Nokia

For many people, Nokia was a loved but ailing mobile phone brand. However, since selling its devices business to Microsoft in 2014, the business has transformed beyond recognition. In fact, less than 1 percent of 100,000 employees in 2016 were “Nokians” two years previously.

Lippincott has been supporting the business on its reinvention, helping to reestablish Nokia with a brand that describes and helps shape the business as a global technology power. And, further, as a brand that is a new leader in the technologies at the heart of our connected lives.

Nokia’s brand is a powerful asset. It has high awareness all over the world and enviable associations with quality and integrity. But it is also a brand tied to mobile phones from a previous era. Our work involved redefining the meaning of Nokia’s brand to support a new, largely B2B-focused business. Our work also needed to support Nokia’s continued growth into new technology markets, including network infrastructure, network services for large-scale enterprises and reentry into consumer devices.

We defined a new positioning for Nokia that tapped into the company’s DNA as a business focused on creating technology in the service of people. And, with Nokia’s leadership, we created a new vision, “To expand the human possibilities of the connected world.” Combined, they became a driving force for asserting Nokia’s purpose to global stakeholders.

Nokia’s new visual expression maintains the familiar logo that a billion people until recently carried in their pockets. Its B2B reinterpretation is effortless and intuitive, capturing the brand’s pervasive human focus while signaling its leadership and authority in networks and technology.

In partnership with WIRED, and with the contribution from some of the world’s leading technologists, thinkers and influencers, including Professor Stephen Hawking, Tim Berners-Lee and Monica Lewinsky, we put Nokia at the heart of today’s most critical technology debate: shaping the future of technology for humanity.

#maketechhuman became a global debate, engaging over 1.7 million people, including Nokia’s customers and employees. The campaign became a strong proof point of Nokia’s belief in embracing the possibilities of technology when guided in the service of people.

A key objective of renewing Nokia’s brand was to establish a clear sense of purpose and direction for a fast-changing business. We worked with Nokia to embed the new vision in the heart of the organization, nurturing a sense of pride and belonging in working for the “new” Nokia.

Taking advantage of Nokia’s 150^th anniversary, we created a film that kick-started a worldwide celebration of and reflection on the brand’s history of continued transformation. The #maketechhuman call was echoed throughout the company, with employees contributing views and ideas about how to shape technology for the future. As proof of its success, one year following the campaign over 84 percent of employees confirmed that it was meaningful to them.

Nokia spurred on its renewal through the acquisition of Alcatel-Lucent that brought a new presence in key markets and a greatly expanded product portfolio. The integration of Alcatel-Lucent shifted Nokia from being the world’s specialist in mobile broadband to being a leading universal networks player with new software capabilities and Nokia Bell Labs, the research and innovation unit responsible for many of the major telecommunication breakthroughs of the past hundred years.

We worked with the business to support the smooth transition of Alcatel-Lucent to Nokia. This partnership included the planning of the rebranding process, guiding brand architecture decisions and defining Nokia’s overall narrative to help the business communicate the strategic shift of Nokia: from a challenger in mobile broadband, to a technology leader, competing alongside a new set of global peers.

Working closely with teams from across Nokia and Alcatel-Lucent, we planned and designed the first showcase of the combined business at Mobile World Congress. The showcase weaved together the new set of capabilities and product portfolio as one coherent whole, under the Nokia master brand, just two months after closure of the deal.

To ensure Nokia’s long-term success, we have worked with the business to set up a brand governance structure and establish a regular brand performance measurement system to track perceptions and preferences across business and consumer markets. We’re also supporting Nokia’s brand team to set up a family of brand guidelines, principles and governance processes to manage all expressions of Nokia across communications, products, events and brand licensing.

Together, our partnership has helped reestablish Nokia as a future-facing brand, ready to support a continuously evolving business.