Peppol: Global Re-Brand
Building a new global audience for a trade organization that’s changing the way the world does business
Project:
Peppol: Global Re-Brand
Client:
Peppol
Services:
Brand Strategy, Branding and Visual Identity, Logo Design, Editorial Positioning & Brand Personality, Creative Direction, Video Production, Motion Graphics, Website Design
When you consider the scale of global trade, the volume of materials being bought, sold and transported around the world is mind-boggling. To get these materials from A to B requires communication between millions of buyers and suppliers. And results in a mountain of paperwork.
And that is the problem.
Buyers and suppliers speak different languages, have different systems, formats and business processes. One organisation’s “system” is rarely compatible with another’s.
Enter Peppol, a not-for-profit funded by the European Commission. They provide a platform with one universal business language for everyone. Its potential impact on global trade is so profound that it has been mandated across all public service procurement by the governments of Norway, Sweden, Australia, Singapore and New Zealand whilst in the UK it is used by organisations like the NHS.
Despite these successes, Peppol's share of the total market was still tiny. Not enough people knew about Peppol or understood what they did.
The BRIEF:
Peppol wanted to communicate what they do and why they matter to a wider audience
They also wanted those who already knew about Peppol, and saw them as niche and technical, to re-appraise the brand.
And they sought to reassure incumbents, who saw Peppol's services as a threat, and help them re-appraise Peppol as a partner and ally.
Originally conceived as a B2G (Business to Government) service with a focus solely on the EU they needed to reposition the brand to reflect their global presence and accelerate adoption in the private sector where their services are equally relevant.
Solution:
We were asked to take a look at their whole ecosystem, and began by conducting extensive interviews with Peppol representatives and Peppol customers around the world
They told us that prospective users were often confused about what Peppol did and found it hard to see its value. Those who used the platform said it took perseverance to wade through the technical detail. It all pointed to the fact that their proposition was far too complex, raising the barrier to entry so high, most people did not get past the homepage.
We re-designed the brand from the ground up.
A new logo that reflected their global presence. A new brand identity and editorial positioning to put a friendlier, more human face on the technology organisation, making their services and benefits easier to understand and pulling the focus away from technocratic jargon and firmly onto the benefits to the end-user - A gateway to faster, cheaper and more efficient global trade for organisations and businesses of every size.
Activity:
The new branding is being rolled out now
A new logo which reflects Peppol's global status, evoking the speed and ease with which Peppol allows users to connect and trade.
A re-designed website and defined user personas to develop more relevant messaging and clear user segmentation on their website.
Video content for the website, social channels, conferences and exhibitions.
With representatives across the world, another key problem was a lack of brand consistency. In response we produced brand guidelines and a media toolkit and continue to support the organisation with training and education for local representatives as they implement the new branding across the world.
Website design. Exhibition materials. Business cards and more
Exhibition & conference materials
Letterheads and business cards
The old and the new. A re-designed lending a friendlier more welcoming face for the Global Trade organisation, reflecting Peppol's global status and evoking the speed and ease with which Peppol allows users to connect and trade.
The new logo
Previous Logo. EU centric and a clunky acronym
Results:
The new branding is being rolled out as we speak and the initial the response has been extremely positive. As a result Peppol have retained Black Paint into 2020 where the focus will shift to brand building and activation in order to accelerate Peppol adoption by private businesses, public organisations and governments across the world.
Design & Branding
Online and Social
Media Toolkit
Black Paint provided great creative leadership and talent to rebrand our organisation and develop a much stronger website concept, which has been well received by our members. They were able to draw out the essence of our offer, and added great insight and support throughout. The creative process included a high production video which is already helping to spread a greater understanding of our complex enterprise. We look forward to working with Black Paint through the next stage of our journey and can wholeheartedly recommend Adam and his wider team.
