Following the recent reveal of our new logo, we want to share with you the story behind it. Have a read of our blog post below to find out more.
The SEP2 Rebrand Story
Background
In December 2020, the directors of SEP2 – Tim Ward, Mike Goodwin and Paul Starr – took the decision to reconsider the SEP2 brand and ensure that it was optimised as the business continued to scale. They took this decision because they realised that having spent nearly five years growing a successful cyber security business, they had never really stopped to think about the great things that the business stands for.
SEP2 are not unique with regards to their need to rebrand. It is often the case that, as businesses are launched, all available energy is committed to growth and delivery of respective customer propositions rather than staying true to the original brand idea. As such, over the years, brands naturally become confusing and sub-optimal.
As such, the overarching goal of the SEP2 rebrand was to optimise the brand. This means that it would need to conform to six standards:
- Consistency
- Coherency
- Provability
- Honesty
- Memorability
- Scalability
This was more than just a new logo and website; it was a chance to stare into the mirror, ask some searching questions and capture the real spirit of the organisation.
A Five-Step Process
SEP2 engaged with brand experts ‘Fettle’ to take them through a detailed, process-driven programme of rebranding that consisted of five key stages:
The first of these was a set of curated consultations with the SEP2 C-Suite, members of staff, suppliers and customers. The purpose of this was to understand the SEP2 story – its origins and how it became to be so successful. In carrying out these discussions, SEP2 were able to synthesise what drives their passion for being the best cyber-security consultants around.
Secondly, analysis of the current state of the market. What does a successful cyber security brand look like? What are customers’ expectations, and how can they be communicated to the market? What does a world-class cyber security website consist of? This stage is all about understanding data. Optimised brands are rarely built on anecdotes and opinions; instead, they need to be formed from fully considered facts.
Thirdly, pulling together this information into a ‘Brand Model’ that would inform all future marketing communications. The brand model consists of a brand promise, personality, values and core message.
The core message that SEP2 have decided upon is:
“Tech Driven. People Powered”
SEP2 believe this is what best encapsulates the essence of their business, and what makes them so special in the sector. All SEP2 employees are truly passionate about the cyber security sector; it is their passion and expertise that makes SEP2 distinct.
As well as this core message, SEP2 also crystallised their brand and cultural values. These are as follows:
- Passion
- Honesty
- Tech Driven
- People Powered
- Committed to Doing Good
These values now inform SEP2’s HR and recruitment policies, ensuring that they will not lose sight of their uniqueness as they continue to grow.
The fourth stage of the process was to create a brand identity, harnessed to the brand model. This included a new logo, iconography, website, photography, videography…all based on a solid understanding of the current cyber security market.
The new SEP2 logo is a cornerstone of the rebrand. SEP2 wanted something that linked to their old logo, but also considered the momentum that, as a business, they are picking up in the market.
The new logo contains the orange and blue of the previous logo, with a new fresh and progressive design. It will be found in a number of thematically linked versions on all forthcoming SEP2 marketing communications and, of course, throughout the new website.
Finally, the brand launch. SEP2 developed a holistic campaign designed to support the launch of the new brand. It was important to SEP2 that all stakeholders were made fully aware of the rebrand. It is also an opportunity to communicate to the wider market too. Central to the campaign are customer, supplier and employee testimonials. If the new brand is to be optimised, it needs to be honest and provable. There’s no better way of achieving this than by asking stakeholders!
SEP2 were determined to make this an inclusive project. All staff were invited to contribute to the project as it developed. This included input into the values and core message, and well as appearances in the numerous pieces of video content that have been taken.
Looking Forward
One thing that SEP2 came to realise through this process is that their work is all about removing risk to their customers; about ensuring their customers sleep soundly at night, knowing that their cyber security is in safe hands.
It is an unfortunate truth that cyber crime is only going to rise and become more sophisticated in the years to come. SEP2 are proud to be on the right side of the good vs evil battle. This is something that drives the commercial business, every one of its employees and now, it’s brand.
As the business continues to grow, SEP2 are committed to a brand that ensures that an ethical set of core values can never be ignored.
