Sage has unveiled a new look and feel to its branding. The rebrand includes a new logo and several announcements that continue the evolution of Sage that Steve Hare, CEO, has driven over the last few years. This is not a revolutionary change. The new Sage logo capitalises the first letter and uses a flowing font that is software. Enterprise Times spoke to Steve Hare, CEO of Sage, about the change.
He explained: “This change really is about how we show up for customers. It’s about how we extend what we’ve always done, and in terms of service and software. Making it more and more digital in the way that people want to operate their businesses, they want it more automated, they (want) more things to just happen naturally and they also want that human touch.”
Alongside the change of logo, Sage also announced the Member Masterclass, new sponsorships and new digital network services, including a new offering: Accounting and Compliance as a Service ACaaS. It will also begin a new advertising campaign that features real Sage customers.
Cath Keers, Chief Marketing Officer, Sage, commented: “It’s tough being in business right now. Our refreshed brand is about how we show up for customers globally – removing complexity, delivering insights and building human connections for them, for our colleagues and within society. We’ve been a trusted brand for SMBs since Sage was a start-up 40 years ago, but the way we support them has changed, and the refresh will enable us to reflect that consistently across all our markets.”
Introducing flow into the new logo
In terms of the change in logo seen above, Hare explained: “It’s not a name change. It’s very clear that there is this flow, this smoothness, which is to reflect our focus on removing friction for our customers, automating this more digital experience.”
A rebrand such as this is no longer as expensive as it would have been a few years ago, as most of the collateral is digital. Hare revealed that the marketing spend is not increasing due to the change. It is just being repurposed. Hare explained: “The physical assets are much smaller these days. Pretty much 100% of our demand generation for new customer acquisition is done digitally. So the website, the digital assets are the critical assets.”
One thing is clear. Sage has not changed its recognisable green colour, was a change to that considered?
Hare replied: “Whenever there is a marketing exercise, there is always a point in time where people reach for the colour palette. We very quickly agreed that Sage and Green was something that was quite embedded. We do use different colours for different locations from time to time and we quickly decided that wasn’t what we needed to do. Flow is a big part of this, reducing friction. We want small businesses, processes, ways of working, etc., to flow and say it’s more about that.”
Sage Membership
Sage also announced that anyone with a Sage subscription would automatically benefit from Sage Membership. The first component of this is the Sage Member Masterclass that will make available: “expert human advice and insights from world-leading experts on the issues that matter to businesses.“
The Masterclass will roll out in May. Enterprise Times asked Hare what else Sage Membership will include in 2022.
“What we’ll do through the Sage Membership programme is deliver more content. There’ll be additional benefits for members in terms of advice around things that matter to businesses beyond software. We’re trying to pull people into a community where they can learn from each other and get used to collaborating with each other. Ultimately, what the digital network really allows people to do is collaborate more freely. We’re trying to create a bigger network of small to mid-size businesses that will collaborate via the digital network.
“For example, if you’re working with a supplier on the digital network, you don’t want to exchange invoices by email by PDF. You want to be able to do it through a trusted transaction across the network. We’re working on all of those flows that matter to small-medium businesses. We’re seeking to automate those to get people together to create this trusted network. By being a member, connecting with other people in a similar industry.”
While the first iteration is around content and information, there is a clear vision to create a business community and digital network that delivers on the promise of flow between businesses. How quickly this will happen was not revealed, but it is a question that Enterprise Times will seek an answer from the Sage Product team.
Improving the flow of work with the digital network
One of the first services on the Digital Network under the new branding is a new Accounting and Compliance as a Service. This will deliver access to essential accounting and bookkeeping tools directly via their bank app or web browser. The banking app service is partly powered by CountingUP, a startup that Sage invested in recently. Initially available in the UK, ET asked Hare whether it would be available internationally.
He replied: “It’s the UK at the moment, but it is our intention to roll it out further. We haven’t published the roadmap yet, but we are working on that. We will probably do something in the US before too long.”
Sage is investing heavily in the Digital Network. This platform will enable it to connect customers with different services and applications in the cloud, whether they use cloud-connected solutions like Sage50C or Sage Intacct. The intent is to connect applications and customers with financial, banking, ERP, HR and Payroll applications to remove the friction in business transactions once connected.
Sponsorships
The new-look will also be in front of even more people worldwide. Sage has already announced that it is an official partner of the Rugby World Cup in France in 2023 alongside its partner Parthéna Consultants. It will also reveal additional partnerships in May. Is Hare considering something in the US?
“As we look to grow more strongly in the US, we will continue to expand the partnerships that we have to help us do that.”
Closer to home, Sage has also invested £10 million in Newcastle Gateshead Quays. The pioneering community-focused, state of the art arena (Sage Arena), exhibition and conference centre (Sage ICC), will launch in 2024. The £300m+ development will provide a £70m annual boost to the local economy and create 2,000 jobs.
Enterprise Times: What does this mean
There are other benefits of refreshing the brand for Sage. It will hope that by presenting the new look, the market will adjust its viewpoint of Sage. From that of a legacy vendor to one that is modern, cloud-first and dedicated to improving the lives of SME businesses everywhere. Certainly, the shift in emphasis to a digital network of connected applications and services demonstrates the fundamental shift from siloed and legacy applications that Sage has achieved over the last few years.
Sage is starting to deliver on its vision. It also has a much clearer roadmap than ever before for its products. Can the new logo bring fresh life into its marketing efforts against Xero and QuickBooks? Only time will tell.
