Navigating the bustling consultancy space is a challenge with lots of voices all vying for the same attention. The key to standing out? Propel yourself to the forefront and redefine what consultancy means.
THE BACKSTORY
NU Creative was commissioned to design a new website for Advance, but through competitor research and high-level conversation around the arc of the business, we agreed that the right way forward was to start with strategy. A change in leadership brought new thinking to the future of the business and through workshops and interviews we helped them redefine their purpose and build clarity within the organisation around the value they bring and who they do it for.
THE PROBLEM
The consultancy space is big and busy. There are a lot of organisations offering formulas, trademarked techniques and services all delivered with the weight of the big organisation behind them. Advance are different and we knew that it was important to help them to define their voice and leverage a more personal language which reflected their approach. Knowing this, the visual identity brief was to present the organisation's energy, pace and humanity, something experienced in face-to-face encounters, but not present within their brand strategy or implementation.
THE SOLUTION
Our design approach started by exploring colour and pattern to create a unique and authentic visual identity. The logo mark was created with a key Advance phrase in mind; ‘Support and Challenge’. Drawn with reference to large, rounded typefaces, curved shoulders and incorporating open spaces, the mark can be used in isolation and with the wordmark.
The overall graphic language of the brand was designed to feel fresh and bold, allowing them stand out in the consultancy space. Following the visual identity creation, our copywriters were able to define a new tone of voice developed from brand and content strategy workshops, enabling us to write copy that would be authentic to Advance across their new website and materials.
THE RESULTS
The results of the work done for Advance speak for themselves. Implementation of the new brand identity into a clearly focussed website, putting content strategies in place for digital and social has turned a new leaf for Advance Consultancy. Overall there has been a huge increase in brand new users to the website – a 504% increase to be exact with an increase of 746% of them driven from users through social media.
