The brand launch campaign was, aside from the rebrand itself, the largest project/campaign I have led in my career.

The campaign comprised 4 phases and would carry the brand launch over the course of 12 months.

The campaign featured components and tactics such as:

  • brand launch video

  • display ads

  • paid and sponsored social

  • industry publication placements

  • paid media buys

  • email campaign

The Plan

Here you can see phases 1 through 4.

At a high level, phase I would tease that something exciting was on the horizon.

Phase 2 would reveal the brand.

Phase 3 would go into detail about our core value pillars.

Phase 4 would round out the campaign revealing our new solution sets.

Phase 1

Tactics & Execution:
To generate buzz and excitement before the full brand launch, we ran a series of full-page ads in top industry publications—both digital and print.”

In addition to the full-page spreads, we ran website-takeover digital display campaigns on those same publication websites, paid social, and Google display.

Design:
For the first ad, we simply stated that “new” things were coming, teased a few out-of -context brand elements, and pointed people to our dedicated landing page with the /future URL where they could find out a bit more. We didn’t outright mention a “rebrand” to build that mystery and wonder.

For ad 2, we provided a bit more context for the the elements from ad 1. We decided to display the logo mark as if we pulled it directly out of our design files— showing the dimensions and proportions of the mark to indicate that something with a high sense of design consideration was coming.

We chose to show the mark without the “WCG” text below to keep that sense of mystery. Could it be a logo? What are these shapes?

Brand Anthem Video

As the overseer of the brand launch campaign and creative director for the brand launch video, I had several goals in mind that this video needed to accomplish.

It was imperative for WCG’s clients to remain the “hero” in their own story, so we made a conscious effort to story tell without mentioning WCG by name until the very end.

We also decided to make this video less about the rebrand itself and more about the story of clinical research, the current climate in which it exists, and the ways WCG can help our clients on their research journeys.

Phase 2 Ads

Phase 2

Tactics & Execution:
Phase 2 included a 3-month buyout of the industry’s most important industry publication websites, print, Google display, and paid social.

Design:
My goal when conceptualizing the Phase 2 launch art direction was to encapsulate the brand at its highest level.

It needed to use our primary colors, be a mix of imagery and illustration, and exude acceleration and partnership on a journey.

After weeks of market research, I landed on this design: images of our stakeholders with an upward motion, mimicking “blasting off” into the sky, leading the eye towards the title and copy.

To portray the journey aspect, I used our brand mark map icon with the guidance line traveling through the images—a consistent design motif of our brand.

Phase 2 Physical Launch

Concurrent with the brand launch campaign and video, we held the physical brand reveal at one of the industry’s biggest annual events.

To show our new look and highlight the bold beautiful patterns/animations of the brand, we created a large video board as the centerpiece of our booth.

This display brought to life our message: WCG is a new and improved, cutting edge partner of choice.

Brand Launch Party

Wrapping up the launch festivities, we designed and hosted a launch party celebration.

The WCG rebrand is all about connection, humanity, and warmth. We wanted this event to convey that.

On the design side, we really highlighted our human form “W” mark throughout the space, and our patterns displayed throughout featured interconnected pill shapes to further evoke that connection idea.

For layout, we really wanted the space to continue to promote humanity and connection. We designed many different little areas within the space for people to gather and socialize and make those connections.

Phase 1 (2023)

A series of logo teasers that aim to stir up conversation and generate excitement for the rebrand and what’s to come” at WCG.”

Phase 4 (2024)

Phase 2 (2023)

Official reveal of the rebrand. This phase will focus on the high-level brand itself without delving deeply into our brand pillars or solutions.

While the brand launch of 2023 teased, revealed, and talked about the new WCG at a high level, 2024 would go further into WCG’s brand new, technology empowered, consultative solutions. Across the first quarter of 2024, each of the 6 new solutions would be promoted through their own multi-channel lead generating campaign.

Phase 3 (2023)

Phase 3 takes the brand launch a bit deeper into the “how” and “why,” focusing our ads and messaging on the core pillars that make up our differentiators in the market.

Phase 3

Phase 4

For Phase 3, we delved more deeply into what makes WCG who it is. While Phase 1 focused on top-level brand messaging and the notion of WCG being a “partner on your journey,” Phase 3 focused on going a layer lower to talk about the three core pillars of the brand that is WCG.

  • Data

  • Subject Matter Expertise

  • Connectivity—WCG’s ability to forge connections and act as a facilitator between all clinical trial stakeholders

Phase 4 marked the beginning of the new year for the campaign and more of a focus on lead generation. Phases 1-3 were largely excitement and awareness building. Phase 4 was about getting several layers deeper into the new solutions that WCG offered.

With our expanded color palette, it was an easy decision to dedicate an individual color to a specific solution area for the duration of the campaign. This would ensure that they each looked differentiated, while also appearing to be part of a larger group.

One of the big decisions we made was to bring back video to kick off phase 4.

Tying back into our launch video, we made sure to use some of the same footage for continuity and consistency.

Beyond just individual colors, we made the decision to design simple, but unique patterns that tied to the messaging of each solution area. This would show the range of our brand and design elements.

example: Study planning’s red pill shape starting slower, but outlasting the two blue pills and reaching the image. This conveys that making the right decisions from the start will ensure long term success.

These videos would be the tip of the spear and the first assets of our multiple month lead generating phase.