Work
SUE DAUN, EXECUTIVE CREATIVE DIRECTOR, INTERBRAND LONDON

A new excellence

Ericsson

Landscape built from millions of modular pieces

Ericsson

Office: London

Huge advances are being made in emerging technologies such as AI, IOT and ‘edge tech.’ But their full potential can only be met when there is enhanced network capability underpinning them all.

Ericsson are leading the charge in developing the infrastructure to support these incredible technological advancements. The launch of this new network goes far beyond being the next “G” – this network promises exponential opportunity.

This is also a pivotal moment as Ericsson is refocusing its offering from hardware to software – with cutting edge algorithms and the virtualization of networks. 

It’s an exciting moment for the business. But it’s also daunting. How do you plan for a future that is limitless? How do you best monetize open software solutions? And how do you convince customers to trust you to deliver this change? 

Ericsson Future Networks branding across digital and physical touchpoints
Ericsson Future Networks visual

The Ericsson business area networks team came to Interbrand with a challenge – help find a spiky message and differentiating idea that will future proof the business as it looks to launch revolutionary new technologies. 

In the future, communication service providers (CSPs) will be able to build high-performing, efficient and completely virtualized 5G radio access networks. Virtualized RAN technologies will deliver more flexibility and shorter time to market for services such as augmented reality, virtual reality and gaming.

This new technology is game-changing, and Ericsson have a huge role to play in shaping this new landscape. 

Our role was to differentiate Ericsson from both traditional and disruptive competitors and position it as the partner to facilitate a smooth evolution to a network with exponential promise.

The network, as we know it today, has been through a series of incremental adaptations – with an evolution from 3 to 5G. With CSPs currently focused on making the shift to 5G, engaging them with a new proposition wasn’t easy. 

The future of networks will open up a whole new world of capability – but with no clear sense of when this new future will take off, the investment becomes a daunting prospect for customers.

We found it wouldn’t be enough to simply inspire our audience with “limitless possibility” – we would need to convince them that they could (and should) prepare for this huge leap forward – today and in small, manageable steps.

In a series of workshop sessions with a Senior Leadership Steering Group we used exercises to gain a deeper understanding of what differentiates Ericsson from their competitors and develop a message that this group felt confident in delivering. 

We developed a compelling vision and creative expression for Ericsson’s Network of the Future that differentiates the brand and equips it in conversations with communication service providers. Our message marries a visionary product offering with a simple offer of help to navigate this new and constantly evolving landscape.

The creative expression shows a vast landscape built from millions of modular pieces – they scale and adapt in easy fluid motion to symbolize the Ericsson Exponential Network.

The work developed in this project will be tested with a small group of VIPs (comprising of customers and influencers) at the industry’s largest trade show, the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. Our clients feel confident that our message will cut through in a space where all their biggest competitors are fighting for attention and for column inches. 

This is stage 1 in a program of work that will run for approximately 3 years. What we learn at this event will set the foundation for the launch of the network of the future.