Welcome back to "Ask Aspect," a series where we discuss all things workforce management with our industry experts and contact center veterans. Last time, we touched base with contact center veteran Kelly Person about building workforce planning success.
However, today’s installment is a little different. We’re exploring the realm of marketing with our Director of Brand Marketing, Gillian Grefé. Gillian played a leading role in Aspect's innovative rebrand and reintroduction to the market, and continues to serve as a strategic leader as the company grows.
With a wealth of experience building impactful brand strategy for businesses across different sectors, Gillian brought fresh perspective to Aspect’s marketing efforts. Let’s explore her insights on Aspect's rebranding journey, from design inspiration to creative process to customer-centered evolution.
Q: What served as design and brand inspiration for Aspect's rebrand?
It was about the legacy and the humans behind the business and product — this is what we wanted to protect, preserve, and celebrate. We balanced professionalism with delight by using color, typography, and creating a credible yet charming logo mark to communicate a modern solution that fits right into your corporate culture (and tech stack).
"The celebration of the work and the energy that this rebrand brought to the organization was like something I’ve never experienced in all the rebrands I’ve been a part of." - Gillian Grefé
Q: What was the approach and process for rebuilding the Aspect brand?
This rebrand was both a long time coming and a quicker-than-typical turnaround. Meaning, our team had been uncovering the history of the brand and exploring a new company direction for quite some time. That was a huge part of what set us up for success — the conversations, research, and strategy work. With a strong foundation in place, you can launch a creative team with a unified direction, confident that their exploratory work stems from shared strategy.
We’re an internal creative team as opposed to an agency, so the process looked very different from industry standard. We were able to move quicker and more autonomously as a brand team—trust from our leaders played a big part in that. As did knowing when to share work with executive leadership. We decided to show leadership the work when it was close to completion, with a few casual check-ins along the way. This approach maintained our momentum and allowed us to develop the work to a point where leadership could see its full potential.
The celebration of the work that followed and the energy that this rebrand brought to the organization was like something I’ve never experienced in all the rebrands I’ve been a part of. It was so energizing to watch the spark it gave our entire organization.
Q: What makes a strong creative team?
I could talk about this all day. The group dynamic — the way we all work together. Not only does that make the work better, it makes it more enjoyable for everyone, especially under a tight deadline or challenging pivots.
Continuing to evolve and develop processes will always be crucial, but sometimes something as small as standing meetings with a clearly defined purpose that every attendee truly understands can make a significant difference. For example, our weekly Brand Critique on Wednesdays. It’s one hour and right in the middle of the week. This is a meeting where our designers bring work to review and get real-time feedback or gut checks. Sometimes when there’s a quick turnaround or looming deadline, we can dedicate the whole meeting to critiquing one project. This protected time keeps us on track—it's a security measure of sorts that ensures we achieve the best possible outcome regardless of circumstances.
"Customer feedback was a guiding light because our product has been a part of many customers' lives for a very long time. It was crucial that we honor that and ensure them that this is a positive step forward." - Gillian Grefé
Q: What challenges did you face when reimagining a traditional tech brand?
It was critical that we found the balance between speaking to new customers while not alienating existing customers. There were numerous other challenges at play here, though: we were bringing back a name that belonged to us decades ago. There were technical challenges and social challenges, we had to get ahead of and and I think we did a fantastic job of this.
We wanted people to celebrate the fact that “Aspect is back.” So we lead with that. Instead of people asking, “Woah, why is Aspect back… what’s going on?” We told them why we’re bringing Aspect back, and better than ever. Launch strategies should not be overlooked, especially when you’re dealing with a brand and product with deep legacy. Coming out of the gate with assertion and confidence arms customers and the industry with the right narrative about why things are changing—and naturally, people feel compelled to celebrate alongside you. As they should!
Q: What role did customer feedback play in Aspect's branding development process?
Customer feedback was a guiding light here because our product has been a part of many customers' lives for a very long time. It was crucial that we honor that and ensure them that this is a positive step forward, not a pivot. That this is an evolution and a huge step toward innovation.
Between customer conversations, connecting with our customer success teams, and employees who have been with the company for decades, we had keen observations about what was important, what could be improved upon, and what our new direction for the strategy, voice, and brand identity should capture. It was very important to us that we build a brand that felt familiar with existing customers and refreshing to new customers.
"Our entire company is made up of Aspect advocates. There’s a level of pride and excitement that our team carries that cannot be made up. It’s the real deal." - Gillian Grefé
Q: How do you see Aspect's brand identity continuing to evolve?
I think the teams we're building are naturally extending the brand we've established. Our brand identity will continue to integrate with product experiences, significantly impacting the agents and admins who use our product daily. As our product evolves, our brand grows alongside it. As new markets adopt technology like ours, we evolve to accommodate them.
Q: What role does Aspect’s company culture play in shaping brand identity?
The pride in our history and the people behind the company are very present in our current brand identity. Even more importantly, our entire company is made up of Aspect advocates. There’s a level of pride and excitement that our team carries that cannot be made up. It’s the real deal.
We're beginning to truly celebrate innovative thinking in our marketing approach. Through new approaches to video, copywriting, and soon illustration, our team will continue to inspire us with energy and excitement about what we stand for.
Aspect continues to innovate, creating products and brand experiences that address businesses' evolving needs. Interested in learning more about our brand identity or our product roadmap and direction? Explore more articles from this series below.
