After two years of strong growth in New Zealand, Unfiltered decided to launch in the United States. For a fast-growing startup, a move into a new region or country is both exciting and daunting. It’s an opportunity to grow but comes with the risk of being spread too thin and burning too much cash in a bid to get market share.
With that context, the challenge for Strategy Creative was crystal clear: refresh the brand to ensure it sets Unfiltered up for success in the US and help establish the brand as the leading voice in business education.
The online education market is crowded and noisy so Strategy Creative decided to strip back the unnecessary and double down on the things which matter most. To do this, we interviewed Unfiltered CEO Jake Millar and key team members to create a strategic positioning which clearly articulates what the brand is and where it should be going. From this work, we crafted the core brand essence of Inspiring Business Brilliance. With the positioning in place, we developed an identity which illustrates it visually. The logo is bold, upfront, clean, authoritative and uses a green which is bright, positive, and totally ownable by the Unfiltered brand. The use of play, stop, and other video playback symbols are a nod to Unfiltered’s core business: interviews with business leaders.
The new brand took the business education market in the US by storm. In just a few months, Unfiltered’s Facebook page went from 10,000 likes to 40,000. Inspiring Business Brilliance has become the brand’s catchphrase and is used by Jake in promotional videos. Five star reviews have been pouring in and feedback on the new brand has been overwhelmingly positive.
