Branding without Walls
Crowdsourcing a rebrand.
Mozilla, the free software community and creator of Firefox OS, is transparent in the truest sense of the word. I'm not referring to the fact that its Open source, i.e. where thousands of talented volunteer collaborators help build a product. I am referring to Mozilla's open philosophy. They listen to the opinions and perspectives of its vast global community which promotes a sense of shared purpose.
The Firefox OS brand was built on this open philosophy. The Firefox freely shares its design blueprint to encourage developers to create content on the Firefox OS platform. There are no corporate gatekeepers here.
Reaching out to the public for their input can be a good move if you want to promote transparency and gain trust. Challenging consumers to get involved can be a marketing strategy on its own.
Although Firefox now has millions of users, Mozilla's other works are less well-known. In order to raise awareness of its other projects. In an attempt to differentiate itself from its hero product, Mozilla decided to develop a new identity and positioning. In keeping with its open philosophy, they decided detail the creative process online, allowing the public to discuss and voice their opinions at each step of the rebrand.
Below are just two of the seven themes being considered by Mozilla.
The company invited people to post their comments about the new positioning. Feedback was analysed and a new designs were unveiled in August with the final decision to be revealed this coming November. You can follow the rebrand on Mozilla's blog page. Here's the latest.
Mozilla has proven that branding, even rebranding, does not need to be dictated from the top down. Inviting your customers to participate in such important decisions demonstrates that you care about them and that you believe in them enough to listen to what they have to say.
When was the last time you implemented change because of your customer feedback?
Morty Silber, CEO
Mad Strategies Inc.
a Wizard of Ads Partner