The Brolly brand frequently found itself in tropical, visually compelling settings.
The Need:
When I started as Marketing Manager at Data Connect the company was using no less than eleven different brand names to talk about the various modules and features of their trade show platform, with little standardization on brand usage and appearance to boot! It took me- as an employee- a couple weeks to wrap my head around this branding maze. Our customers didn't stand a chance. At the same time the trade show division was gearing up for their largest product release to date. It was clear to me as their Marketing Manager from the outset that they were in dire need of a brand refresh and standardization. Luckily for my creative side, the management team was really looking for a complete overhaul to fit with their vision of an end-to-end event technology platform. So, I got to work developing a brand new identity to accompany the release and carry the division forward.
The Remedy:
I began by research trends in the events industry and quickly saw a polarization in our target market. Executive males who had been working the industry for decades where brands like Experient and Freeman were firmly entrenched, and a younger female audience who was more ambitious about the use of new technology in events. It was helpful that this younger audience typically made the buying decision on our products as well. So, I developed a slew of identity concepts that would capture the technology platform vision of the compnay while leaning towards this target audience. After rounds of concepts, designs, vetting and review I put my final concepts to a company vote. By a strong margin Brolly Event Solutions was to be the new face of Data Connect's trade show division.
The standard logo appearance.
A size constrained or "Banner" appearance.
Our official insignia.
Brolly, the queens english for umbrella, was a brand name that allowed us to imbue it with meaning of our own and attitude while still harking back to our all-in-one vision. I got to work on polishing up a brand design that would look sharp across all media for years to come, and give the brand a rollicking look and feel. Eventually, the umbrella and banner appearance seen above coupled with a bright color a palette emerged and was ready for the big time.
To ensure the success of this new identity I built a complete package of logos, typefaces, color palettes, and brand voices to ensure consistent and proper usage of the brand down the road. Additionally, this brand came with a unique challenge. It had to equally represent the various modules we built, or were white-labelled into the platform. This led to the creation of our distinctive module logos. They were all built as a family of logos to constantly remind our audience that each module is but one part of the greater Brolly Platform.
The logo for our flagship product.
The logo of our white-label RFID service.
These brand standards were then applied across every touch point between the company and it's audience and customers. From website to social media to employee uniforms to every piece of software we developed, the fun-loving Brolly brand swept across the country consistent in its message and usage.
The Brolly website.
Some sweet Brolly track jackets.
Our flagship event commerce application.
An event team bringing the brand to life.
The Results:
Our primary objective was to cut down from 11 operational brand names to just one (albeit with branded modules), in which the Brolly brand was a total success. Today, this mothership name represents the platform and it's six component modules, while carrying on building its presence as a leader in event technology. All of which I'd be very proud of in itself, but Brolly has really found its stride in helping the company pivot to key new industries and obtain crucial new clients, making this brand one of my proudest professional accomplishments.
