Background:

Strapi (https://strapi.io), the leading open-source headless CMS solution, was faced with a challenge along their fast-paced growth. Their existing brand identity no longer reflected the innovative nature of their platform or the values they stood for. Complicating matters, their website had been internally coded in HTML/CSS, resulting in a dated and inefficient design, complicated updates while their logo was created as a student project, lacking the professional polish needed to represent a cutting-edge tech company.

Challenges:

1. Outdated Logo: Strapi's logo, originating as a student project, lacked the professional quality needed to convey their status as an industry leader.

1. Undefined Mission and Values: While Strapi had a vague understanding of their mission and values, they needed assistance in articulating these elements clearly and integrating them into their brand identity.

2. Lack of Brand Consistency: In addition to the logo issue, their website, coded internally, suffered from a lack of modern design and functionality, hindering user experience and brand perception.

3. Increased User Acquisition and Conversion: As a Series A fundraised start-up at the time, Strapi needed to achieve exponential growth with significant objectives in terms of user acquisition and conversion rates.
   

Approach:

1. Discovery Phase: Understanding the unique challenges faced by Strapi, we conducted in-depth interviews and analysis to uncover their business goals and competitive landscape.

2. Brand Strategy Development: Collaborating closely, we refined Strapi's mission and values, ensuring they were succinct, authentic, and reflective of their aspirations.

3. Logo Redesign: We embarked on a complete redesign of Strapi's logo, aiming to create a professional and dynamic visual representation of their brand.

4. Website Revamp: Recognising the pivotal role of the website for the brand online presence, we embarked on a comprehensive revamp of their website. This process began with a reassessment of the existing sitemap to ensure that all information was easily accessible to users, as well as optimal user experience and navigation. We then collaborated with Strapi to develop a modern, user-friendly design that reflected their updated brand identity and effectively showcased their products, services, and thought leadership content, as well as a intuitive and well-structured blog as hub to all the content assets.

5. Brand Book Creation: To provide deeper insights into Strapi's brand story and values, we crafted an open-sourced brand book, serving as a foundational resource for internal teams, external partners, and the whole Strapi community. It can be accessible at https://handbook.strapi.io/strapi-brand-book-2022

6. Content Strategy on Social Media and blog: In alignment with Strapi's rebranding objectives and broader marketing goals, we formulated a robust content strategy for their media channels. Leveraging insights from market research and audience analysis, we identified key topics, themes, and content formats that resonated with Strapi's target audience, developers and content managers. This strategy encompassed a mix of educational content, product updates, industry insights, customer success stories, and engaging visuals to foster community engagement and drive brand awareness.

7. Learning Strategy with Tutorials, Resource Center, and documentation : Recognising the importance of thought leadership and knowledge sharing in establishing Strapi as a trusted authority in the CMS space, we developed a comprehensive learning strategy comprising tutorials and collaborative talks with key partners. These resources were designed to provide valuable insights, practical tips, and best practices to Strapi's audience, empowering them to maximise the value of the platform and stay ahead of industry trends. Tutorials were crafted in various formats, including articles on the blog, ebooks, video tutorials, and interactive workshops. As well as the Strapi Conf, a yearly conference showcasing customers, users, and Strapiers explaining the latests releases.

   

Implementation:

1. Rollout Plan: We collaborated with Strapi to devise a phased rollout plan for the new brand identity, ensuring a seamless transition without disrupting ongoing operations.

2. Internal Engagement: Workshops and training sessions were conducted to educate Strapi's internal teams about the new brand guidelines and the rationale behind the rebranding, fostering buy-in and excitement among employees.

3. External Communication: Utilising various communication channels, including social media, press releases, and website updates, we announced the rebrand to Strapi's customers, partners, and the wider community.

4. Website Revamp Execution: We implemented the revamped website, ensuring seamless integration with the new brand identity and adherence to best practices in web design and user experience. This involved optimising site performance, enhancing mobile responsiveness, and implementing intuitive navigation to facilitate effortless exploration and engagement.

   

5. Brand Guide Implementation: The brand guide served as a reference point for ensuring consistency in branding across all touchpoints, from digital to print, with goodies for the Strapiers and the Strapi community.

6. Brand Book Distribution: Distributing the brand book internally and externally helped align stakeholders and provide insight into Strapi's brand values and messaging.

1. Content Strategy Execution : With the content strategy in place, we collaborated with Strapi's marketing team to execute a consistent and engaging content calendar across various social media platforms. This included creating and curating content, scheduling posts, and monitoring engagement metrics to track performance and iterate on the strategy as needed.

Results:

1. Enhanced Brand Perception: The redesigned logo and cohesive brand identity resonated strongly with Strapi's target audience, positioning them as leaders in the CMS industry and reinforcing their commitment to innovation and excellence.

2. Clearer Brand Direction and Employer Branding: With a well-defined mission, values, and brand strategy, Strapi experienced improved clarity and alignment across internal teams, empowering them to make informed decisions, drive the company forward and help with recruitment.

3. Consistent Brand Experience: The implementation of the brand guide and brand book led to greater consistency in branding across all touchpoints, resulting in enhanced brand recognition and recall.

4. Positive Stakeholder Feedback: Both internal stakeholders and external partners and community praised Strapi's rebranding effort, its relevance, professionalism, and strategic execution, as the roll out happened as the same time as the Strapi Conf.

5. Increase in user traffic and conversion: the Strapi website saw a significant increase in user acquisition, traffic on key pages like pricing page and documentation page for the open-source product, and in conversion through Sales Contact and Cloud subscription for the Enterprise and Cloud products.

6. Increase in ranking in the Gitstar ranking: Strapi is now 158e repository among 28 million repositories!