For over 40 years, Risk Program Administrators (RPA) has been providing clients with an unparalleled blend of public entity risk pool administration and brokerage capabilities. After experiencing growth both organically and by acquisition, RPA recognized the need for a more robust brand to continue building equity in its market.
In late 2021, RPA asked us to perform a brand refresh to bring a fresh face to their brand. To successfully complete the refresh in the time allotted, we carefully executed the following:
Researched and audited existing brand
Created overarching messaging and segmented messaging
Refreshed the brand visually based on these strategic updates
(To learn more about this approach, visit: brand33.com/process.)
DISCOVERY
We always do our homework first. Despite the truncated timeline, RPA was no exception! We kicked off this project with an in-depth brand audit, featuring: an analysis of existing collateral and strategic documents, a review of digital and web resources, an intensive competitive report, and insights from stakeholder conversations.
18 MARKETING DOCUMENTS AUDITED
It’s critical to gain an understanding of what tools the brand is currently leveraging to build equity. These touch points are important windows into the brand experience of RPA’s target audience. Auditing these documents allowed us to see where there were gaps or inconsistencies in messaging, as well as how the brand had evolved its messaging over time.
9 COMPETITORS DEEPLY ANALYZED
The market for pool and program administration is complex. Analyzing RPA’s top competitors allowed us to grasp a better understanding of how the industry externally talks about its services. It also helped us determine how brands are currently positioning themselves, and where there was opportunity for RPA to secure a differentiated position in the space.
12 BRAND QUESTIONS ASKED
Speaking with stakeholders provides invaluable information for high-level brand work. We heard first-hand about RPA’s roots, how it has evolved over time and where it’s headed in the future. This provided insights that greatly informed the foundation of the brand in the Development Phase.
STRATEGIC DEVELOPMENT
In Phase 2, we recognized the need for a Purpose statement. Leading several workshops with key stakeholders, we landed on: “We act in your best interests, to help you manage risk, your way.” Capturing the essence of what RPA does for its myriad audiences – pools, board members, commercial clients, and more – was essential to the foundation of the brand. For RPA, it was all about handling risk for these busy individuals, so they can focus on what they do best.
After defining RPA’s why statement, we developed other key brand strategic messaging, including a Messaging Architecture and several Messaging Maps. Developing these resources with the RPA team was an important step toward building consistent messaging that felt authentic and differentiated.
CREATIVE DEVELOPMENT
With the above strategic documents in our pocket, the brand was ready to grow and develop visually. We took RPA through our concept phase, where we explored tools such as color, imagery, brand elements, and typography. Eventually, we landed on a brand direction that we built out in a formal RPA Brand Guidelines document.
BRAND ELEMENTS
COLOR
Given there was equity stored in the RPA Plum color, we only subtly changed it. By lightening and brightening it up, we infused some energy into the brand.
We retained the other primary colors, making nuanced adjustments to facilitate warmth and contrast. To match the approachability and friendliness of the brand voice, we added in a warm yellow. This and the addition of some secondary colors soften the palette while still upholding contrast with the main plum purple.
IMAGERY
We created a three-tiered system of imagery for the brand. The top tier addresses the most common photography needs, featuring clients at work in their communities. The second tier retains the black and white effect from the earlier RPA brand to break up full color photography. The final group of imagery is more conceptual in nature.
GRAPHIC ELEMENTS
Equipping the brand with more tools to build equity, we built some elements for infographics, graphs, charts and call out boxes.
APPLICATIONS
To showcase the updated brand look and feel, we applied the refreshed brand direction to a brochure, trade show booth, and PowerPoint template.
DELIVERY
To bring the brand to life, we created RPA its very own Brand Guidelines. In this document, all of the above work – Purpose, Messaging, and all visual resources – lives and breathes with detail.
OUR IMPACT
While the brand continues its rollout in-market, RPA’s experience working with us is summed up by the following client quote:
“Brand33 is incredibly organized, efficient and brilliant in wrangling differentiating viewpoints to make sense of it all… We could not be happier with the final brand guidelines. We are excited to relaunch RPA and the foundational brand building blocks could not have happened without the work of Brand33!”