Summary: We rebranded Activate, an event management agency with a strong focus on the healthcare industry, to strengthen their positioning in the European MICE market. The new logotype is supported by a visual style which draws its inspiration from the classical era rocket control panels. The multi-coloured lights suggest the agency’s intense activity, as well as its full control over the outcome.
Activate Events manage complex, large-scale, international live events, with a focus on the pharmaceutical and healthcare sectors. They have benefited from a highly experienced team, strategic UK location and sleek logistics, but realized they needed a stronger voice and a clearer identity. They wanted to make their name better known – a name they cherished, because it spoke about bringing their clients’ brands to life through complex events.
By rebranding, Activate also wanted to mark their coming of age. Having long graduated from the start-up stage, Activate is a fully accredited and established agency, which required a coherent and expressive new identity.
The main purpose of the rebrand was to position Activate as a strong contender in the European MICE (meetings, incentives, conferences and events) market. We wanted to create a brand identity that would accurately reflect the calibre of the business – its achievements, its client roster and its superb team – but also its potential and focus on innovation.
The company’s old logo featured a globe – a symbol too generic to stand out or even say something relevant about the company, apart from their global scope. The visual style was old-style and inconsistent.
We wanted the new identity to talk about the agency’s skill and force in managing big and complex events for a tough industry, as their logistics management skills were their greatest strength. The winning symbol was a rocket engine: Activate was turning ordinary events into extraordinary ones by propelling an impressive logistical chain and providing much-needed creative energy. We opted to use this metaphor in the simplest way possible: Activate’s initial becomes a rocket, whose exhaust jet is a simple orange symbol. The rising ‘A’ thus reveals the brand’s role and character in a straightforward and contemporary fashion.
The new logotype is supported by a visual style which draws its inspiration from the classical era rocket control panels. The multi-coloured lights suggest the agency’s intense activity, as well as its full control over the outcome.
We’re absolutely delighted with the new brand image that you’ve created for us. It’s now fully live and it’s attracting many positive comments as we promote our new look to clients and the wider events industry.
But the rebrand worked its magic not only towards the external stakeholders.
The team love the logo, the look and feel, and especially the infographic! I was really pleased with the reaction and the genuine positivity that came out of the reveal and the discussion around Activate’s future direction.
