Optus differentiates from the market with a flexible rebrand

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Optus is the second largest telecommunications provider in Australia offering mobile, fixed, and broadband services to consumer and business customers. It has repositioned itself in the market with a flexible rebrand.

You may remember their recent rebrand back in 2013 that received many mixed reviews and criticism from the design industry. Three years doesn’t seem like a very long time to be considering a brand overhaul. However, a lot has changed in recent years.

As consumers the way we use our mobile devices and view entertainment has rapidly grown and changed. This has resulted in Optus integrating Netflix in to their services by buying the exclusive rights and using this as a differentiator against their key competitor Telstra.

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Re has created a new flexible identity system that harnesses the power of yes, and provides a flexible framework for an adaptive brand to play out across different entertainment and media offerings. By moving the brand message “yes” to the forefront they are focusing on the customer’s experience while also creating a solid system that allows the brand and offerings to be dialed up and down with so many opportunities for the future.

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To give Yes a stronger presence, we decoupled it from the logo and made it a brand expression all of its own. The ‘Yes mark’ represents the voice of the customer, hence being rendered as a hand drawn script. […] Representing the customers’ excitement, the ‘Yes mark’ is incredibly free, playful and expressive. It’s emblazoned across our communications, it wraps itself around things it loves and even dances in animation. Creative agencies are encouraged to be playful and expressive with its application.

For the rebrand, we took a new approach by introducing an additional layer outside the core identity which we call the playground. Governed by principles, rather than guidelines, the playground is where the brand gets to stretch its legs, play and push in new directions as the needs of customers and the business change. This meant leaving some parts of the identity open to evolution. We achieved this with the idea of ‘brand worlds’ for different parts of the brand – essentially skins on the core identity, tailored to the audience they’re trying to reach. For example Music feels different to TV & Movies which feels different to business, yet with a backbeat that’s distinctly Optus. This way we can evolve the brand aesthetic over time without having to rebrand every few years.

Optus continues to differentiate with their service offerings…
To support this new direction, Optus has forged relationships with Netflix and Stan, launched its own set-top box (Yes TV by Fetch) and made huge news in the media by buying the exclusive rights to the English Premier League (that’s soccer for any Americans reading). Optus is on a mission to forge a new kind of category where telco meets broadcaster.

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Re provided press release – Via Brand New

Artist installations

During launch week, we commissioned four Australian artists to produce live Yes murals in flagship stores across Australia. Gemma O’Brien, Bafcat, Numskull and We Buy Your Kids were asked to interpret the ‘Yes mark’ in their own way to produce large canvas that will later be used across on carrier bags and other brand assets.

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The fact that a number of different artists, agencies, innovators and collaborators have already been able to work with the new framework with such success really consolidates the success of the rebrand and provides a powerful brand framework for the future that allows adaptation and appropriation…. without having to rebrand every three years.

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Merren Spink
Design Creative

Merren is a member of the design team with Truly Deeply, a  brand agency with 25 years experience working with brands to position them for growth. Her expertise lies in creating strategically driven, beautiful and memorable brands that attract the attention of their audience. Merren has extensive experience working with corporate, retail, food & beverage and business clients. Find out more at…

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