Who or what are you?
Juniper Networks is a global organisation which designs and sells Internet Protocol (IP) network solutions and services. From devices to data centres, Juniper delivers software, silicon and systems to aid the experience and economics of networking. The company’s customer base includes the majority of the world’s top fixed and mobile service providers, most of the Fortune 100 enterprise brands, and many government and defence organisations. In October last year, Juniper unveiled a transformation of its overarching business focus in what was the largest corporate change undertaken in the company’s thirteen years of trading. At the heart of this transformation was a worldwide relaunch.
What was the problem?
Juniper’s existing corporate strategy no longer encapsulated the aspirations and direction of the company. There was a gap between the company’s external identity and its corporate vision for the value of the network in our daily business and personal lives. While Juniper was known for its routers and switches as well as networking security, it was not always viewed as a marketing leader in the IT space.
What was the ‘big idea’?
Juniper wanted to transition to a much sharper identity as a thought leader, capable of helping its customers revolutionise their businesses. Rebranding was one of the underpinnings of this corporate strategy, providing the evolving Juniper with an up-to-date look and feel. The rebrand enabled Juniper to be perceived as a fresher and more modern company with a sense of renewed purpose and vision. Everything from the colour palette to the logo to product naming was changed in its new corporate identity. The exercise went beyond changing the external face of the company – this was a transformational exercise and enabled Juniper to showcase new services and capabilities which demonstrated the progression the company had made.
When and how?
The company’s strategy and vision – as well as the new look – was unveiled at a global event at the New York Stock Exchange on October 29, hosted by chief executive officer, Kevin Johnson, alongside chief marketing officer, Lauren Flaherty, and other executives. At the heart of the rebrand was the new tagline: ‘The new network is here’. From there, the ongoing business transformation became a unifying function with the use of a consistent visual language. Marketing executives chose to mix social media tools such as Twitter, with more traditional marketing channels to deliver the message. Juniper developed a more confident ‘voice’ and, after six months of planning, there was a re-focused portfolio of solutions and services.
Did it work?
This is more than a change of logo; it’s a new brand, a new identity, and a renewed strategy. Juniper advanced its evolving strategy further during the Mobile World Congress this spring, where the new brand identity was used to its fullest extent.
