I just returned from an all-hands-on-deck employee meeting. You know the kind…it’s the meeting notice that says ‘we have an important announcement – attendance is required.’
But unlike most of these types of meetings that invoke a sense of fear, there was excitement in the air. That’s because the purpose of this meeting was to unveil a new company name.
That’s right, we’re changing our name. But why now, you might ask?
A little background…
In 1999, long before terms like social networking were being used, we were all about taking offline collaboration and ‘town hall meeting’ environments to the Web where the interaction could be more inclusive, productive and efficient. The name ‘Neighborhood America’ worked, as it conveyed a sense of ‘working together to get things done’.
Then came September 11, 2001. We were called upon to support many public outreach initiatives that enabled our country to unite, heal and remember. Again, our name served us well. It felt ‘small, comfortable and secure’ in a big world full of uncertainty.
But as our company grew, the name began to feel too small. As we wrapped up our first decade and looked into the future – a near-term future that includes plans for global market penetration – it became clear that our name needed to change. Just as our industry has evolved, so must our company.
The process of developing our new identity started months ago. With a few ideas in-hand, we turned to the brilliant minds of our employee network to help us select a new company name (a great example of social production, by the way). A couple of names immediately jumped out:
1) In Network is a term that our co-founder and president Kim Kobza adopted over a year ago as a way to describe the networks created by connecting employees, customers, partners – and our ability to place our customers in these networks where they can drive value through greater engagement.
2) Engage was a word that repeatedly rose to the top. Several of our employees suggested this word be incorporated into our new name – including a couple of ideas to use INgage.
In the end, these two concepts merged to create our new name. It’s a name that better represents what we do, conveys the depth of our offerings, and speaks to global strength.
Our phenomenal creative team set out to bring the name to life. They absorbed our history, our vision, and the personality of our new brand, and pooled their talents to develop concepts. We wanted a logo that illustrated our cutting-edge technology yet conveyed the human touch that is so important to our company. We wanted a color palette that would help our customers ease into the transition, yet show currency and a ‘fresh face.’ And we wanted a logo that we could have some fun with.
While seemingly an impossible task, that’s exactly what we got! (Did I mention that our talented creative team is phenomenal?)
After months of preparation, I am happy to share our new logo.
It captures the essence of who we are and what we do:
It’s ready to go global:
And…it enables us to have some fun:
So why are we doing this now? In the words of our president, “If there was going to be a time, now is the time!” Our new company name will take us where we need to go…today and tomorrow. But we’ll always hold fast to the things that make our company one of a kind: world-class technology, committed strategic guidance for our customers, and leveraging our decade of experience to continue advancing the industry and delivering results.
You can learn more about this change by referring to the corporate message on our website.
