The Economist is famous for its weekly magazine of economics, business, and current affairs. Another core pillar of the business is the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) which is the business intelligence/ B2B offering that brings insights and data to analysts and businesses.

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An element of the EIU that is active in emerging markets is The Economist Corporate Network. It brings senior business leaders together at events to discuss the latest insights from the EIU researchers, correspondents, and commentators.

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The brief was to re-invigorate the branding of the network, with a particular focus on updating the online presence. As you'll see from the image of the previous site it was informational but did nothing to aid the user or sell the Network experience.

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Meetings and interviews were held with members, prospects, the Network Directors, and the EIU team. We discovered that the single most important factor for people, and the value they extracted from the Network, was the face time with other like-minded people. The conversations they had at the events were key, and they allowed them to re-use the discussions, and EIU content, to take a lead in their organization. The current branding did nothing to show this Network effect, the executive profile or highlight the event format, topics, and locations on offer.

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Our solution was to bring the human aspect to the forefront, reduce the amount of copy, and house it all in a modern website CMS. The new site platform would make access easy on any device and make social sharing of the event details and the content output easier.

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With the platform, design and positioning agreed the challenge became finding suitable imagery. Stock imagery lacked authenticity and the majority of events were in Asia and Africa, making it difficult for the London based team (both Agency and The Economist team) to be there. Working with a minute budget we found a way to work with remote freelance photographers and capture the essential essence of the events.  This served as the backdrop to the website and a brand style to go forward for the Network.

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The project was a good example of how I work with a small handful of individuals to rapidly transform a brand's presence on a small budget. Two techies and a  designer supported by a few days of a planner and project manager were all that was required (and available).