-moving world of surgical technology.

Lastly, using these new branding guidelines, we created a set of user interfaces for the next version of SPI´s technology, ushering its new identity into the operating room.

Results

SPI has rolled out the new branding internally and externally and is applying the new naming architecture and user interfaces to existing versions and new products. SPI is growing faster than ever, with products helping surgeons operate more efficiently. That results in hospital savings, higher satisfaction among surgical teams and better patient outcomes.

CASE STUDY

Enotek

Transforming a logistics technology brand for a smart future

Challenge

Eoslift is a Chinese intralogistics solution provider. Since its inception in 2008, the company has evolved from a forklift manufacturing company into a vertically integrated technology company with proprietary hardware, software and smart solutions. For the next way of growth, it aspires to become a leading logistics technology company that provides innovative solutions across a broad set of industries and geographies.

Eoslift came to Prophet to modernize its brand identity to reflect its evolved ambitions.

Solutions

Prophet worked closely with Eoslift to rejuvenate its brand positioning, name and visual identity.

Our team took a holistic approach to rethink Eoslift’s brand strategy through internal and external immersions. Based on conversations with the organization’s key stakeholders, we illustrated the positioning territories and landed on one final positioning direction. Through this thorough process, we created relevant, ownable and differentiated brand positioning that is rooted in the company’s ambition – to maximize business value through innovative technologies.

Next, Prophet helped Eoslift develop a new brand name “Enotek,” signaling a new chapter. Enotek inherits the company’s DNA and culture, core capabilities and commitment to customers. The new name’s starting letter, “E” represents the organization’s commitment to producing products of excellence and excelsior. The “En” represents its goal to envision and enable, while “Eno” and “Tek” represent Enotek’s use of innovation and technology. We also created the brand tagline, “Future Moves Now,” and a compelling brand story to illustrate Enotek’s transformation to its customers and partners.

Anchoring on the renewed brand strategy, Prophet’s Asia design hub then developed a flexible, vibrant and future-forward visual identity that brings the brand’s ambition to life. We retained Enotek’s heritage by keeping a square box and blue color from the original logo, using them as core elements in the new one. The arrow symbol is constructed by connecting a small square with three larger squares to form an “E” – signifying the spark that ignites growth. Lastly, we adjusted the original blue color into a more vibrant tone to inject the young energy of the brand.

Results

Enotek launched its new brand with refreshed strategy, tagline and visual identity in January 2022. The new brand identity empowers Enotek to stay relevant to its customers while setting itself apart from competitors. The company strives to attract new investors and inspire its employees with a redefined vision, unlocking the next stage of growth.

Lastly, our work with Enotek was recognized by Transform Magazine’s Transform Awards Asia 2022, winning gold for the category of Best Visual Identity from the Transport and Logistics Sector and bronze for the Best Brand Evolution (Business) category.

CASE STUDY

Kuraray Paper & Packaging

Creating a compelling, customer-centric brand campaign

Challenge

The Paper & Packaging segment of Kuraray Group, a Japanese manufacturer of chemicals, fibers and other materials, plays a central strategic and commercial role in the organization. But because it functioned in business-unit silos, it often missed opportunities to respond directly to customer needs, cross-sell and collaborate with other business units. Segment leaders hoped that with Prophet’s help and a clarified value proposition, the team could better communicate the potential impact of the integrated Paper & Packaging division. 

Solutions

First, our team researched the industry and competitors, interviewing Kuraray stakeholders and customers to understand perceived strengths and unmet customer needs. This analysis helped identify value proposition themes. We then refined each of these thematic building blocks, combining them to create a differentiated and unified value proposition. 

Next, we developed a holistic brand campaign to allow the company to talk about its many products and cross-sell effectively, and to also elevate the Kuraray brand as a single entity, one with deep expertise, a global network of experts and exceptional innovation skills.  

Our campaign introduced a much-sharper, game-changer Kuraray brand to inspire its customers, using attention-getting visuals that further set it apart from competitors  – and where the company hopes to go in the future. 

To support this new approach, we created strategic tools and assets, such as a sales presentation that all customer-facing employees can use in conversation with existing or potential customers. These tools ensure the new value proposition is implemented consistently and effectively, throughout all levels of the company.  

Lastly, we created a playbook to help employees activate the value proposition and execute the campaign, as well as internal efforts to increase awareness and understanding of Kuraray’s new cross-segment approach. 

Results

The strengthened Kuraray brand is being rolled out across Kuraray’s social and digital channels, as well as industry conferences where it is distinguishing itself from competitors, breaking through the noise and reaching its customers with a consistent message. The company is integrating the new tools into customer interactions, effectively supporting the new Kuraray Paper & Packaging positioning and leading to positive business outcomes. 

“The Prophet team completely immersed themselves in our field, becoming experts on our business and its needs. The work they delivered has been truly transformational and is the uncontested gold standard for marketing communication at Kuraray”

Bettina Plaumann
Head of Communications and Marketing, Kuraray Europe

CASE STUDY

AB InBev

Shaping the vision for a holistic and forward-looking ESG strategy

Challenge

After defining new sustainability commitments, kickstarting various ESG initiatives and building a strong team to further progress, AB InBev needed to develop a vision for its holistic and forward-looking agenda. Without a unifying ambition, ESG would remain a “nice to do” rather than a critical component in the corporate strategy. AB InBev called upon Prophet to help shape a narrative that captured and amplified its bold mission to “Dream Big for a Future with More Cheers.” 

Solutions

Prophet’s multidisciplinary teams started with a 4-week sprint, conducting a workshop to define the scope and depth of the work. In their conversations with the AB InBev team, leaders shared commercial goals and key themes for prioritization, and their linkages to brand purpose. 

Our team then performed an internal audit of AB InBev’s current sustainability programs, in collaboration with subject matter experts, to develop a deep understanding of results to date. Next, we looked outwards, auditing other category-leading peers and reflected on the UN Sustainable Development Goals to extract key themes, define issues and opportunities in the market and establish eight strategic tentpoles for the narrative. We reviewed our findings with the AB InBev team and refined them with our “where to play” and “how to win” framework.  

With these considerations in mind, Prophet delivered a cohesive and impactful narrative for the client centered around a unified, ESG-focused purpose. The narrative was translated into creative copy, visual design assets, narrative video and a brand voice toolkit to effectively bring its story to market. And to ensure that ESG touched every part of the corporate strategy, we developed a robust governance and oversight model for future work. 

Results

The work developed by Prophet captured a bold sustainability vision and ambition that is currently being used to guide internal company behaviors and external go-to-market priorities for AB InBev’s ESG focus themes: “Local, Natural, and Inclusive.” In bringing these issues to the core of its work, AB InBev continues to strive for a more sustainable, equitable and profitable world. 

And, in 2022, our work was awarded Silver for Best Brand Development Project to Reflect a Change in Mission, Values or Positioning in the North America Transform Awards.

CASE STUDY

Change Please

Designing an experience strategy to help a nonprofit enable its global expansion

Challenge

Change Please is a coffee company that supports individuals that are homeless by hiring and training them to become baristas. The charity provides the living wage, housing and therapy and devotes 100% of the profits to ending homelessness.​ 

The brand is already well-established in the U.K., with close to 60 coffee stores and plans on expanding into multiple markets as the number of trained and employed baristas continues to grow. Amid plans for global expansion, the charity was intent on finding the best path to uncommon growth at a pivotal moment. 

It needed help creating design assets that would drive the brand forward and an experience strategy that is unique and consistent. 

Solutions

Prophet and Change Please used co-creation workshops to brainstorm and collaborate on ways the charity could bring its unique heritage to life, using fun and informal visual story representations. 

We focused on new approaches for core journey phases for digital and offline touchpoints. This included a unique unboxing experience to help customers learn about the mission at home. We also created an iconographic narrative of the brand story using a tangible and engaging journey map to use in its cafes. 

Our holistic playbook includes 40 concepts to improve the overall brand and experience. We focused primarily on three core areas: design updates and advice, social media guidance and experience ideation.  

Results

Change Please is testing these new experiences in stores and across digital touchpoints. It is rolling out the design assets in cafes across the U.K., as well as incorporating Prophet’s concepts into global growth efforts. Most importantly, people are learning more about this ambitious organization wherever they drink their coffee.  

Through Prophet’s pro-bono program, Propheteers lend their expertise to a select group of nonprofits, helping them achieve remarkable results. If you or a nonprofit you know is interested in working with us, reach out today.

CASE STUDY

ReachOut

Creating a new messaging strategy and design aesthetic to help a nonprofit achieve its mission

Challenge

ReachOut is a charity that connects young people from disadvantaged backgrounds with volunteer mentors. Through one-on-one support sessions, these young individuals are provided the opportunity to improve academic skills and expand their aspirations. It also benefits mentors by raising awareness of social inequities. ReachOut struggled with low brand awareness, which hindered funding efforts and mentor recruiting. Messaging and communication strategies weren’t sharp enough and the charity lacked a comprehensive roadmap for reaching mentors, donors and corporate partners.   

Solutions

Prophet worked with ReachOut to dig deeper into all three audience groups, identifying core issues and developing specific goals. On weekly coaching calls, we tracked progress and worked closely with ReachOut’s devoted team to co-create messaging that better articulates what the charity stands for. We also ensured that the values were clearly communicated in messages tailored to each audience.  

Overall, we completed 59 projects and helped ReachOut create inspirational design assets that brought key brand values to life in a tangible, more human way. These assets focus on multiple engagement touchpoints including Instagram, donor and mentor recruitment communications and in-person recruitment events. 

Results

ReachOut’s new design tools and applications are already increasing the charity’s impact on social media channels. As the number of mentors continues to grow, the group has already provided close to 17,000 hours of valuable one-to-one interventions and 35 workplace visits to boost corporate involvement. And with an additional 71 career talks, the organization is finding new ways to reach the people it can benefit most.  

ReachOut’s inspirational messages are contagious, and Prophet is thrilled to say that we’re continuing our work with this motivating organization. We are using our new relationship as a corporate partner to further Prophet’s broader goals of greater diversity and inclusion. In partnering with ReachOut, we hope to hire more individuals from disadvantaged backgrounds in our own internship program, connecting with those who wouldn’t otherwise have access or awareness of the professional services industry. We are also hosting work experience visits, inviting ReachOut participants to learn about a day in the life of a consultant. 

ReachOut isn’t just changing the lives of young people. It’s also benefitting the mentors including us, Prophet employees as we strive to make a lasting difference in these individuals’ lives.

Through Prophet’s pro-bono program, Propheteers lend their expertise to a select group of nonprofits, helping them achieve remarkable results. If you or a nonprofit you know is interested in working with us, reach out today.

CASE STUDY

Vantage

Reinvigorating a Fintech brand to drive growth

Challenge

Founded in 2009, Vantage is a global multi-asset broker offering clients access to services for trading contracts-for-difference (CFDs) on forex, commodities, indices and shares. As competition in online CFD trading intensifies and customer expectations evolve, Vantage’s brand had become less relevant and harder to differentiate. In addition, its visual identity, which served the broker well in the past decade, lacked a clear proposition and emotional appeal.

A business with the scale and ambition of Vantage needs to make sure that its brand expression is not only consistent and coherent globally, but also relevant to both institutional broker (IB) partners and individual retail investors across different markets. Thus, Prophet was engaged to reinvigorate Vantage’s brand with a clear, insights-driven brand positioning and modern, compelling visual identity.

Solutions

Prophet took a hypothesis-led yet rigorous approach to activate Vantage’s internal expertise and explore new external opportunities. By immersing in stakeholder interviews, 360-degree competitor audit, as well as AI-driven customer research, we obtained a comprehensive and nuanced understanding of Vantage, including its ambition to its capabilities, competitors and target customers.

Our strategy team then used these insights to define Vantage’s new brand positioning – to “provide a trusted trading ecosystem that enables customers to achieve their own success, faster and simpler”. Based on the brand positioning, we crafted a messaging framework and the brand voice to guide what the brand says and how the brand speaks. We also simplified its brand name from “Vantage FX” to “Vantage” to better reflect the company’s ambition to be a multi-asset trading platform beyond FX trading.

To bring the strategy to life, our design team built upon the big idea of “Shared Success” and applied the Fibonacci Golden Ratio in creating Vantage’s new visual identity system. The Fibonacci Golden Ratio is not only permeated in nature and art but also prevalent in financial markets – Fibonacci retracement levels are often key indicators to predict market movements. The idea resonates with the brand category and strategy to resemble precision, growth patterns, perfect harmony and concise prediction of patterns in an ecosystem.

To help Vantage envision its new visual identity, we created customized iconography, brand and photography guidelines, as well as a wide range of applications including website and mobile app re-skin.

Results

Vantage launched its new brand globally with a resounding impact.  It was well-received by industry peers at its unveiling in November 2021. The group achieved a significant increase of nearly 30% in new users in three months, compared to the same period before the rebrand.

Vantage was also recognized at the 2021 Transform Awards Asia, for the categories of ‘Best brand development project to reflect the changed mission, values or positioning’ and the ‘Best visual identity from the financial services sector’.

“Our rebranding exercise was the long-awaited change that our business needed, and Prophet was the ideal partner to assist us through the entire process. From the initial interviews to the final reveal of our new brand identity, the Prophet team has been more than instrumental in its assessment and recommendations,” says David Shayer, CEO of Vantage UK.

“The results of the rebrand speak for itself. Removing FX from our name has allowed us to speak more closely to our multi-asset offering, and our new brand puts us closer to our clients who share the same values. With a refocused business direction, we are empowered to continue the work of enhancing our tools and platforms to bring about an unparallel trading experience for our clients.

“The rebrand has also opened doors to some prominent partnerships, including our recent sponsorship of the McLaren Extreme E, which highlights our push for greater sustainability, diversity, and inclusion within the financial services industry in the coming years.”

“From the initial interviews to the final reveal of our new brand identity, the Prophet team has been more than instrumental in their assessment and recommendations.”

David Shayer
UK CEO

CASE STUDY

McAfee

Repositioning McAfee for accelerated growth

Challenge

With innovations like streaming and teleconferencing as well as external trends like COVID-19, people found themselves living more of their lives online—and in turn, looking to find better online protection.

At the same time, McAfee, the global cybersecurity leader, announced it was spinning off its enterprise business to focus exclusively on consumers.

These two realities provided McAfee with a moment-in-time opportunity to redefine what its consumer business stands for and become even more relevant for the people it serves and position itself for accelerated growth.

Solutions

McAfee partnered with Prophet to uncover how it could best become more relevant with consumers. After auditing the competitive landscape and immersing in what made McAfee unique, Prophet conducted research with over 5,000 customers internationally to understand the needs and opportunities where McAfee could play. In our research, we uncovered a white space that customers care about and where McAfee could credibly deliver.

Working closely with McAfee executives, we crafted a new brand strategy, including a more human-centered brand positioning that pushes beyond the category’s conventions. We looked at untapped drivers of purchase to build a brand that focuses on how McAfee’s protection—not just cybersecurity, but identity, privacy and family protections too—frees and empowers people to confidently enjoy their lives online.

We developed a new verbal and visual brand identity to match—crafting a brand voice that is approachable and optimistic, messaging that highlights McAfee’s research-backed strengths and a look-and-feel that is modern and dynamic that can be applied across marketing and product.

Prophet translated the new strategy and identity into a compelling digital launch campaign. The “Free to Be” campaign highlights how everyone deserves to be able to do what they want to do online—that people should be free to learn, free to shop, free to bank, free to connect—confidently and without fear of online threats.

Results

The new strategy, brand identity and corresponding campaign herald the future of online protection—not just for McAfee, but for what consumers should demand from the online protection industry. McAfee will continue to roll out major updates and industry firsts that help consumers stay protected and enjoy life online.

“Prophet became our indispensable ally. They expertly bridged strategy and execution and helped us effectively align our organization around our new brand strategy, which is helping us continue to deliver on the future of online protection.”

Judy Bitterli
SVP of Marketing

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