It soon became clear to us that the logo wasn't the main issue. The problem was that Virgin Media had not conveyed to consumers a definitive identity or vision one that articulated the company's pioneering heritage and future ambition. The brand achieved consistency without coherence, and sold a range of products--such as Comedy, Horror, Sci Fi, TV OD and Movies sub-brands--without relaying its overall purpose. It was reinventing the wheel with each advertising campaign and reacting to the market rather than leading it.

Virgin Media needed to adopt a new rule: Break the rules.

We arranged five sessions with Virgin Media stakeholders dubbed "Mission Control." More than 200 associates - members of internal brand and marketing teams, human resources, agency partners - gathered together and we audited around 5,000 pieces of brand collateral. These sessions helped Virgin Media stakeholders air their concerns and directly informed the new creative expression system.

The brand positioning we clarified was built on an attitude that was Open-Minded, Fun and Generous. Or, OMFG. This easy, playful mnemonic device identified the key ingredients Virgin Media needed to present--to varying degrees--in all future behaviours and expressions. The system was designed to flex to the needs of the customer rather than the demands of the organisation, and is deliberately disruptive to stand apart from the competition. It’s scalable, works across multiple platforms, and responds to a variety of physical and virtual spaces.

The OMFG attitude didn't just inform Virgin Media's new style, it helped the company live up to the expectations of the overarching Virgin brand: "Don't just play the game, change it for good." This included a range of customer touchpoints both offline and online. From mobile print advertising, product packaging and instructions, through to onscreen motion graphics, user interface and event experiential events.

Virgin Media gradually introduced its new brand identity components into the business through live testing and beta squads. These eliminated the need for wasteful spending on behind-the-scenes testing and provided real-life proof-points to help us assess and develop the system.

Thanks to this new strong identity, Virgin Media and its agency partners can communicate the brand vision and tackle projects with more focus and greater efficiency. Marketers can articulate what Virgin Media stands for, when required, and the brand's distinct identity allows the unit to be more responsive when talking to customers.

Since the implementation of the 360-degree makeover, Virgin Media has launched the UK’s first quad-play bundles, gone to market with innovative new mobile contracts and redesigned its TiVo user interface. By informing new employee initiatives we strive toward a consistent message and common purpose.

Customer churn rates have reached an all-time low (14.6%) and revenues are at a new high (4% overall increase in 2014, 9% in mobile subscription). In Q4 2014, Virgin Media experienced its best quarterly customer growth figures since its 2007 formation. Also, the company secured the decade's largest UK Internet infrastructure investment, with Liberty Global contributing £3billion to the network expansion initiative.

OMFG!

Virgin Media needed an ID check. The provider of UK telephone, television and broadband internet services was a smashing success with 11 straight quarters of growth and a broadband service that was light-years ahead of the competition. So, there was really nowhere to look but up.

Virgin Media asked us for a new logo. But to thrive in an increasingly competitive and commoditised market and live up to the company's pioneering and game-changing expectations for a new generation of switched-on users, the brand needed a whole new system for expression: An Uncorporate Identity.