When Promptu first approached Method, they were looking to expand their service offering (aimed at cable television providers) to the mobile market. Promptu's remote control with microphone input, backed by its advanced voice recognition and database technology, allowed users to find content using only voice commands. For their voice-prompted search service on mobile phones, Promptu asked Method to create screen animations and icons for their mobile application. As often happens, Method's questions about their brand strategy and future service offerings prompted the company to engage us on a broader brief: in this case, helping the company define the value proposition, across platforms, of the Promptu brand, as well as its brand system and messaging.
Method worked with Promptu stakeholders, reviewed its current materials, and surveyed competitive technologies to identify Promptu's ideal positioning in both the cable and mobile markets. In elucidating its core message, the trick was to address the value proposition for both Promptu's immediate customers (the cable and mobile system operators) and their respective end users. A single message - and identity system - needed to address all audiences.
"If you could ask for anything, what would you ask for?" This statement became the primary messaging upon which Method built the new Promptu brand. Our final solution integrated a single color and shape (Promptu green, a circle) across the entire brand system, from the "talk" button on Promptu phone interface designs to the "o" in the company name. Additional brand colors complement the dynamic green, with a key color selected for each business channel - cyan for mobile, gold for cable - creating a system easily extensible to future service platforms.
Next, we developed a supporting graphic language based on the characteristics of Promptu's offerings: its ease of use for search requests, and intuitive, accurate search results. Images were chosen for their feelings of openness - clean with minimal backgrounds, high-contrast lighting, and expressions of positive emotions. The new brand language was extended across a stationery system, brochures, direct mail pieces, trade show collateral, iconography, a website, television interface designs, and phone screen designs and animations.