Client Profile

NexTech Products of Florida is a software development company providing electronic document management for both governments and private industry in South Florida and throughout Latin America.

Problem

When their Director of Business Development first approached AETHER, NextTech had been in operation for over a decade. While they had been making progress in the development of new markets, it was only attributed to NexTech’s business development efforts.

Since its inception, a common hurdle NexTech had to overcome was its branding—or rather the lack of it—which made potential customers question the company’s ability to perform. The original “brand” was a simple yellow oval with four blue “bulges” that people often saw as “clip art” rather than a world-class brand.

As the company focused on renewed growth and opportunity, NexTech realized that the company needed to cast a new and improved image—one that told the “story” and could go against established competitors. Above all, the company needed to project a “hi-tech” image that made them stand out from the rest, both visually and marketing-wise.

Background

Following their realization of potential challenges in the branding, NexTech sought to rebrand itself and streamline their marketing messages with the assistance of AETHER. After interviewing a series of companies, our marketing agency offered the optimal combination of knowledge, experience and cost-effectiveness for rebranding NexTech.

We began the rebranding process with research, looking to establish industry anchors and trends in technology company branding. The agency met with NexTech’s management to identify opportunities and challenges, including the potential for confusion with other brands with similar names. This created a solid foundation based on knowledge and future potential.

The research was then analyzed to create conceptual art for logos, icons and other visual elements. Marketing messages were also developed by learning about NexTech’s goals and growth strategies—ultimately creating a road map for building a brand and marketing messages that were not just relevant, but effective in connecting to the client’s markets.

Initiative

Rebranding NexTech was both fun as it was arduous. With members of NexTech’s management traveling often and across different countries, we relied on a series of worksheets and internal processes to guide them through the discovery of information, the synthetization of research and the analysis of the findings to create a detailed rebranding plan.

Once NexTech’s branding was established, the logo and iconography were reviewed one last time to implement additional levels of validation until they were finalized and approved. Following this approval process, a complete Marketing Kit was created which included: Logo, Visual Style Guide, Letterhead, Brochures, Business Cards, and a WordPress Website.

Implementation

Rolling out the new rebranded image for NexTech was relatively easy since the entire company was eager to get a “fresh restart” for pursuing new markets and penetrating new industries. The implementation allowed the NexTech brand to quickly gain favor of the company’s staff, who were excited and relieved to see the company’s new visual image released to the public.

Solution

Two main solutions were created for NexTech: First, AETHER helped modernize the company’s professional image with a new logo, colors and visual style. Second, by creating an essential set of branded materials for the company, NexTech could now engage in business and pursue new opportunities without having to worry about someone frowning on their relevance to the times and to the demanding markets they serve.