The MarCom Awards, organized by the Association of Marketing Professionals, aims to recognize distinction and honor in marketing and communications. The awards endeavor to spotlight the brilliance and perseverance of professionals who passionately offer their skills to the industry.
Started in 2004, the award-giving body welcomes over 6,500 print and digital creations spanning dozens of countries. This 2022, Allied Insight is proud to be the recipient of two Gold MarCom Awards, one of which is for a Website Redesign for one of its clients, Fox Search Group.
Congratulations are in order, but beyond the award’s prestige are lessons on how Allied Insight did it. Let’s look at the work and timeline that Allied Insight followed, from analyzing what else could be done to uplift the Fox website’s overall appeal while keeping in mind how to maintain the staffing agency’s desired brand.
Building Foundations: Almost Starting from Scratch
We caught up with Paola Bustos, Senior Graphic Designer at Allied Insight, as she recalled the challenging yet lesson-filled journey she and the Allied Insight (AI) Team went through with Fox Search Group’s rebranding and website redesign.
Six to eight individuals worked on the Fox Search Group project from across different departments: Marketing and Communication, Corporate, and Development. In the initial stages of the project, Bustos and the AI Team did not have a defined brand system. Fox decided to change its logo, which followed an alteration of the company’s visual identity according to its branding.
Bustos described Fox’s former website as simple, static, and basic. While there was no problem with the website’s current information and navigation, there were apparent points for improvement:
- The content display was flat. The use of photography was unclear, and there was a lack of differentiation between website elements.
- Text needed work. Headings, in a collective sense, were not potent in grabbing attention. The presence of long paragraphs was also not helpful.
- There was no defined visual system. This lack of organization is detrimental to the perceived online brand.
Conceptualization, design, development, and implementation of the website are the milestones toward a fresh website and branding for Fox Search Group. Keeping in mind that the client wanted to communicate a brand that’s more dynamic, modern, and eye-catching, the team started to make magic.
There’s Work To Be Done: From Reimagining To Reconstructing The Website
Identifying the key elements and points for improvement, the AI Team set out to create a narrative for each of the website’s pages and heighten the cohesion of textual and visual elements. With a team of experts on her side, Bustos set out to put plans into motion so that a new identity for Fox Search Group will be realized, starting with its website.
Bustos recollected each step they took toward completing this project and ultimately winning 2 MarCom Awards:
- Defining a graphic concept. In most cases, creating visual content for a brand has to be based on a brand guide, where various elements like logos and color schemes are indicated. These elements are carefully decided so that any visual representation of the company will be consistent to its brand.
In the case of Fox Search Group, one of the AI Team’s few references for visuals are the company logo. They then picked out elements based on Fox’s values as a brand. In the absence of a brand guide, the team was able to make do with what they have and powered through based on the vision and direction set.
- Creating wireframes. The AI Team then created a wireframe, or a visual representation of the website’s layout and interface. This wireframe allowed the team to arrange and categorize the website’s information for a more intuitive journey that will support the proposed visual scheme of the website.
- Reviewing the website mockup. A mockup is the replica of a website, which has the same elements of the intended web pages, but is not fully functional. It’s integral in controlling various website processes for quality assurance and immediate revisions. Through a mockup, Bustos and the AI Team were able to review what they have done so far.
- Determining implementation adjustments. The website is then presented to the client after review of its creators. Fox then gave comments and greenlighted the design once they found it to their liking. Once the client was satisfied with the final website, AI’s Development Team pushed through with implementation.
The Triumphant End Result: Thoughts And Lessons From A Winning Journey
The AI Team cannot be any prouder of what they have achieved with the Fox website. Bustos now describes their masterpiece as dynamic, eye-catching, and fits well with the client’s expectations. While the former website had an unresolved brand image, its look is totally fresh and unrecognizable from a few months back.
If you take a look at the new Fox Search Group website, these are some of the distinct features that won us the MarCom Awards:
- Clean visuals that pop out of the screen. With a distinct color palette, the website’s facade is warm and inviting to the eyes. A slate of white with orange as the main color, plus splashes of blue here and there: the color theme is fresh compared to other websites. Aside from crisp text elements, there is also a great deal of geometry in the visual choices, even in Fox’s new logo. Geometry is a current trend in web design, and it was smart to jump on to this bandwagon and make it work for the particular client’s branding.
Read more: Brand Guide 101: Components That Define Your Brand Aesthetics
- The Fox Search Group identity is clear. “Woman-owned” and “diversity-driven” are some of the qualities that the Fox brand are most proud about. This shows in the website, as women and people of color are represented well in the website’s use of photography.
Also, as a “relationship-driven” company, Fox featured collaboration and cooperation not only through its images but also by featuring clients and testimonials about Fox’s service.
Read more: Keeping Up With the Competition: Your Brand Is the Answer
- It’s a breeze to use the website. There seems to be no issue jumping from one page to another. Text is also easy to read, which explains the choice of a white background. Furthermore, blue/orange is a colorblind friendly palette. Inclusivity was surely on the minds of the AI Team in recreating the website.
The cherry on top was the Gold MarCom Award for the Fox Search Group Website Redesign. A distinct feature of the MarCom Awards is its deliberation process. Entries were evaluated by their own merit. No explanation essays were considered, and submissions were not scrutinized against or in comparison with others. There was also no set number of winners per category.
In other words, the Fox Search Group’ website was studied for its own quality, creativity, and resourcefulness. Truly, the MarCom award was simply given to those who deserve it, and as per set standards, can shine on their own merit.
Read more: A Step-By-Step Guide for Rebranding
ACHIEVE BRAND INTEGRITY, STARTING WITH YOUR WEBSITE, THROUGH ALLIED INSIGHT.
The Fox Search Group website is the first web project of Allied Insight. Winning the award was a proud and humbling moment for the team, but it also meant that the responsibility to lead more staffing agencies toward brand consistency and a unique online brand had just begun.
If you’re aiming to achieve brand recognition, with website performance as one of your critical avenues for marketing, Allied Insight is here for you. Our tried and tested prowess in web design and storytelling could be the upgrade you need to further attract business opportunities despite changing corporate initiatives.
Contact Allied Insight today.
