Developing a brand for a sustainable and socially responsible IT business, credited with winning a $150 million contract
The brief
Circular Computing deliver like-new, remanufactured computers and laptops, and are driven by a mission to reduce the social and environmental damage caused by the IT industry.
Driven by the primary need to secure high profile business opportunities, we were tasked with developing Circular’s value proposition and visual brand, followed by an engaging, optimised and fully responsive web-design, complete with site-wide copywriting.
Using knowledge, research and passionate inspiration from the Circular team, our challenge was to distil their brand story and communicate the offering through compelling information and a modern, own-able visual identity. The ultimate goal – to inspire an industry-wide movement towards a more ethical, sustainable and socially responsible way to buy enterprise IT.
The solution
Our first step was defining the qualities and brand truths that make Circular unique. We also considered their messaging and collateral requirements for direct and channel sales, which involved engaging, educating and empowering an important international reseller network. Brand personality and tone of voice guided written content and led to the development of the brand strapline: ‘Because IT shouldn’t cost the Earth.’
Our visual branding approach presented an ultra-modern, eco-brand with distinctive imagery and bespoke illustrations. The new logo was created, alongside a unique marque and refreshed colour palette that extended beyond the “tech sector sea of blue” and injected fresh teal, aqua and greens, similar to brands that dominate the sustainability landscape. The brand was then applied to collateral such as a company brochure, whitepaper and a bespoke-commissioned university research article.
“We were impressed with the way Salad were able to immerse themselves in Circular Computing. They understood our ideas and objectives and created something that effectively represents our values and ambition for the brand.
We felt involved throughout the process and faced a difficult decision when we had to choose between two equally impressive visual brand routes. Their expertise and guidance put us at ease bringing strategy, visual branding and website creation together.
We recently signed a contract with a leading distributor in California, which was largely due to Salad’s fantastic work on our visual and strategic brand and website. The job was done before I walked into the room, thanks to Salad.”
Finally, we produced designs for a fully responsive website to house the Circular Computing story. The new brand is brought to life with subtle transitions and video content, whilst minimal use of the colour palette ensures the pages are clean, professional and communicate high-quality. The overall user experience is intuitive and engaging with carefully planned internal links guiding visitors through two sides of the brand – Performance IT and Sustainable IT.
The result
After a successful launch Circular has built relationships in priority sectors and the new brand and website have made a significant impact to Circular’s conversations with potential partners.
In 2018 Circular won a sizeable contract to supply a leading business process services company based in California. The company praised Circular Computing for “the quality, the packaging and the presentation” and also stated that “the messaging is excellent.” They noted that Circular’s offering is “the type of product that they could present to major corporations with green initiatives.” The contract will see the provision of remanufactured hardware over the next three years at a value over $150 million.
