PeoplePlus was a Federal Government contractor specialising in employment placement and development for Australia’s long-term unemployed cohort.
The company had been operating in Australia under license of its UK parent since 1984.
Long-term CEO Con Kittos, had a driving ambition to take the brand fully independent from its UK parent because he believed the PeoplePlus name, brand and heritage failed to reflect what the local brand had achieved in the Australian market. In addition, Con had a bold vision to expand globally into Western countries, including Sweden and South Korea, but his ambition for global expansion was constrained under the current license agreement.
The opportunity to become a fully independent brand was to be realised in 2020 when the current operating license was due for renewal.
For Con and the management team to seamlessly move from PeoplePlus to anew (as yet un-named) brand, meant any new brand had to be in place within 4months of their decision to part ways with the PeoplePlus UK brand.
Following numerous presentations from a short-list of branding consultants (providing little confidence to PeoplePlus management) an invitation was made for BrandQuest to present their credentials and approach.
Upon their appointment BrandQuest implemented their proven process beginning with an alignment survey of senior management prior to a full-day immersion in BrandQuest’s 5-step brand strategy engagement.
The recommendations of the brand strategy were accepted and the two key outcomes, being the answers to the ‘Why You?’ and the ‘Who are You?’ of the brand were agreed. The BrandQuest Brand Strategy provided three core promises (the ‘Why you’ of the brand) on which the new brand could be launched:
1. We hear you
2. We believe in you
3. We will help you get and keep a job
Along with refining of the existing brand culture into a powerful two-word Brand Essence; ‘EnterprisingHeart’ which has since been embedded throughout the organisation’s global staff and acts as a driver of culture for all actions and behaviours. Once the Brand Strategy recommendations were agreed BrandQuest then proceeded to the critical rebranding process. Which meant a new name that had the ability to be trademarked globally with all required likely future global URLs. BrandQuest approached this naming task using their BrandSafe™ approach, a collaborative and iterative stage-gate process that ensures the selected and preferred name offers surety of trademarking and URL requirements.
Thus, from an extensive list of BrandSafe™ options, the name; Asuria was chosen as the new Brand name. Once the brand name was selected the new Brand design stage began. Again, BrandQuest provide a highly iterative staged process, beginning with a broad variety of design options with the client team a key part of the refinement process (in this case over four design stages were interrogated) until the final brand logo was agreed. The brand change process was completed with the creation of a comprehensive Brand Style Guide that would steer the consistent application of the new brand roll-out globally. The BrandQuest process not only delivered all elements of the brief but did so within a total timeframe of less than 16 weeks from appointment.
Asuria is now a privately-owned independent business operating across the globe with offices in Sweden, South Korea and the EAU. Since the rebranding, staff growth has risen from 450 across Australia to 2000+ globally. A national roll-out of 130 rebranded offices across Australia sees the brand represented in urban and regional centres throughout the country. Internally, the ‘Enterprising Heart’ brand essence is culturally embedded throughout the entire global workforce and provides a distinctive and differentiated rallying point for all staff and management of Asuria – a brand that truly beats to an Enterprising Heart.
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