BrandMatters

Sage Software Australia

Sage is a leading global supplier of business management software solutions to 5.8 million small and medium-sized enterprises (SME’s) worldwide. Headquartered in Sydney, Sage has offices throughout Australia and New Zealand with over 25 years experience in both local markets.

Sage Business Solutions provides end-to-end financial accounting software, Enterprise Resource Planning – ERP software, Customer Relationship Management – CRM software and Business Intelligence software solutions to large, mid-size and small businesses in Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific Islands. They provide software business solutions to 5.7 million small and medium enterprises (SME’s) worldwide.

Sage HandiSoft is a leading supplier of professional practice management, client accounting and taxation software to Australian accountants and taxation agents. As a market leader, Sage HandiSoft is used in more than 6,400 practices across Australia.

Task

BrandMatters have been retained by Sage Australia since early 2003, to review and maximise the current corporate brand, marketing and communications strategy, along with the creation and implementation of future strategies. BrandMatters has the ongoing task to create and implement corporate strategy and act as the conduit between Sage Group plc and the three operating companies here in Australia.

The task was essentially to launch the Sage corporate brand in Australia and create meaning around this brand after its acquisition of the earlier operating companies. A decision to prefix brand these business brands with the Sage brand (eg; Sage MicrOpay) required an overarching positioning for Sage that connected Sage’s global size and stature to the local expertise and heritage that resided in the local Operating Company brands. The fundamental issue was the Sage “parent” brand had no awareness and its three “offspring” operating company brands had no connection to the Sage brands, or in fact to each other.

Approach

The approach began with internal research to inform the brand and marketing strategy for the Sage corporate brand. An integrated campaign brief (advertising, media, PR and on-line) was developed, managed and executed for the Sage corporate brand as well as external research to track the on-going awareness of the parent as well as the Operating Company brands. This integrated campaign brought together each of the four businesses under a unified look and feel for the first time. Subsequent alignment to a global look and feel for all marketing and advertising material provided the appropriate balance of Sage global reassurance, whilst still retaining the unique identity and positioning for each of the Operating Company brands.

Results

Our ongoing performance has BrandMatters being retained for a fourth, twelve month contracted term. The entire Sage marketing community now operates as a seamless committed team, despite being managed by an external consultant; with three separate operating company marketing managers. Sage brand awareness is now 52%, up from 23% in 2006.