An example of a startup brand strategy

Route1 Brand Strategy

June 2016

1

Index

Marketing Timeline

User & Market Research Results

Brand Strategy

Brand Identity

Website App Hub Emails Logo

Next Steps

3

6

25

32

3544474850

71

2

Marketing Timeline

This presentation is to share the results of step 1 & 2,and gather feedback in order to complete step 3.

3

1 2 3User & Market Research Brand Strategy Brand Identity Execution

What are candidates perceptions

and pain points in their job search?

What are employers perceptions

and pain points when hiring?

What does our competitive landscape look like?

Which positioning will give us the

strongest long term competitive

advantage, i.e. attract and retain both

candidate and employers,

relative to our competitors?

Which design brief which will achieve our

target brand positioning, i.e. which colours,

fonts, shapes and tone of voice do our

users associate with the brand positioning

we are aiming for?

4

4 5 6Testing & Evolution PR & Content Marketing App 2.0

How can we iterate and improve on the

execution of our brand identity to satisfy

our strategy?

How can we segment users further and

customise our approach?

How can we earn user’s attention through

content marketing and PR?

How can we improve the product with our

brand strategy in mind?

5

User & Market Research

What are candidates perceptions and pain points in their job search?

What are employers perceptions and pain points when hiring?

What does our competitive landscape look like?

6

150 lawyers of all levels and legal HR completed our survey and we interviewed 16 of them.

We learnt about their perceptions of both the recruitment process and brands in their lives more broadly.

We tested our hypotheses that:

Lawyers find recruiters annoying and that they value

transparency, anonymity and speed when job searching.

Employers find recruiters too expensive and time consuming.

7

Two segments on the employer side, with different pain points and perceptions.

We interviewed qualified trainees, associates and partners to better understand our target market. We also carried out a user survey of 147 respondents to answer our market hypotheses that lawyers find recruiters annoying, and that they value speed, anonymity and transparency when job searching

Human Resources

OliviaRecruitment Advisor at Ashfords LLP

“I get about 30 calls a day from different recruiters pitching me candidates

that are rarely appropriate. It’s enormously time consuming.”

“Recruiters do their best to add value but ultimately their service is rarely

worth the fees they charge.”

Market Size: 1,500(Based on Firms with 5-25 Partners having 1 HR

and firms with 25+ Partners having 2 HR members)

They rely on recruiters to hit hiring targets, the majority of hiring

is done through recruiters despite increasing cost saving pressure.

They use a large range of tech tools to assist recruiting (Networx, LinkedIn, Allhires, CV Mail, iGrasp, Workday

and Taleo). Generally a negative experience of unattractive tools. While they regularly try new tools, they tend

to be skeptical due to this experience.

Regularly use Facebook and check LinkedIn on their phone

The most visited online resources are The Lawyer and Legal Week.

*More data is needed for HR survey to put figures on the above.

8

Two segments on the employer side, with different pain points and perceptions.


Law Firms Partners

RobertaManaging Partner at Withers LLP

“For low levels they [candidates] are more of a commodity”

“At junior levels, the expense is not justified. Recruiters just reword a CV”

Market Size: 30,000Market Size: 30,000

Partners deal with recruiters at interview stage and not before. Screening is almost always left to HR.

Partners rely on recruiters when hiring higher level candidates, such as other partners, senior associates and

counsels. Relationships at this level are stronger and a sense of dependency and trust with the recruiter is

built however the costs are extremely high.

Some partners are very aware of the large recruitment costs while others are not involved in the process.

For junior associate hires, partners generally consider recruiters fees unjustified.

Bad experiences of their time being wasted by interviewing weak applications is common.

Recruiters are seen as a common annoyance due to malpractices such cold calls, double dipping and poaching.

9

Key employer takeaways

Partners are concerned in principle on price and through personal experience of

recruiters

Some are tied into recruiters through personal relationships

They are very concerned about protecting their personal reputation and firm’s

brand

10


Junior Associate (NQ - 4PQE)

We have two segments on the candidate side, with subtly different pain points and perceptions.

Amy

“Recruiters are redundant and slimy”“They [recruiters] guilt trip you if you pull out of a job offer”“It took me over a year to change job”“I had no idea where the recruiter was showing my CV and was extremely concerned my boss would find out”

55% have not changed

job before and are neutral

towards recruiters

35% expect to move to

another law firm within 1.5

years.

Of these, 30% don’t know

where they will move, 20%

will quit being a lawyer, and

50% will stay in law

Paid £60-100K

The top reasons for moving job are to work less hours,

career progression and quality of work.

95% use apps to buy clothes, book hotels and trains.

11


Senior Associate (5PQE+)

James

“With recruiters, you kever know if it is an actual job”

“We spent hours and hours with them [recruiters]. In the end, I had a good experience.”

80% have experience of

changing job via a recruiter

50% find them useful 60% find them

untrustworthy

40% will move in house

We have two segments on the candidate side, with subtly different pain points and perceptions.

Paid £100K+

See recruiters as the default option to change job but

don’t trust them.

90% use apps to buy clothes, book hotels and trains.

12

Key candidate takeaways

They earn high salaries and as a result experience and expect premium brands in

every aspect of their lives.

Their iPhone is their first port of call to solve most needs.

If they have changed job, they find recruiters effective (relative to available

alternatives) but untrustworthy. 60% perceive recruiters as “a necessary evil”.

Speed is not as important as anonymity. They fear that their firm will suspect

them of job searching.

They don’t tend to decide which type of firm they want to join until late in their

job search, they want to see a range of options they are qualified to apply for.

13

How many lawyers are there in the UK for us to target?

We have broken down the lawyers in UK into segments to help balance job demand and supply and estimate maximum revenue.This will inform how the Route1 app should work and how we should target our acquisition marketing.

168,000Lawyers on the Roll

14

133,000

Lawyers with Practising Certificates

Assuming only those with PCs are employable.

168,000 lawyers on the RollPrevious data

15

91,000

25,000

17,000

Lawyers in PP

Lawyers in-house

Lawyers in ‘Other’

Assuming we only market to lawyers currently in private practice.

168,000 lawyers on the Roll

133,000 lawyers with PCs

Previous datas

16

52,000

30,000

9,000

Partners in PP

Associates in PP

Associates Target Market

Undefined Lawyers in PP

And we only have jobs for associates.



91,000 lawyers in PP

Previous datas

17

39,000

13,000

Senior associates in PP

Junior associates in PP

Divided between our two initial segments.




52,000 Associates in PP

Previous data

18

21,000

18,000

10,0003,000

Senior associates in big firms

Junior associates in big firms

Junior associates in small firms

Senior associates in small firms

Assuming we market to candidates moving from big firms (11+ partners).

Who we market to is limited by whether we have jobs they are qualified to apply for and the effectiveness of our marketing budget at reaching them.

Junior Associates Senior Associates

19

7,000Active Senior Associates in Big Firms

3,000Active Junior Associates in Big Firms

Assuming 30% of associates move firm each year.

This is a broad estimate and will in fact vary greatly between associate segments.





39,000 Senior Associates in PP

21,000 Senior Associates in big firms

10,000 Junior Associates in big firms

Previous data

20

Assuming 30% of associates move firm each year.

This is a broad estimate and will in fact vary greatly between associate segments.

10,000Active Target

Market





39,000 Senior Associates in PP

21,000 Senior Associates in big firms

10,000 Junior Associates in big firms

7,000 Active Senior Associates in big firms

3,000 Active Junior Associates in big firms

Previous data

21

Should we prioritise expansion into different verticals within the UK

or to expand internationally in law exclusively?

UK Accountancy is 3x the size of law and investment banking is 4x, while US legal is 10x the size of UK.

UK Lawyers133,000

UK Accountants350,000+

UK Investment Bankers500,000+

US Lawyers1.3 million

National International

22

How do our competitors match employers and candidates and how do they position their brands?

We researched 45 competitors including job apps, job boards and recruiting agencies informing product features, brand positioning and marketing messaging.

23

Where is our brand currently positioned relative to our competitors?

This is our existing brand positioning based on the design of current assets (app, website, emails, logo) and tone of voice.

24

Brand Strategy

Which positioning will give us the strongest long term competitive advantage,

i.e. attract and retain both candidate and employers, relative to our competitors?

25

Let’s start from the top. Why does Route1 exist?

To apply technology to connect professionals and employers.

In order to:

Reduce employers recruitment budgets by 80%.

Empower professionals to find jobs more easily.

26

What do we care about most?

Offering a premium jobs marketplace for professionals.

Empowering employers and professionals - giving them control.

Being smarter than the status quo.

Transparency and clarity.

Embracing technology.

27

Candidates

We want to feel exciting, new and relevant

to 23-35 year old candidates. With very high

disposable income, they expect the best,

premium service in all aspects of their lives.

Employers

We want to feel professional, mature, reliable and

safe to employers. We have a responsibility as they

are trusting us to represent their employer brand

in an appropriate way.

28

The answer is to be ‘modern & sophisticated’

The challenge is to find the balance between the two, not too corporate nor too trendy.

Candidates pull us up and to the left.

To the left sit brands that strive to be

accessible, fun and trendy through

playing to youthful cues, bright

colors, exciting language. While they

achieve popularity among some

sectors, professional services won’t

take them seriously and their brands

won’t add value to law firm brands

by association. Employers pull us down and to the

right. Down here sit brands that

strive for trust, sophistication,

maturity through playing to

old fashioned cues. (LexStep, ).

Descriptive professional language,

lack of colours. While they are

perceived as trustworthy and

serious, they achieve this at the

expense of excitement or newness

that will attract candidates.

Current Positioning Target Positioning

29

For illustration, if Route1 was a media brand, this is where

it would sit currently and where we would want to move it.

Current Positioning Target Positioning

30

With no IP and no exclusive jobs, the Route1 brand and the (volume

x diversity) of the marketplace will be the only things preventing less

premium job marketplaces (Job Today valued at $50M, JobandTalent

valued at $100M) or recruiters from replicating our success and

eroding our profitability.

What barriers to entry will protect us from competitors in 1 year?

31

Brand Identity

Which design brief which will achieve our target brand positioning, i.e. which colours, fonts,

shapes and tone of voice do our users associate with the brand positioning we are aiming for?

32

Tone of Voice

We get straight to the point. No chitchat and no fluff.We apply the latest technology in a smart way.We act elegantly and professionally.

We are not

CuteChildish

Fun Amateur

Too corporateOld fashioned

We are

IntelligentElegantSmart

Innovative

33

The current identity expressed on the website, logo etc. is not modern nor sophisticated.

It was designed with no brand strategy in mind and as a result it works for a generic tech product.

34

The Website

How do we shift the website design up and to the right?

How do other brands, that share our target positioning as the premium option in their space, manage to do this?

35

Lyft vs Uber

Uber aims to be the premium taxi marketplace, Lyft decided to take the everyman positioning.

Black and white to establish our premium positioning and tech balance.

Bright colours make Lyft approachable and youthful but less premium.

Sharper edges and flat design

rather than photo

36

Daily Mail vs Monocle

Broadsheet editorial text treatment and flat design is used well by Monocle to create a sophisitcated but not old fashioned positioning.

More space, fewer colours.

Premium hues, blacks, whites and greys.

37

Instagram vs VSCO

38

Wix vs Squarespace

39

Current website vs new website comparison

We took inspiration from these websites alongside countless others to evolve the website design to better reflect our brand positioning.

40


41


42

Some of the elements we made more sophisticated and modern.

43

The App, Hub & Emails

Where are they now, and how do we make them more ‘on brand’?

44

The app design is more premium than the existing website and logo

Therefore less of a priority from branding perspective, although V2.0 will feel more modern and sophisticated

Current Positioning

Target Positioning

45

The app design is more premium than the existing website and logo

In 2.0 we will make the highlight colour and text heavy screens more premiumThe font works ok as it’s designed to be viewed small

46

The Hub 2.0 development has shifted its positioning in the right direction,

Hub 3.0 will continue this shift

Target Positioning

Hub 2.0

Hub 1.0

47

The Hub 2.0 development has shifted its positioning in the right direction,

Hub 3.0 will continue this shift

Hub 3.0 48

We have looked at a few ways to make our emails

more premium and will continue to improve.

49

The Logo

How can we make the typographic logo more legible, modern yet sophisticated?

How can we separate the typographic loco from brand/app icon?

50

We propose 4 updates to the typographic logo to bring it in line with our target positioning

including separating the typographic logo from a brand icon

51

Before we start, some sense checks for assessing creative work?

What’s the typographic logo for?How attached have you become to

elements of the existing logo through the bias of familiarity?

Legibly display the brand name

Clearly indicate our brand positioning

Be recognisable as a mark of quality

Earn perceived value through association/experience

and in turn attribute perceived value

We all prefer what we are familiar with, take this into account

and try to assess with fresh eyes.

We currently have very low brand recognition at below 1% of

our target market. So perfecting the logo now entails very little

cost and, over time, significant accumulated return.

52

We explored over 200 variations initially,

and then another 100 based on team, expert and user feedback

route1route1route1

route1route1route1

route1route1route1

route1route1route1

route1 route1 route1 route1route1 route1 route1 route1route1 route1 route1 route1

route1 route1 route1 route1route1 route1 route1 route1route1 route1 route1 route1

Route1Route1Route1

Route1Route1Route1

Route1Route1Route1

Route1Route1Route1

Route1 Route1 Route1 Route1Route1 Route1 Route1 Route1Route1 Route1 Route1 Route1

Route1 Route1 Route1 Route1Route1 Route1 Route1 Route1Route1 Route1 Route1 Route1

ROUTE1ROUTE1ROUTE1

ROUTE1ROUTE1ROUTE1

ROUTE1ROUTE1ROUTE1

ROUTE1ROUTE1ROUTE1

ROUTE1 ROUTE1 ROUTE1 ROUTE1ROUTE1 ROUTE1 ROUTE1 ROUTE1ROUTE1 ROUTE1 ROUTE1 ROUTE1

ROUTE1 ROUTE1 ROUTE1 ROUTE1ROUTE1 ROUTE1 ROUTE1 ROUTE1ROUTE1 ROUTE1 ROUTE1 ROUTE1

route1

route1

route 1

route1

route1

route 1

route1

route1

route 1

route1

route1

route 1

route1 route1 route1 route1

route1 route1 route1 route 1

route1 route1 rout e1 route 1



route 1 route 1 route 1 route 1

Route1

Route 1

Route 1

Route1

Route 1

Route 1

Route1

Route 1

Route 1

Route1

Route 1

Route 1

Route1 Route1 Route1 Route1


Route1 Route1 Rout e1 Route 1


Route 1 Route 1 Route 1 Route 1


ROUTE1

ROUTE 1

ROUTE 1

ROUTE1

ROUTE 1

ROUTE 1

ROUTE1

ROUTE 1

ROUTE 1

ROUTE1

ROUTE 1

ROUTE 1

ROUTE 1 ROUTE1 ROUTE1 ROUTE1

ROUTE 1 ROUTE 1 ROUTE1 ROUTE 1

ROUTE 1 ROUTE 1 ROUTE 1 ROUTE 1

ROUTE1 ROUTE1 ROUTE1 ROUTE1



Route 1

Route 1

Route 1

Route 1

Route 1

Route 1

Route 1

Route 1

Route 1

Route 1

Route 1

Route 1

Route 1 Route 1 Route 1





Rout e 1 Route 1 Route 1 Route 1

route 1 route1 route1 route 1 route 1

route 1 ro ute1 rout e 1 rout e1 route 1

r out e 1 ro ute 1 r out e 1 r out e 1 rout e 1

r out e 1 ro ut e 1 rout e 1 r out e 1 r out e 1

r out e 1 ro ut e 1 rout e 1 r out e 1 r oute 1

route 1route 1 r out e 1r out e 1 ro ut e 1


route 1route 1

r out e 1r out e 1 ro ut e 1




53

Removing the frame makes it much more legible at the same size

Iconic logos are not over-designed. It needs to remain as simple as possible and have one recognizable element that is not intrusive

to the legibility of the word.

Route, 1, and the frame conflict with each other and legibility suffers.

We will develop a brand icon in addition to a typographic logo that will sit independently, as is best practise in app businesses. The current logo tries to be both at once and suffers as a result.

54

A lower case ‘r’ will help avoid association with the highway system in the US

Using a lowercase r rather than a capital R makes logo consistent with the URL (www.route1.co)

It also give the icon a more balanced shape, allowing the 1 to be the key feature.

55

To avoid being mistaken for an I or an l we must either make it oversized,

superscript, subscript or a secondary colour

We found superscript to be more modern, sophisticated and legible solution than oversized

Old Logo Version 1 Version 2

1Feedback from extremely experienced desiners, the team and users was that the 1 should be the identifyable

feature of the typographic logo so we make it bolder in Version 2 and introduced a secondary colour.

1 is a very powerful symbol that we can really own.

56

The font

We narrowed the font down to either Futura or Helvetica to help with our premium positioning

Pier Sans font was developed to be used on small screens, works in app but when large and the focus it is quirky.

The existing logo was designed without understanding of our target users or competitive landscape.

The brief was for recruitment technology, HR software. While we solve the same problem as as recruiters, and can’t be frighteningly far from what HR people expect, nobody likes them and we don’t want to look like them!

Explored three of the world’s most popular fonts, Futura, Helvetica and Avenir Next - all regarded to be modern yet smart. Futura is a celebrated typeface designed by the Bauhaus movement. Utterly modern and sophisticated, Futura is efficient and modern because it is composed with almost perfect geometrical shapes only.

Used by brands such as IKEA, Supreme and Volkswagen which share our positioning as modern but sophisticated relative to their competitive landscape.

Pier Sans Regular

57

Two examples of this font used to assist with premium positioning in other sectors

John Lewis use Futura to own the premium end of the department store sector.

58

Two examples of this font used to assist with premium positioning in other sectors

Waitrose use Futura to own the premium end of the supermarket sector.

59

Having made these decisions, we tested a number of options, spacing and weights

Music MusicSafari SafariMail MailPhone Phone

Compass Compass

Health Health

Notes Notes

Weather Weather

Messages Messages

Caculator Caculator

Wallet

iTunes Store iTunes Store

Reminders Reminders

Clock Clock

Calendar Calendar

FaceTime FaceTime

Settings Settings

App Store App Store

Stocks Stocks

Maps Maps

Photos Photos

Podcasts Podcasts

Apple Watch Apple Watch

iBooks iBooks

Game Center Game Center

Videos Videos

Camera Camera

News News

42%Sketch 9:41 AM

Route1

Music MusicSafari SafariMail MailPhone Phone

Compass Compass

Health Health

Notes Notes

Weather Weather

Messages Messages

Caculator Caculator

Wallet

iTunes Store iTunes Store

Reminders Reminders

Clock Clock

Calendar Calendar

FaceTime FaceTime

Settings Settings

App Store App Store

Stocks Stocks

Maps Maps

Photos Photos

Podcasts Podcasts

Apple Watch Apple Watch

iBooks iBooks

Game Center Game Center

Videos Videos

Camera Camera

News News

42%Sketch 9:41 AM

Route1

60

We collected feedback from 70+ users, expert brand designers and the team.

For detailed notes on expert, team and user feedback click here.

“I agree that the new logo is an improvement. The lowercase looks more friendly than the uppercase ones, so I think you’re heading in the right

direction.” Daniel Baer (Studio Baer)

“Second expiation (new logo) feels more modern but it's not grabbing me. Have you considered putting the number 1 on centre stage rather than

support role? Create an icon and then a logotype. Icon is most important. Icon needs to be a '1' I think.” Marc Kremers (Futurecorp)

The feedback supported the above regarding the frame, lower case ‘r’ and font

61

https://docs.google.com/a/route1.co/document/d/1ck_RklS1qoEcWrM8AVzeiq2FetINcmvYHOTDIQUc_6M/edit?usp=sharing

Our prefered typographic logo option

Balanced weight with the 1 as bold feature. Flexible colour combinations to work in different contexts within lockup or without

62

Logo in situ on Facebook adverts

63

New logo in app

64

For the brand/app icon we developed a unique yet meaninful

symbol to accompany the typographic logo

65



66



67

App icon colour options in situ

68

App icon colour options in situ

69

Prefered app icons for release in V1.2 update on 11th July

70

We need to attract candidates and employers to one brand.

We have digitally savvy candidates with premium tastes and risk averse employers.

Positioning Route1 as the premium job marketplace will give us a competitive advantage.

The design brief that will achieve this positioning can be summarized as ‘modern and sophisticated’.

This positioning will improve acquisition as users expect more from our marketplace.

We have refreshed the website to make it more sophisticated and modern, taking cues from digital brands with premium positioning and broadsheet editorial.

Tweaking the logo will make it more legible and feel more premium. Once we have implemented a logo without a frame, lowercase r and superscript 1

we can iterate around this to optimize without causing confusion.

Recap

71

Next Steps

72

This week

Hub 1.1 live

Team feedback on website and logo development.

User and expert testing of website and logo variations within our brand guidelines.

Finalise edits to website and logo.

June

Implement new website (Max) and logo on all assets.

New adverts and emails with refreshed logo and brand colours (Facebook, Google and LinkedIn).

Hub 2.0 design in line with brand identity

Continue user research and testing of all assets

July

App 2.0 design in line with brand identity

PR and content marketing tests

This week

Hub 1.1 live

Team feedback on website and logo development.

User and expert testing of website and logo variations

within our brand guidelines.

Finalise edits to website and logo.

June

Implement new website (Max) and logo on all assets.

New adverts and emails with refreshed logo and brand colours

(Facebook, Google and LinkedIn).

Hub 2.0 design in line with brand identity

Continue user research and testing of all assets

July

App 2.0 design in line with brand identity

PR and content marketing tests

73

Thank you.

I very much look forward to your feedback and rolling out a more effective brand identity.

[email protected]

74