Branding and Identity

A company like Microsoft has a large assortment of orgs, services, and strategies that vie for attention. Sometimes a strategy crosses orgs, services, and other strategies. Such is the case with the Connected Customer Experience strategy (CCE). The goal of CCE is to create value by building trust across an easy and connected end-to-end experience helping customers and account teams to work together to create outcomes that matter. Because of the overarching nature of the strategy, it became clear early on that an identity was needed that put the customer at the center, allowed teams and individuals to see themselves in it, and, of course stay grounded in the overall mission of Microsoft.

Initially the identity was based in cool, calming, familiar blue with a focus on authentic imagery. Then to reference the flywheel of innovation that drives customer experience, and keep customers centered, a collection of 16 flywheels was created that spoke to the goals and design elements of the strategy. This identity was adopted by the broader community through the delivery of a collection of assets PowerPoint and email templates, Teams backgrounds, a motion graphics toolkit, site posters, and of course, swag.

In the second year, it was realized that a deeper connection to successful implementation of the strategy was needed and the identity was evolved to help people discover, learn, and act on what CCE in Action looked like through imagery that conveyed a sense of motion, and a series of "binge-able" video content that showcased success through the actual voices of the customers and the account teams

In the third year, it became apparent that both the CCE identity had grown a little cluttered, and the broader identity of Microsoft had become more bold and vibrant, but the CCE identity was due for a refresh that needed to catch up: a more vibrant color palate, simplified flywheel assortment, and a refreshed library of imagery that was more focused on the actual people