We quickly exposed the limitations and shortcomings of the existing brand experience during an in-depth strategy process that began with an onsite kickoff in San Mateo with key Marketo executives and stakeholders. This experience helped us to intimately understand the dynamics of the company and the myriad challenges that we needed to address in the rebranding project. It also set a solid foundation for a working relationship that would sustain us in the many long months to come.

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Brand Strategy revealed the significance of the numerous components of existing brand equity, from the rallying of the internal team around the iconic purple, to a noted consumer appreciation for the familiarity and approachability of the revenue bars. It was determined that a brand refresh would play on the awareness that Marketo has earned, and compete less with existing living assets. Therefore, our main objectives for the refresh became to mature the brand, create scalable and consistent brand visuals and applications, define and execute a verbal identity that felt relatable and inclusive, and to embrace boldness through secondary elements that tell the story of technological advancement, thought leadership, and a passion for the marketer.

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In recreating a brand worthy of the Marketo caché, we quickly realized the need to modify the revenue bars and the accompanying logotype. Initially referred to as Growth 2.0, we honed in on a story that embraced growth, but retold it in a way that spoke to the next generation of marketing. So the longstanding four revenue bars were simplified, streamlined, and given dynamism and dimension. They were reborn as the Perspective Bars, which served to represent both a shift within the company and the empowerment of the perspective that Marketo insights and resources offer their audience. But the Perspective Bars went one step further: serving as a pathway to the future of marketing, and as a sequence of opening doorways that presented new opportunities to the marketing community.

To kick off voice and tone and messaging for Marketo, we engaged them in a brand archetype card exercise. Their passion for marketing was already clear in their brand voice: you could almost hear the purple. What needed further definition was the “why” behind their tone—the specific roles they play in their customers’, employees', and partners’ stories, and how best to express those relationships. During the exercise, the Marketo team determined that they were Creators, Mavericks, and Networkers. We made sure these facets of their personality rang true in their redefined brand voice, and in the new company messages we wrote. They sound relatable and inclusive—embracing the company and employee commitment to their audience as well as the community they’ve grown.