Why Empired needed a brand makeover

Empired recently launched a new digital experience platform as well as a refreshed brand identity, reflecting the evolving nature of the business.

For Empired, which specialises in technology transformation and managed services, it needed to embody the complete digital engagement it is selling to customers.

Empired’s new proposition is a dynamic, customer-focused digital experience with the updated brand that aims to capture the idea of precision with flair. As cloud innovation continues to develop, organisations find new challenges in keeping up with the pace of change. And so to with Empired’s existing brand identity, which didn’t reflect how it wanted to convey its offering to customers.

Empired general manager, marketing and alliances, James Page, told CMO it wanted to focus on the business impact of what it’s doing for customers and it needed a brand identity that reflected who Empired had become and how it helps businesses meet the ever-changing challenges.

Previously, the focus was on technical solutions and capability rather than business opportunity and the outcomes Empired actually delivers to. “Customer outcomes are far more important than the technology used to achieve those outcomes, so Empired wanted to create a brand identity that demonstrated we are a world-class, modern managed service provider that fundamentally cares about customer outcomes,” said Page.

“The first goal was to ensure the brand experience was ubiquitous across every touchpoint. “The website is only one of the many touchpoints that customers experience with working with Empired. But everything from direct engagement and how team members present themselves to the documentation they deliver and the presentations and messaging they present combines to create a brand presence," he said.

"The improvements to the website will lead the way in how Empired will transform across every channel to deliver a ubiquitous brand experience."

Developing a new digital platform

The need for a new digital platform was driven by the same imperative with the goal of encouraging stronger, more meaningful connections with customers. The existing platform didn’t let Empired present who it had become or personalise the messaging.

“When reviewing the existing platform, it was clear Empired had put customer needs first and neglected to update its own technology,” Page explained.

In moving to a new platform, Empired now has a cloud environment that can provide limitless personalisation, with a streamlined back-end and the ability to look fresh and alive. “When the pandemic hit in 2020, Empired tried to push the boundaries of the platform and found it wanting in terms of delivering a user experience that Empired wanted to be proud of,” Page said.

Empired extends across a vast reach of geographies and covers the full extent of business platforms that organisations need to be successful. “That means everything from ideation planning to continuous evolution and keeping the lights on, and bright. Empired is a single cloud operator with scale,” Page said.

“Trying to communicate all of these capabilities is a challenge but it’s also an opportunity, and it’s what Empired does well when we turn up in front of customers."

It will continue to be a focus point for Empired. It’s especially important because customers often come to the business to solve point challenges with point solutions.

“But to really get value from the cloud, they need a mindset shift towards continuous evolution, continuous adoption of change, and continuous value creation. This is where Empired can make a big difference; we can deliver immediate value to customers and work with them to step back and see holistically what they should be doing across their entire business landscape,” Page continued.

Unified customer engagement is utterly critical for the business. “Buyers are highly educated, informed and mobile. This makes a connected, unified customer experience crucial. Empired is using the website messaging we’ve recently created as the vanguard for how we will turn up across every different channel,” he said.

Looking to the next evolution

For Empired, marketing is about a culture of continuous change, meaning there will always be next steps. “It’s important to break out of the mindset that everything has to be perfect from the start, because we will make iterative improvements as we go,” Page told CMO.

From a website perspective, next priorities include SEO and SEM, a rethink of its positioning and language, and further personalisation of content. “Empired has painted the initial North Star and all future efforts will be aligned to that,” he said.

Empired is also looking for ways to more meaningfully help customers who don’t quite know where to start. "Empired will bring thought leadership to bear and make our point of view and our voice more prominent in place of merely talking about technical solutions. It’s about helping customers think about the journey they’re going on, what they need to do next, and what needs to happen after that,” Page said.

“We’ll also look at other improvements down the road such as adding immediate interactivity in the site with some form of professional chat. Empired won’t be held back; if an initiative has value for our customers then we’ll pursue it.”

Follow CMO on Twitter: @CMOAustralia, take part in the CMO conversation on LinkedIn: CMO ANZ, follow our regular updates via CMO Australia's Linkedin company page, or join us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CMOAustralia.