Hays Companies was in need of a brand evolution. Founded in 1994, this independent insurance brokerage firm had outgrown their old brand. The identity had become dated and uninspired, and its application was extremely inconsistent across their 30+ offices. We, along with project partner, Station K, were selected to refresh and elevate this growing challenger brand.

• Stand out from the pack. A competitor brand audit revealed a “sea of sameness” across the risk management insurance industry. Conservative, predictable identities, none of which stood out from the rest. This created a huge opportunity for Hays to stand out from the crowd.
• Infuse more confidence and energy into the Hays brand, better reflecting the attitude and work ethic of this “new breed” of brokerage firm. However, do this WITHOUT changing Hays’ beloved wordmark, which had some brand equity.
• Provide sales team with best-in-class tools/materials they’re proud to use.
• Successfully roll out new corporate materials to 30+ offices, and provide a user-friendly, self-serve reordering system.
• Rebuild the web site—completely. Audit site traffic, and develop a content strategy. Rebuild site to be a more effective marketing and sales tool—and be mobile-friendly.
• Build a brand and marketing library to support the ongoing development of sales & marketing materials.

• Leverage the equity of the wordmark. Pair it with a grid representing the unique challenges and needs of a Hays client—each one different from the next, AND sometimes even from one moment to the next. The animating, everchanging grid reflected the unique combination of risk factors and challenges impacting each client’s business.
• Reveal the true Hays. What made this “new breed” of brokerage firm special was being hidden behind a lackluster identity and cookie-cutter approach to corporate and sales materials. The new visual identity and messaging revealed what was there all along…a confident, seasoned team of top industry experts all within one of the fastest growing, privately held insurance brokers in the country.
• Bolder colors and a signature Hays pattern led the way to a more visually impactful and sophisticated system. Business cards utilized QR codes to allow staff to quickly provide contact info as a vCard.
• Roll out new materials to 30+ offices along with cool promotional items and employee gifts, and kick everything off with a fun launch event introducing all employees to the new Hays.
• Work alongside Hays’ web dev partner and IT team to create a new site that could serve as a more effective, mobile-friendly, marketing and sales tool. Content and visuals both now reflected Hays’ brand personality and worked in unison to tell their story and showcase their value.
• Design a range of customizable, staff-friendly templates, providing the necessary consistency while elevating their materials to rival those of any larger, more well-known competitors.
• Provide brand guidelines and build a brand and marketing assets library (photos, videos, case studies) – all available for use in web site, proposals, sales presentations and events.

• The brand launch was met with much enthusiasm and positive feedback both internally and externally.
• Sales team was thrilled to use the new tools in their proposals and presentations.
• Online re-ordering process was efficient and easy to manage for all locations
• Committed to maintaining a strong and consistent brand, Hays created a new brand/marketing director position to oversee their brand and marketing communications.
• Within five years, Hays Companies had become the largest independent insurance and employee benefits broker in the Midwest. They were soon acquired by Brown & Brown for $705M — the largest transaction in Brown & Brown’s 75-year history.