In December 2002 Securicor Information Systems was subject to a management buy out and relinquished all ties from the parent company, Securicor Group. As a successful Information and Communications Technology supplier, primarily in the Public Sector, SIS had built up a strong reputation for their specialist products and services. It was therefore important that, going forward, the company retained its history but also created a new essence that better reflected the company’s culture and personality.

Along with all the legalities which go with a management buy-out, the need to quickly establish a new corporate identity was high on the agenda. Further to this, both external and internal communications planning was vital to ensure that the transition was both professional and well received.

Anderson Baillie was asked to assist in the process and
provided SIS with the strategic and creative direction in
establishing a new brand and identity for the company,
as well as ensuring that the launch of the new brand was
planned and executed effectively.

Anderson Baillie was asked to assist in the process and provided SIS with the strategic and creative direction in establishing a new brand and identity for the company, as well as ensuring that the launch of the new brand was planned and executed effectively.

The first stage involved brand development work, where a process of distilling and redefining the essence of the company was carried out in a series of workshops. The core values of the company were established along with new values which they wanted to be identified with going forward.

These values were used to create key word associations and from this hybrid words were created as potential company names. From a shortlist presented by Anderson Baillie, Vivista was selected as the chosen name. This word had derived from the 2 words Vivid and Vista – meaning bright outlook or bright futures.

From this, the grammar that defines the company and the way it is presented, was brainstormed and developed in further workshops.

Following the decision on the new name along with a detailed rationale behind its choice, Anderson Baillie’s creative team were briefed to bring the identity to life and present options and colours for the new brand and demonstrate its application to a variety of different media.

In the run up to the launch of the company, Anderson Baillie project managed the creation and production of a variety of activities to ensure the transition from SIS to Vivista was seamless.

This included the production of all basic stationary requirements, replacement signage, a temporary website, a HTML Email announcement, an internal launch video, company Intranet updates and a new staff desktop environment.

Following on from these initial requirements, Anderson Baillie and Vivista have moved forward in creating full brand guidelines and a complete suite of collateral and advertising designs. Vivista staff were extremely positive following the official launch presentation. By gathering them together and replacing a traditional PowerPoint style presentation with a full launch video, people were encouraged that much work had gone into the re-launch of the company and felt that they wanted to be part of it. In returning to their offices, further evidence of the hard work could be seen with the new building signage, updated company intranet, screensavers and mouse mats. This avoided the problem of people simply carrying on as usual and encouraged a sense of change and new beginnings.

On a direction level, Anderson Baillie’s expertise provided Vivista with the foundations for their re-branding decisions. The company can go forward in a stronger position, knowing that they have built a brand that truly reflects the culture of their organisation.

On a project management level, Anderson Baillie were praised for their organisation and management to ensure everything was in place for the launch and the ongoing work to build up collateral, advertising layouts and exhibition work to maintain the company’s strong position in their marketplace.