A Sydney design consultancy that loves to create good brand stories
A Sydney design consultancy that loves to create good brand stories
Heffron are the unsung heroes of the Australian self-managed super fund scene. Without fuss, they provide the backroom admin and legal muscle to some of Australia's biggest SMSF names, while remaining stoically in the branding shadows themselves. Recently, however, this approach has started to look less like modesty and more like corporate stagnation. Smörgåsbord were happy to help Heffron explain to the world what they did, and – more importantly – why they did it.
Step 1: the brand workshop. We worked with the owners, the C-level executive and external consultants Denali to map out the landscape of the industry (which uncovered not one but four key audiences) and what each was seeking to hear from Heffron. By conducting exercises to pin down Heffron's values, relevance, offer and purpose, we arrived at a brand story that made sense. We were ready to begin the next step: the identity.
Some things didn't need a great deal of work. We elected to keep Heffron's signature aqua colour as a point of continuity between old and new, but remade the logo with subtle clues that said growth (yes, that second 'f' is taller than its neighbour) and quality (the 'o' becoming a laurel wreath with a hidden tick of approval.)
The biggest change was adding a tagline to the logo. Sifting through the research showed that Heffron's customers and even internal staff all valued the fact that Heffron were the best at solving knotty SMSF issues. Finally, Heffron had a short, sharp statement that explained why they did what they did. We're here to solve problems. Problem solved.
Marketing Angels masterminded the unveiling of the new identity to staff. It was a welcome morale boost that set the tone for the rest of the organisational change that was to follow.