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BRANDING   |   POSTED ON 02.05.2018

Pulse: Creating a Brand for a New Digital Platform

When a century old media organisation approached us about creating a brand for their new media and communications platform, we wanted to make sure that the brand we created would last the test of time.

A new brand for a veteran media group

McPherson Media Group is a regional media organisation that owns and produces local newspapers for regional centres as well as creating websites and printing media and communications for community groups, industry associations and organisations.

MMG wanted to diversify their product offerings and launch a communications platform that centralises all their clients’ communications needs in one place. The brief was to develop a name, brand identity and brand strategy to communicate how the platform can help companies reach more customers. The brand was required within a small timeframe in order to launch quickly. The brand needed to be powerful, simple and articulate the purpose of the platform.

After discussing MMG’s requirements with this new brand, Liquid set about to find a name express the powerful reach of the platform. The challenge was finding a short, memorable name which was also available as a domain name.

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The name game

We set about brainstorming names and developed a shortlist that captured the feeling of a central platform, movement, power, reach and connection. We worked with many different configurations and combinations of words to flesh out the possibilities.

We provided a shortlist of names which focused on these emotions, supported by rationales explaining the brand strategy behind each. Out of this process came the name Pulse.

The name came from the idea of “being on the pulse” or knowing the most up to date and current information.

Pulse also brings to mind continuing bursts of energy and vitality generated from one source but with a powerful reach. Pulse gives the feeling of being alive, active, informative and always current.

This helps communicate how the platform can regularly connect and engage customers with industry knowledge and expertise. It’s about reaching more people than ever before. Pulse is the place to keep customers informed with current and future information.

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Discovering Pulse’s identity

With the approved name, we set about creating a vibrant and friendly brand identity to communicate all these principles that underpinned the name. We researched competitors to ensure we positioned the brand differently and created an identity that stood out in the market.

We started sketching initial logo concepts and tagline ideas illustrating the themes and ethos behind the name. This initial process was similar to the brainstorming section with developing the name Pulse. It was about exploring all the different ways the name Pulse could be brought to life and add more meaning through the brand identity.

We then assessed the concepts to determine the best approach in line with the brand strategy. The best concepts were then developed further, to refine and simplify the visual message as much as possible. This development process takes time but ensures the final brand identity is strong and really captures the core essence of the brand.

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Ready to launch in the market

We then sent a shortlist of the best brand identities to MMG for review. The client returned with a clear direction of their preferred concepts and asked for some colour versions and refinements to consider.

The name, identity and positioning really captured the message of ‘a powerful communications hub’. The brand was launched with a website, sales brochure and tender document. These communication tools consistently supported the strategy and helped staff to easily sell the platform to potential clients.

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What’s happened since

The Pulse staff can now clearly talk to prospective clients about how the platform can add value. The marketing manager at Cameron McPherson stated that Pulse is “already receiving great feedback from our market.”

He also commented on the process; “the experience of working with the team at Liquid has been great – start to finish – as they are genuinely interested in our business and what our goals are. They’ve produced an exceptional brand and presence for us…and we look forward to future opportunities to work with them.”

The whole process of creating a brand can be daunting for any business. This case study demonstrates that a considered branding process in collaboration with a brand specialist gives you an objective perspective on your brand. Looking at your brand from a business and customer perspective helps to accurately define your brand and create a strategy and identity that communicates the right message to staff and customers.

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You can see more of our work with Pulse here, and if you’re thinking of building a new brand or refreshing your current brand, contact us your brand agency Liquid Creativity and let’s start making a brand that reaches your business’ full potential.

 

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