Case study - B2B communication
1.
challenge: communicating the rebranding of Blue Media to Autopay as a strategic change, not just a name change
2.
insight: rebranding is of interest to the media and the market only when it tells a story of ambition, scale and real business change
3.
PR activities: strong involvement of the founder and CEO in media relations
4.
effects: over 1,000 publications, 11.3 million reach and permanent establishment of Autopay as a recognizable fintech brand; PR Wings 2024 win in the B2B communication category
How to plan and carry out the rebranding process of the largest fintech brand in Central Europe?
How is the rebranding of a company that has so far conducted communication aimed mainly at business, cared about the quality and communication of products, but not necessarily about the brand? How to overcome the fact that the rebranding process is usually a topic of little interest to the media and entities outside the industry? We respond by supporting the rebranding of Autopay, one of the largest companies in the fintech sector.
Over the years, Blue Media has developed as a "leader in background payments" - taking care of the quality and recognition of products. Payment services were delivered via partners to customers (B2B2C), and the Autopay application for highway tolls went directly to customers (B2C). Although both brands had a reach of 50,000, respectively. companies in Poland and 10 million monthly users were basically unrecognizable.
In 2023, Blue Media decided to combine two companies into one brand.
The aim of rebranding Blue Media into Autopay was:
- developing a new brand perception
- harmonizing the communication of the company's separate products
- bringing services closer to end customers
- improving key indicators compared to the competition
- preparing the brand for foreign expansion
Background
Autopay was and is a pioneer of many services at the intersection of technology and finance. The company's solutions are used by over 10 million people a month - paying for purchases online, settling their bills online, topping up their phones online, authorizing payments via SMS and - when using the Autopay application - automatically paying for highways in Poland or purchasing electronic vignettes to neighboring countries.
In line with the adopted development direction, the mission of the new Autopay brand is to provide a unique payment experience - finding a new level of convenience, intuitiveness and automation. – We want to remove all barriers that we may encounter when making payments – Andrzej Antoń, CEO and co-founder of Autopay, emphasized in interviews.
All we had to do was communicate it neatly.
Planning the rebranding process
In the case of Autopay, in addition to a team of several people within the company itself, three agencies were directly involved in the project: Brand New Attitude (BNA) - responsible for branding, 2012 Agency - for creation and the PR agency Profeina - responsible for the new communication strategy.
In the first step, it was important to determine the scope of changes and develop them in-depth. Then, introducing them in such a way that they do not affect the continuity of the company's operations and allow smooth transition from "old" to "new". And finally - effective communication of changes to recipients - both internal (employees) and external (customers, users, partners, market).
The entire rebranding process was planned in several stages in order to gradually accustom business partners and end customers to the changes. The rebranding process was spread over many months - from April to December 2023.
What was Profeina responsible for in the rebranding process?
It is worth noting that the Autopay team and all agencies worked closely together throughout the entire process. The results of the work of some were guidelines for others. Additionally, the Autopay team involved in the rebranding process organized joint workshops for representatives of all agencies to facilitate understanding of the direction of changes and jointly refine new messages.
Profeina's main tasks, carried out in cooperation with the Autopay PR team, can be grouped into several areas:
- developing a PR strategy for the new umbrella brand Autopay,
- planning media activities – paid and free – supporting the entire rebranding process,
- preparation of press releases, sponsored materials, as well as additional information materials (FAQ) including new messages,
- developing and implementing a non-standard campaign that made the message about removing barriers credible
In parallel with the implementation of individual stages of the rebranding process, Profeina continued to conduct regular corporate and product PR activities for Autopay.
PR activities
Regardless of the level of refinement and detail of the prepared scenario for the rebranding process, there is always a risk of unforeseen situations. There were some challenges here too.
In order to accustom the media to the new topics that the client wanted to cover, we prepared a strategic document that introduced new key messages and threads worth discussing in the media:
- we refreshed and refined the brand's history,
- we have newly developed the profiles of experts and their scope of competences,
- we developed key messages.
During operational work, we made sure that new messages were properly exposed:
- we arranged three interviews with Andrzej Antoni, CEO of Autopay, in which new topics were raised;
- we have developed advertorials in five press titles and industry websites read by a wide business community,
- we supported the brand's presence at industry events (European Financial Congress, European Forum for New Ideas, Consumer Finance Congress) to maximize the exposure of the new brand and its experts,
- we co-created the assumptions of the project of a new social campaign implemented by Autopay, together with SWPS and the Zwolnieni z Teorii Foundation, about algorithmic exclusion.
- In addition to organic activities, we have established several commercial cooperations, including: with Cashless.pl, Rzeczpospolita, Spidersweb, VOGUE and Wirtualna Polska
Effects of Profeina
- Autopay appeared, among others, in Forbes, Puls Biznesu (cover), Bankier.pl, Business Insider, Rzeczpospolita, Cashless, Fintek, Spidersweb in which the key messages of the brand were used.
- "We Remove Barriers!" campaign: 145 participants from all over Poland, 19 original social projects, 113,000 beneficiaries, 225 media mentions, PLN 108,000 in AVE and PLN 2,269,109 in publications about the program.
