Finding a distinctive voice in a 'me too' marketplace

The Challenge

BlueSquare Data is in the data warehousing business. The company is different from its competition in that it both manages and owns all aspects of the data management offer – from ultra-modern, high-security warehouses full of racked servers to fibre-optic networks.

BlueSquare Data came to us looking for a brand positioning that would raise their profile, faithfully capture the professionalism and quality of their offer and, of course, help attract and retain new customers.

Perhaps the biggest challenge was that the industry sector is full of ‘me-too’ offers. On paper, most data warehousing operations do much the same thing in much the same way. Advertising in trade press rarely ventures beyond stock images of servers and doesn’t establish a differentiated brand personality for any of the key players.

The Solution

We sought to develop a reinvigorated brand and brand expressions for BlueSquare Data. We concentrated on finding a design language and tone-of voice that would achieve real cut-through in a marketplace characterized by rather turgid advertising and predictable imagery and messaging.

We developed a design that used the company’s ‘blue square’ graphic to replace vowels in big, bold headlines. We also defined a tone of voice that was sophisticated and witty, rather than geeky and overly-technical. In short, we aimed to give BlueSquare Data a tangible personality.

Simple and powerful, the new brand language was unveiled in a year-long run of ads in key trade press, culminating in a branded exhibition stand at the Data World Expo in London.

The Outcome

BlueSquare Data benefited from the positive image associated with a robust and distinctive brand during a prolonged period of strategic M&A activity. The business today is strong, focused and has a clearly defined message, position and personality in what remains a somewhat characterless sector.