Mercer, a global human resources consulting firm, was at a crossroads. On the one hand, it had undergone an intense period of growth, emerging as a leader in redefining the world of work, reshaping retirement and investment outcomes, and unlocking real health and well-being. On the other hand, it wasn’t being recognized for this leadership and performance. Mercer needed a partner that would help vault its presence in the highly competitive marketplace of human resources.​

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Enter Lippincott, tasked with shaping a new future for the firm. The result is an inspiring brand story, grounded in the reality of its business, and a vibrant new visual identity, both activated for an audience of 25,000 employees around the globe.​

Through executive and client interviews, internal workshops, global “sounding board” calls, and rigorous competitive analysis, Lippincott was able to pinpoint the key strategic advantage that the brand needed to leverage: an unusual talent combination of high IQ and high EQ. In short, Mercer was an extraordinary people company, in the business of people. We built this insight into a new brand platform that emphasized this strong differentiation.​

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To then bring this story to life, the visual approach demonstrates Mercer’s perspectives with conviction, optimism, and warmth. A high contrast sharp serif, balanced with a simple geometric sans, elevates the brand’s words. Bold, colorful gradients add dynamism, and a bright, people-inspired photography style brings emotion and human connection. All together, these elements create a vibrant platform from which to speak, be heard and be noticed.​

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We then delivered a suite of supporting tools to manage and communicate the brand story and its visual expression with impact and consistency. This included a brand architecture blueprint, along with guidelines for brand governance and voice, and a new tagline: Welcome to Brighter.​

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Our thinking proved especially effective. It propelled the global launch into the most highly attended event in Mercer history – doubling the previous record. We also trained 160 brand activation leaders virtually, to enable them to cascade the brand in their local markets following the global launch.​

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Further building on the success of the brand refresh, Mercer has seen significant increases in engagement and traffic to its digital platforms, with a 30 percent increase in the number of visitors to its website, a 72 percent rise in content downloads and sign-ups, and a 50 percent increase in email marketing opens and clicks.