A lot can change in 25 years. And what represented a brand a quarter of century ago isn’t always going to be applicable today. This point is particularly pertinent for a brand like MYOB, which in that time has gone from floppy disks to the cloud.
So this year, to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the business, the marketing team gave the brand a visual makeover to something more representative of a brand that now operates in the cloud.
While the new look was only recently unveiled, executive GM of marketing Natalie Feehen says the journey started five years ago when MYOB transformed itself from a traditional accounting software business to a technology company that provides cloud-based solutions and accounting products.
Those internal transformations left the external brand lagging behind Feehen says, and a makeover was needed to align all aspect of the business and brand.
“The way that we see ourselves internally and the business that we know we are at MYOB just wasn’t translating through to how the market saw us.”
She says the market perception of MYOB was fixed on it being a desktop accounting software brand and business.
It also found through its research, that it didn’t matter how much MYOB talked about its proposition or its evolution and transformation, because as Feehen says, “people just weren’t listening”.
In order to overcome this, MYOB has launched a new logo, visual identity and a new positioning line through its own internal creative agency, Sydney-based design studio Derringer and media agency Starcom.
Old logo, new logo
New branding
Feehen says it has also seen a raft of new experiences rolled out for both those visiting the website and its customers.
While the new look has already gone public, MYOB is yet to launch its advertising campaign. However, it has released a very literal take on a launch video for its new logo. Shared on MYOB’s social media, the video sees the old logo launched into space where it is swapped out for the new one at an altitude of 21km.
Feehen says it wanted to reveal the new logo in a way no other brand had done, and the video was designed to demonstrate that MYOB is a tech business that not only operates in the cloud but which is also thinking about a future beyond the cloud.
It also fits Feehen’s description of the brand work as being “brave and bold enough to make people stop, listen and reconsider what MYOB is all about” — something that is particularly necessary because of its heritage.
Feehen calls its 25 years in operation one of its greatest strengths and greatest weaknesses, because while it has a high awareness it the market, it has also been challenging to evolve the brand.
“It’s about being different enough that people stop and have a look at what MYOB is really all about,” she says.
While MYOB runs across both New Zealand and Australia, talking to Feehen, it’s clear it takes a very local approach to its business support as she says a key focus for it is its continuing investment in the New Zealand market. Since 2013, that investment equates to more than $200 million.
Nowhere is this more evident than in two of the campaigns it recently launched in the Taranaki region. The first saw New Plymouth business Manifold win a SME Makeover, for which it received an upgrade to its administration service, staff training and a transformed office space.
The second is a ‘Face of Success’ competition, in which one Taranaki business will win a full-page ad and a billboard to showcase the business. Also in the region, MYOB will be hosting seminars for employers and digital workshops.
It is also sponsoring the Startup Weekend in Taranaki, an example of MYOB aligning itself with the tech industry and the companies within it. Feehen says this includes start-ups and “the entrepreneurs of tomorrow” and is all part of the strategy to have people think of MYOB as a tech company.
