Method

Method has partnered with Autodesk - one of the world's largest software companies - since 1999, undertaking four redesigns of its corporate website among many other projects.

Challenge

What happens when your biggest asset is also something of an obstacle? For Autodesk, the company that developed AutoCAD, that was a serious question. AutoCAD had become the dominant software in computer aided design, and a brand name far more prominent than the company behind it. In two decades, though, the company had become much more than AutoCAD, with a range of other solutions that AutoCAD users weren't aware of, and solutions for other industries - from 3D-design and modelling data to special effects for Hollywood and video games - that it now served. How could Autodesk and its offerings move away from AutoCAD's shadow? How could the company best introduce new products to existing customers and simultaneously build a name in new verticals where demand for CAD technology was rising?

Approach

As a long-time partner to Autodesk, Method took command of two key projects that fundamentally shaped the Autodesk brand and enabled the company to pursue faster growth. One was a brand platform that would promote and unify the company's solutions. The other was a web strategy that would revolutionize engagement with Autodesk customers.

According to Patrick Newbery, Method's Principal of Strategy, the new corporate brand "helped customers and investors see Autodesk for what it had become - not a single, globally famous product but a company with a family of integrated solutions. It made it much easier to connect the dots, and bring all of Autodesk's assets to market." Method began by formulating a set of brand attributes and the defining message that crystallized the company's value: "Ideas realized." The team then designed a brand voice and identity that would be instantly recognized everywhere, yet remain flexible enough to accommodate different products and branding applications, from packaging and collateral to websites and online advertising.

Turning to the Web strategy, the Method team also sought to break new round, moving Autodesk past a limited focus on using its sites to support pre-sales. Instead, attention turned to leveraging changes in Autodesk's IT infrastructure to drive a more valuable, personalized, and longer lasting user experience. "We essentially turned an IT integration strategy into a user experience strategy," says Newberry of the platform and the more user-centric web properties it produced. "We created a roadmap for using back end technology to support the relationship throughout its lifecycle, from pre-sales marketing to full lifecycle support for any size customer account.

Outcome

Autodesk is now the one of the largest software companies in the world, helping millions of architects, engineers and designers make, manage and market their work. Since the rebranding and launch of the web strategy, its products have increased share among customers and continued to make gains in new design markets. "Obviously," says Newbery, "their success hasn't hinged entirely on our work, but we have helped them clearly communicate who they are and what they offer their customers. At the same time," he adds, "we've helped send a message to Wall Street that this is a company on the move. The work reflects the clarity of their vision, and you can now see it across all touchpoints."