Coming up with a new name was a challenge in itself when there are 100,875,478 active trademarks globally. After an exhaustive search, management selected one of the top branding firms in the world, which pioneered many of the research, design and consulting methods still in use today to lead them through this 8-month branding journey. They led extensive research, including a comprehensive survey of over 750 IRI and NPD clients and prospects, more than 40 in-depth, one-on-one interviews with clients, industry, and media analysts, and live online listening sessions involving over 570 employees from both organizations across the globe.

This research resulted in the generation of 2,700 potential new brand names, where 500 were prescreened and lastly, 25 were presented to management before they made the final decision. Over 200 logo concepts and 1,100 taglines were created as well.

It was essential that the new brand excited and motivated IRI/NPD target audiences worldwide. These include over 50 of the world’s largest brick-and-mortar, ecommerce and omnichannel retailers, consumer brands in industries ranging from apparel to sports to consumer packaged goods, and advertising agencies and digital media companies. Additionally, the significance extended to data and technology partners, employees, and investors. The new name and tagline needed to resonate appropriately in all countries where the company operates, which added another level of difficulty.

Circana, with the accompanying “Complexity into Clarity” tagline, was the best option to communicate a new direction. Since the root name of “Circana” is a circle, it reflects Circana’s value proposition of bringing a complete 360-degree view of the consumer to the industries it serves. The two “Cs” in Circana tie directly to the tagline “Complexity into Clarity” and its differentiator of enabling clients to “see the complete consumer."

The logomark is six concentric circles representing the complexity of consumer data and the complexity of clients’ markets. The wordmark appears to emerge from the symbol, reflecting how Circana is reinventing its business category and differentiating itself from competitors. Completing the logo is the clarity dot, a symbol of the clarity that Circana achieves as a result of embracing complexity. The animation of the logo further demonstrates that Circana travels through Complexity and creates Clarity. The font choice, Poppins, was selected for a sleek, technological, and circular look.

There’s an abundance of greens and blues among its competitors, so Circana’s branding consists of bold colors like black and purple with warm accent hues such as magenta and peach, communicating a tech-forward vision while still feeling grounded and human. Circana’s reports, presentations, social media graphics, etc., use bold, warm colors paired with vibrant images and circles to create dynamic, sleek layouts.

The new brand identity was implemented across touchpoints internally and externally, including vibrant building signage, business cards, and all other marketing collateral. The press release announcing the new Circana brand earned 57 feature articles and 8.7 million unique views in just two weeks.

Just a mere two weeks after the rebrand announcement, the company held its flagship multi-million dollar annual event, Growth Summit, gathering 1,200 clients and partners in Las Vegas for three days of insightful presentations and a showcase of Circana’s newest technology advancements.

Despite the challenges of planning Growth Summit, including its first occurrence since 2019 due to the pandemic, and with a brand new planning team, vendors, and event production company, it emerged as an overwhelming achievement. Prior to the event, 44% of attendees had an extremely positive opinion of the brand and a post-event survey revealed an astounding 81% of attendees held an extremely positive opinion.