Expertise
Brand Identity
Brand Messaging
Brand Strategy
Campaign Strategy
Marketing Strategy
Naming
Organization Merger
Visual Identity
Establishing a New, Shared Brand Identity
Challenge
Continental Mapping Consultants (CMC), GISinc, and TSG Solutions joined forces around a simple yet thoughtful idea: become the largest singular provider of end-to-end geospatial services and solutions in the U.S.
Building a harmonious identity between three organizations is a delicate task. It requires internal buy-in. Confidence in your partners. A new name, brand identity, and brand strategy that can mobilize your audience for decades.
The new brand needed to distinguish its value and perception by establishing a shared identity that reflected their collective expertise and core benefits. Our agency helped CMC, GISinc, and TSG Solutions merge to communicate their combined power, activate their internal team, and position the organization as a trusted geospatial partner who will provide clients with the clarity, direction, and support they need to understand the world.
Outcome
CMC, GISinc, and TSG Solutions are now Axim Geospatial.
Axim is on a mission to tackle massive challenges with geospatial solutions –– and we created an identity to capture that. It’s not another consulting or technology firm. Instead, they are a diverse team of scientists, surveyors, geographers, and analysts passionate about geospatial solutions.
The new brand reflects key strengths of the three companies, including a commitment to customer excellence and quality, an innovative approach, and a culture of collaboration and inclusiveness.
Phase 1Research & Discovery
We had the opportunity to work closely with each merging organization, and their enthusiasm for the potential of geospatial data and analytics was obvious.
Through a brand audit, competitive analysis, and interviews, we learned CMC, GISinc, and TSG Solutions have a positive reputation, strong engagement, and offer a distinct value to offer the world. CMC, GISinc, and TSG Solutions were rich in brand equity but lean on scalability without a unified brand foundation to grow from.
Creating an entirely new company from three legacy organizations is sure to shake up the internal culture. Not only did we need to reimagine the experience to scale, evolve, and deliver results for clients, but also account for staff and senior leadership. We found employees overwhelmingly loved their individual teams, and would require transparent, specific outreach explaining why the merger is happening and how it will positively impact them.
Phase 2Brand Strategy
In Phase 1, we delivered an insight report with recommendations on how to create a consistent, relevant, and memorable brand experience and identity. The brand strategy put those recommendations into action, serving as guidance to identify the “why” behind this merger.
Our team led stakeholders from each organization through a brand workshop to inform our brand strategy work. These insights created an early narrative on what the new brand should stand for and how it could be memorable in a crowded market.
We crafted a tone and voice, mission, and vision to clarify what the organization stands for so it can be communicated to their target audience. The new brand is precise, not ambiguous. Passionate, not excessive. Intelligent, down to earth, and relatable. Its voice reflects a motivation to constantly push the boundaries of what’s possible, backed by world-class capabilities and experience. Connectivity and inclusivity tie the brand together.
With the voice and values established, it was time to give the organization its most important identifier: a name.
Phase 3Naming
“Axim Geospatial” was inspired by the earth’s axis and a shared passion for geography, positioning the new brand as expert partners in geospatial services, and an authority in providing clarity and confidence in data.
Ax·i·om /`aksē e
m/ noun : a statement or proposition which is regarded as being established, accepted, or self-evidently true.
Anaximander (c. 610 – c. 546 BC) was one of the first to create a map of the world.
It’s short and sweet, memorable, and optimistic. It’s a strong, unified name representing the merged companies.
Phase 4Visual Identity
Axim’s logo is composed of an icon and customized logotype. Inspiration for the icon came from early world maps showing two hemispheres. The icon rings instill a distinct sense of innovation and wonder, representing an important piece of the Axim brand story: the history of exploration, the focus of working together with clients, and the investigation into the future. The softer edges and rounded corners create an approachable feel while having a strong presence. They also sit at a 23.5 degree angle to match the Earth’s axis.
A visual identity, of course, is more than a logo. It was important to build out a brand system that supports Axim’s brand attributes: direct, human, approachable, and optimistic. The primary color palette consists of dark and light blue with black and grey for a calming and bold visual language. The secondary color is an energizing bright green, complimenting Axim’s ability to influence the earth, from ground to sky to space.
AXIM GEOSPATIAL LOGO VARIATIONS
AXIM GEOSPATIAL STYLESCAPE
Phase 5Brand Launch & Rollout
Axim has a beautiful new logo. An approachable and optimistic tone and voice. The visual language, brand story, and communications strategy to resonate with their audiences.
Now it’s time to introduce Axim to the world.
We delivered a strategic marketing roadmap detailing how the organization should roll out the new brand across its marketing channels in order to increase brand awareness and facilitate long-term engagement both inside and outside of the organization. This document also included best practices for building an online presence through search engine optimization, content marketing, and social media.
The roadmap was broken down into three phases: planning, launch, and post-launch. Actions for each phase work together to make launch day smooth, exciting, and sustainable.
BRAND STRATEGY GUIDE
CORPORATE OVERVIEW PRINT PIECE
