A Whole New Look

Marketing technology company’s unique brand vision rolls out without a hitch

Background

Mapp, one of the world’s largest private marketing technology companies, had a strong vision for their new brand identity. They lined up a designer to create the identity and relaunch their website with the updated look. And then the designer had to bow out of the project.

With just a couple of months left in the year and a commitment to deliver the website before New Year’s, Mapp came to VSSL. The VSSL crew weighed the challenges ahead – tight timeline, intense creative output, difficult extraction of existing content from an open source CMS – and said, “Yes, we’ll do it!”

Solution

With the project under way, VSSL met with Steve Warren, Mapp’s CEO, to get a better understanding of his vision. His idea was that all marketers are sheep who follow the flock. He wanted to show that rebel sheep blaze a path and do things differently to get results.

“Trying new things in marketing and going against the herd is essential for the types of clients we work with,” Warren said. Mapp serves B2C clients in retail, travel and hospitality, and consumer and packaged goods.

By the same token, Warren pointed out that most digital marketing companies have similar-looking websites. And he wanted to be sure that Mapp’s online presence stood out.

VSSL first tackled the brand identity. Building on Steve’s idea of the rebel sheep, the crew created original sketches and then used an illustrator to hone the image, complete with Mohawk, Vans, a leather jacket – and a badass attitude.

Next, VSSL and Mapp collaborated to focus on the website. VSSL handled the technology side, building the site, integrating Salesforce data and pulling over blog content from Mapp’s existing website, which had been built in TYPO3, a German CMS. VSSL also created a video with motion graphics and animation using the sheep theme. Meanwhile, the Mapp team provided the copywriting.

“We worked hand in hand with the Mapp team, and our two teams supported each other through an intense build and migration,” said Dave Tillson, VSSL principal.