USING BRAND TO BUILD AND GROW A THRIVING COMMUNITY
technology, branding
The Brief
The pioneers at Input Output Global (IOG) had created a roadmap for the Cardano blockchain. A critical part of the final phase was to ensure the Cardano ecosystem had a voice in shaping the blockchain’s future via the creation of a Membership Based Organization (MBO).
Joining forces for the creation of the MBO would be not only IOG itself but also Emurgo (their commercial arm) and the Cardano Foundation (the advocacy and educational wing). Our role was to create a brand for this new entity–which all these diverse groups could unite behind and one that would cement the loyalty of their growing audiences.
The Challenge
The crux of the challenge was this: how could we maximize the MBO’s legitimacy and credibility with the blockchain’s diverse stakeholders – from developers to stake pool operators and holders of the Cardano crypto currency, ADA? It had to be seen as a neutral conduit for information to travel between Cardano’s governance structures and the blockchain’s many global stakeholders.
Above all, the MBO had to pass the ‘so what?’ test and feel like a trustworthy and democratic community–one that would be the right organization to drive change within the industry.
The Insight
While the needs and agendas of the MBO’s stakeholders were broad, the ultimate purpose of the MBO itself was one everyone could unite behind–namely to support the fulfilment of blockchain’s founding principles of decentralization, inclusion and transparency.
We needed to craft a distinct and unifying brand for the MBO–one that spoke to the organization’s role of bringing multiple groups with different Blockchain interests, knowledge sets, and objectives together into one vibrant global community.
Most of all, we had to inspire and rally Cardano’s stakeholders to join. So, with competitors playing it safe, we saw the opportunity to take a distinctive stance–a creative lever that would help the MBO make an indelible mark on the future of blockchain.
The Creative
Creating a standout brand for an organization with such a critical purpose was a really exciting brief. We started with the MBO’s name: Intersect. One short, memorable word that sums up the Intersect mission – to create a point where the voices of Cardano governance and its many different stakeholders can come together to interact, ignite ideas, and shape the future.
Intersect’s new visual identity brought together bright colors and patterns to represent teamwork, collaboration, energy. As a system, we ensured that when deployed it would always balance professionalism with the organization’s existential need to put democracy and decentralization at the core.
The Execution
Intersect’s purpose is to engage with Cardano stakeholders. So it was super-important to enable Intersect’s internal teams to communicate in ways that reflected the new brand within every audience interaction.
We created an easy-to-digest brand playbook to make sure the new design and messaging was applied consistently. This included a number of audience personas, to help Intersect tailor its communications to businesses, developers, and people with a general interest in blockchain and crypto.
We also recognized that any over-simplification of our messaging would undermine Intersect’s credibility – the ultimate no-no. This needed to be a brand that authoritatively and expertly talked the language of blockchain. A manifesto for Intersect sat alongside the brand playbook acting as a North Star for new regional groups to follow as Intersect expanded around the world.
The Results
The Intersect MBO was unveiled in 2023 with a unified identity across a new website and on social channels. Intersect is now actively engaging with its communities, and key activities include a weekly Development Updates series on social channels. This is establishing Intersect as the go-to destination for authoritative Cardano news and conversations.
