Tax + more = a fresh new brand

Helping customers realise it’s not just tax that TaxAssist can assist with.

THE HEADSCRATCHER

You’re already the high street’s top tax accountant, but you can offer so much more to your clients than simply helping them complete their yearly return. The question is: how do you let them know, without sacrificing the strong brand equity you’ve built over the years?

As TaxAssist Accountants looked to offer their clients more support, they asked us to create a refreshed, modernised brand to help them grow their business beyond traditional tax accountancy.

Refreshed, modernised brand that appeals to businesses and individuals

Clear messaging that highlights the wide range of services they offer

Digital-first, elevated visual style designed to support future growth

Our in-depth 360i approach helped us answer these questions through stakeholder workshops with internal marketing and leadership teams, focus groups and one-to-one interviews with existing franchisees, end customers and prospects.

Digital listening, a YouGov survey, and market and competitor research also helped us gain insights into our different audiences and the brand’s potential to connect with each one.

As part of the discovery process, we also considered new naming options for the TaxAssist master brand and a suite of potential sub-brands, as well as evolving the brand architecture (vision, mission, values, brand promise and positioning statement). Any brand changes would require franchisee investment, so the work had to demonstrate how it would support their expanded offer and convince them of the longer-term benefits.

Everything we learned from the research helped evolve the brand identity to land their new positioning and highlight their key message: ‘We can do more for you’.

The well-established brand colours were retained but updated, while a new suite of complementary colours expanded the palette. This helped the brand feel fresher, work better in digital and adhere to essential accessibility guidelines.

The main font was modernised, and a unique ‘+’ brand identifier was woven into the logo. It also doubled as a stand-alone icon highlighting the ‘more for you’ proposition.

A signposting framework was created to highlight the wider products and services and make it easier for clients to find the right solution for their needs.

Finally, we tested the new look and feel with a prospect group from our initial research phase to ensure it landed well before rolling out the new design.

The new brand hit the high street following an exclusive franchisee launch event at Silverstone. The response has blown away the client, having received many positive comments from franchisees, colleagues and clients.

The new brand has been described as “a very significant moment and a welcome refresh”, and “clever yet simple”. It also made franchisees “feel certain it will enhance our relationship with existing clients and potential new ones”.

“ We have received comments from clients enquiring about services they were not aware we offered, which was one of the commercial outcomes we were aiming for. Thank you to you, and the creative team involved, for helping us get to this point and creating a brand our network, clients and future clients can be proud of. ”

Kelly Chick - Head of Group Marketing, TaxAssist