Corporate Rebrand

The Challenge

ABL was seeking a look and feel that embraced their core product (wifi) as the center of all of their services. Because they were migrating the name from “ABL Social Federation” to “ABL” they also needed a logo that better tied the company name to their mark. The project timeframe was escalated because the company was in the process of seeking additional investors to fuel their substantial growth needs. As part of this change to support the investment effort, they needed to rethink their image to be more in line with their technology orientation so that they would be categorized in their appropriate peer group. As the leader in the German wifi market, the company also wanted to update their identity without losing brand awareness with their customer base, so they needed to retain elements of the existing brand but give it a natural evolution.

The Solution

Yeager interviewed the ABL team and selected customers to better understand the core attributes the company should convey in the mark. Service, forward-thinking innovation, and “making things simple” for customers were themes that developed from internal and external focus group discussions. Yeager then collaborated with the ABL team to work within the existing shape of the mark but to scale it back to the essence of its meaning. A new typeface was used for the “abl” name to embody a friendly, approachable look and feel and it was moved within the square shape. Yeager used illustrated wireless signal lines to tie the name to core competency. The company’s signature blue color was retained, but the color was used within a portion of the square to highlight a “checkmark” that aligned to the company’s reputation of trust and customer service. The opening of the square was moved from the bottom left to top right to communicate forward thinking and innovation.

The Results

The mark was widely praised as a significant improvement for the brand by the internal ABL team and its customers. The entire rebranding effort including this logo, the company messaging, and a revised website were completed within 30 days to hit the marketing team’s timelines. The company has since successfully completed a round of investor funding and is on track to hit its growth goals for the next 5 years.