Telesign is a top example of how incredible leadership, positive impact, and a solid brand ethos can come together to drive revenue.
Former CEO, Joe Burton, set a high bar for performance at the company, and backed it with the kind of encouragement needed to help his staff to show up as their best selves. As a result, Telesign’s company values go beyond mere statements, shaping the organization and making it a place where people like to work. Brands and companies look better from the outside when they are healthy on the inside — and this is certainly the case with Telesign.
At first glance, there is nothing sexy about fraud prevention. Most people perceive fraud and identity theft as a “far away” problem. In reality, this issue affects millions of people each year on every platform they touch. Online dating, shopping, job hunting — every activity we engage in on-screen carries the risk of identity theft or fraud. Everyday internet users need fraud prevention more than they typically realize.
Telesign’s customers are the businesses providing these online services – yet the beneficiaries of Telesign’s products are ultimately those businesses’ customers themselves. So instead of simply focusing the brand directly at businesses, we let the positive effects that Telesign products had on customers do the talking, using a clear storytelling format.
Then, we used that brand system to create a multi-touch journey to attract, engage and convert potential customers.
When an industry or subject matter seems dry on the surface, the first step is to bring it back to the difference it makes for people. In the instance of Telesign, we needed a mission that gave employees purpose, while stating the impact we wanted to make for our buyers and their customers.
We created a mission statement that everyone could get behind to serve as the company’s North Star: “We exist to make the digital world a more trustworthy place for everyone.”
The statement was inclusive, reassuring, and cued into the human need for certainty in an uncertain (and sometimes unpredictable) world.
For the Telesign voice, we created a trustworthy, committed, authentic tone that eventually resonated through Telesign’s growing, rich library of content and resources.
Combining common symbols of identity, continuity and trust, we created a new mark for the brand that resonated with the company’s mission.
For the Telesign brand palette, we chose a range that revolved around the color indigo. We found that indigo had the same calming effect of blue (ie, “My customers’ identities are safe in Telesign’s hands.”), but also incorporated a touch of creativity (ie, “Telesign is constantly innovating to keep customer information even more secure.”).
To add interest to the visuals and satisfy our customers’ human need for curiosity, we created a suite of elements that illuminated the website, along with sales tools and brand collateral. Each commonly referenced topic was given a character or sign.
Subliminally, we added supergraphics to spice up the motion, adding nuance to the Telesign brand experience. Themes like “coming together” and “security” were reinforced through simple shape and color.
For the brand’s campaign photography, we created scenes that were relatable, easy to understand, and inclusive — showing Telesign’s customers’ end users enjoying life free from the stress of potential harm. These images reinforced a human need for certainty and the trust that can be placed in Telesign’s capable hands.
To begin generating demand, we built a content ecosystem based on a series of vignettes and stories. These stories positioned Telesign’s buyers’ end consumer as the real star of the show.
In our customer-focused YouTube series, we told the stories of these end consumers in their own environments. These pieces read as a “behind the scenes” look into the impact that safe, secure access to technology has on consumers’ lives. They also speak to the human element of cybersecurity and fraud prevention — a safe experience online for everyone.
The series was used and repurposed in different formats across multiple customer touchpoints, thereby squeezing all of the juice out of this storytelling orange. These pieces also made appearances across multiple parts of the customer journey including B2B events, social media, paid acquisition, and the Telesign blog.
To pull our potential customers further toward purchase, we complimented this quality content with a rich, easy-to-digest product educational system. Events, webinars and sales resources enabled our go-to-market team to turn these warmed-up leads into revenue-generating customers. These materials stirred up interest amongst potential buyers and drove sales.
Following our 2022 rebrand and brand marketing ecosystem implementation, Telesign enjoyed a 9-figure revenue growth, stolen directly from big industry competitors like Twilio.
A cohesive and compelling web ecosystem, an invigorated company, incredible revenue results, and a bit of envy from competitors. Following this refresh, we received word that Telesign had become a “weekly discussion item” on a notable competitors’ meeting agenda. In part, this was due to the “industry buzz” created by the onslaught of quality, compelling content Telesign was putting out into the marketplace. It was also due to Telesign’s impressive (and related) success in stealing market share.
From brand ads, to event booths, to employee touchpoints, the Telesign brand and marketing ecosystem continues to imbue its audience with purpose, meaning, and a compelling reason to trust Telesign.
