Astute

We immediately saw the immense value in Astute’s mission, and knew that our extensive experience in strategy and branding could help them successfully plan and launch their business.

This project was no easy feat! We were asked to complete the following:

• Brand, Marketing & Sales Strategy
• Pitch Deck
• Brand Name Workshop & Creation
• Brand Name Due Diligence
• Company Incorporation
• Visual Style Exploration
• Planning & Design of the Logo & Brand Mark
• Creating the Brand Guidelines
• Social Account Creation & Branding
• Marketing Software & Infrastructure Setup
• Search Engine Optimisation (SEO)
• Blog Post Planning & Copywriting
• Website Wireframes & Branded Designs
• App Product Scope
• Social Media Content Plan

Incorporating The Business 

When we partner with start-ups right from the beginning, we get to structure tasks and goals in a much more logical way than most other start-ups – we have the benefit of experience in launching many new brands and companies. 

We ran a smaller branding exercise that focused on defining core values and brand name, to avoid having to change all of the legals further down the line. We paused just before officially registering the company knowing that their unique setup would benefit from VAT registration from day one. This meant an extra 6 months without financial, tax and legal compliance kicking in. Dedicated financial and legal experts from our professional network supported this process.

Planning the Strategy

The expectations were high and our task was to create multiple strategies that allowed the company to launch having already secured paying customers. 

We got to work creating business, brand, sales and marketing strategies that would deliver highly detailed user experience and app feedback through a pilot, and a strong pre-launch sales campaign before a full public launch. We also planned the Investment Club, an additional support network for customers to help them connect with the right people for their investment requirements. 

Working closely with the founders, we helped them to refine their vision and ensure all of their thoughts and ideas were woven into each strategy, whilst also defining the KPIs and metrics that would later be used to measure success of the launch and our strategies.

Creating the Brand

For Astute we knew that we had to create something that was modern and professional, while still remaining friendly and approachable. Our challenge was to find the perfect balance between these seemingly conflicting qualities. We’re pretty good at helping brand new companies look much, much more established than they are, and it was important to everyone that the brand didn’t make us look like a one-person developer trying to cobble something together. The investment industry can be seen to be underhanded and deceptive, so we also needed to show that Astute was a credible, honest and trustworthy company, backed by a team of authentic and knowledgeable experts.

Over the course of a few weeks we utilised a range of different techniques to generate suitable brand name concepts and eventually we settled on Astute. We chose this name due to its ability to instantly convey the professionalism and accuracy that both investors and founders strive for. While it’s a little traditional, we knew with the right visual styling it could be modernised and we could arrive at a brand concept that inspires trust and authority. After all, is investment not still a little traditional, in need of modernisation and with those involved wanting to inspire trust and authority? It seemed like a natural fit. 

The brand mark was chosen from one of the concepts we presented in the first round. Our qualitative approach to brand building usually sees us secure client sign-off on a primary concept in the first presentation, because no-one enjoys going round and round in circles for months on end. Everyone was really happy with the brand mark, which references Astute as the centre of the investment world, bringing investors and investees together. 

We were striving for a professional, relatable and modern brand that could resonate with a more traditional audience, but that also showed we were looking to the future of investments. We opted for an authoritative dark blue, with splashes of brighter blues, greens and purples to highlight the forward thinking element of the brand.

Designing the Website

As the hub for all future marketing efforts, our first priority was to design a website that would truly capture Astute’s vision and mission. We wanted to create a user-friendly experience that would engage investors and investees alike, and show them how they could benefit from using the app. To do this, we focused on designing a sleek, modern site that was easy to navigate and incorporated the Astute brand throughout. We included a tour page for each user type that would allow customers to view how the app works and its unique features before downloading. We also planned a login system that would allow users to access the functionality of the app through the website if they were working on a laptop or pc. 

Marketing, Pilot & Launch

Our aim was to generate sales before the initial launch of the app, which was no small task! 

We decided to run a pilot launch which would allow us to refine and improve the app based on real user needs and preferences. We utilised our network to identify key individuals in the investments community to act as our pilot testers. Our existing relationship with these individuals ensured we would get honest and reliable feedback which we knew we could put to good use. 

The key to any launch of a new product or service in our experience, is getting the word out and generating interest. We developed a robust marketing strategy for both the pilot and the official launch that was planned around the main goal of driving awareness and excitement. 

The first step in our process was to create the modern website that would showcase the key benefits and features of the app. It would also point people towards a newsletter sign up form so we could keep them up to date with our progress and create a buzz ahead of launch. We knew there would be some time between the pilot and official launch dates and so we created an email reach out campaign to keep people engaged with the brand and excited about the app becoming available. 

Through extensive research into SEO keywords, we discovered that individuals in the investment industry weren’t using Google as a main tool for connecting with new deals. Instead they were using existing networking tools such as Linkedin, and their existing contacts. Instead we planned to conduct outreach activities to raise visibility for the brand among key influencers in the industry

Conclusion

We all really enjoyed working on this project, it challenged us to find a way to combine two opposing branding elements – traditional and modern. Our years of experience in branding and marketing allowed us to spark just the right balance to create a brand that perfectly encapsulates the essence of this company. 

Despite the founders being experienced business owners, there were challenges at various stages of the process, but with our experience and robust strategies we were able to combat each one as they arose. 

Working with the founder of Astute was a pleasure and we formed a strong working relationship along the way. They told us they were delighted with our contribution to the project and they couldn’t have found better partners for this journey. We’re elated with what we were able to achieve together.