From Branding to Bottle Openers for Abacus...
Abacus Outsource, part of the Sigma Capital Group, offers bespoke labour outsourcing services. They develop recruiting programs, staffing payment models and training programs with HR teams and can manage operations of whole departments within the recruitment sector.
The Challenge
Abacus presented us with a blank canvas and free creative reign to design their logo and branding from scratch. From this, they then required a brand new website, brochures, range of adverts and creative campaigns to improve brand awareness and generate sales.
After getting to know Abacus’ brand values and vision, we started with a brainstorming session developing the perfect colour scheme and logo. Since the company’s main goal was to boost brand awareness, we needed strong, memorable visuals that depicted Abacus’ services clearly.
As a B2B client, the website needed to be simple and concise, making their services noticeable and getting the message across quickly. This would ensure that the site would be interruptive to HR departments researching solutions for their needs. The design would also need plenty of clear call-to-actions, driving those important sales enquiries.
The Solution
Our Strategy was built around enhancing the brand’s prominence and visibility through a fully integrated solution including a bold brand image, strong website design and creative campaigns.
We firstly agreed on the brand colour palette. Grey; smart and professional, paired with green; with positive connotations of having the ‘green light’ or to ‘go ahead’. We created the logo around this theme, and kept it bold and memorable. We rounded it off with some simple text, explaining exactly what Abacus provides in two words.
For the website, we went with a one-page design using our chosen colour scheme; all information was in one place which made it easy to browse. We ensured that their main message came across to the viewer quickly by placing important information right at the top with call-to-action buttons. We included parallax elements and auto scrolling sections with video and strong imagery, keeping the design current and representing the brand’s credibility.
We manage Abacus’ social media accounts on a daily basis, and also regularly develop innovative integrated social media campaigns. We got together and developed a campaign for the giveaway of Abacus-branded hard hat bottle openers which almost sent LinkedIn into meltdown. Thanks to this level of reach and engagement, we over-achieved on our social brand awareness goal.
Abacus also has a great Rewards Programme so we created a series of adverts based around the ‘forget commission…’ campaign we created to show it off. We used some beautiful imagery to reflect the lavish rewards incorporated into the scheme. As an integrated campaign, the adverts had a consistent, tidy theme which ensured they were fluid and recognisable.
As the brand grew, we even designed a stunning ‘family tree’ wall covering for the Abacus boardroom as a creative way to represent the company structure of the Sigma Capital Group. It was made to reflect the company’s Birmingham heritage, using the brand’s statement green colour palette which complimented the tree theme. We also incorporated it into the website design to add character.