The Pleo brand is a key factor in the company’s success. However, during the hyper-growth in 2021, the focus shifted to tactical marketing aimed at driving leads, which meant little to no effort was put into maintaining and evolving the brand.
A strong brand that resonates emotionally with customers is invaluable, and losing that connection poses a business risk.
I crafted a compelling narrative for the top management using customer testimonials that highlighted how Pleo enhances their own brand, e.g. one customer saying, “My colleagues think I can do magic because I brought Pleo to them”. I further enhanced the narrative with insights from a previous Chief Design Officer at Salesforce, one of the strongest B2B brands.
This led to an initiative to define a core brand promise and brand values, along with a commitment to invest in brand building initiatives in 2025.
Codifying a brand promise and values may not be needed in a smaller company (like Pleo used to be) as everybody understands and are aligned. But in a scale-up, with an influx of new people and changing strategic goal posts, having solid brand promise and values to revert to for guidance is paramount to avoid losing identity — and customers — in the hyper growth.
