Russell Agency

Achieving a 45% increase in lead generation for a broker insurance company through rebranding and enhancing their online presence and experience.

 
 
 

Client — Russell Agency

Location—Alabama

Sector—Insurance, Insurtech

What we did—Visual identity, Brand Messaging and Positioning, Strategy Development, Content Development, SEO Marketing, Website design and development CMS integration, Design System

Year—May 2023

 

Client

Russell Agency provides tailored coverage for personal, professional, and commercial insurance. With over 30 years of experience in the Commercial Trucking industry, they have recently diversified their offerings to include a wide range of new insurance services.

They have built their business foundation on transparency and trust. They provide their clients with insurance insights and guidance based on extensive research and help them select the most suitable insurance solution.

Brief

Navigating the insurance landscape in today's market is both challenging and expensive. It’s super difficult to find the right insurance plan without the necessary understanding or expertise in insurance solutions. As millennials enter the business world and personal needs evolve, there is a growing demand for transparent and modern insurance services.

Russell Agency recognized this changing landscape and its needs. To address this issue, they planned to enhance their online presence.

Enter Deztopia.

Our task was to redesign and reposition Russell’s brand to reflect its evolved approach, vision, and services. They wanted the rebrand to reflect Russell’s unique value for its current and potential clients

Solution

Our team divided the entire project into different stages to handle the large scale of the project. These stages included research and discovery, key drivers and design plan, brand strategy and website redesign and development.

 
 
 
 

Phase 1: Research and Discovery

The first phase of the project was about research and discovery, where we conducted executive stakeholder interviews, competitor analysis, user feedback, strategic workshops, and SEO analysis. We began by conducting in-depth discussions with the key stakeholders at Russell to understand their pain points, the market dynamics, and the unique value proposition offered by the company. We then examined the competitors’ websites, strategies, and SEO tactics to get an overview of the best practices of the insurance industry. 

We went through Russell’s online reviews on Google, Trustpilot, and the App Store to incorporate solutions to customer problems within our rebranding and redesign strategy. There were also internal strategic workshops at Deztopia, engaging our design, content, and development teams to come up with a cohesive strategy for the rebrand and redesign. While our detailed SEO analysis of competitor strategies helped us find keyword and content gaps that we filled with our SEO-focused website content for the client’s website.

  • Executive Stakeholder Interviews

  • Competitors Research and Analysis 

  • User Feedback and Reviews 

  • Strategic Workshops 

  • SEO Analysis 

Phase 2: Key Drivers and Design Plan

After the research and discovery phase, we synthesized all of the information and decided on the following key drivers for the design plan and the rest of the project.

  1. Communicate the expanded business vision.

  2. Educate and empower users. 

  3. Enhance website discoverability.

  4. Build trust through social proof.

  5. Improve the lead generation process. 

  6. Streamline navigation and information architecture.

 
 
 
 

Phase 3: Brand Strategy to reflect Russell's expansion to all industries

While coming up with a cohesive brand strategy, we had two main goals: to reflect Russell’s expanded services and aid in increasing the probability of conversion for the brand by increasing the number of quotes received through the website. .

  • Positioning Statement

  • Purpose and Vision Language

  • Strategic Narrative

  • Core Values and Behaviors

  • Verbal Identity & Content Strategy

 
 
 
 

Brand Identity Design

After defining the content brand and voice, we constructed a visual brand language that complemented the cutting-edge services Russell provides in the fast-paced insurance market.

We started the branding process with extensive company reviews, market research, and competitive benchmarking to inform our strategy development. With a detailed breakdown of the industry, target audience, and goals, we defined a set of actionable opportunities to help us re-focus Russell towards a more upscale market.

Russell's new logo is the extension of their old one and incorporates the same motion element (angle tilt) that the previous logo had. We added some colors to their basic brand color (blue) to elevate the brand's look and feel.

  • Vision Boards

  • Logo System

  • Color and Type System

  • Icon System

  • Illustration System

  • Art Direction

 
 
 

Phase 4: Redesign and Development

It involved wireframe exercises based on the navigation and information architecture we defined in the earlier phases of the project. We designed them by keeping a clear block library strategy in mind to achieve simplicity, modularity, and fast expansion in the future.

Finally, we created high-fidelity designs for the website based on client feedback and internal team discussions. Followed by the front-end and back-end development of the website.

Website Development

Russell needed a dependable, user-friendly, and adaptable CMS. We opted for an easy, no-code setup for swift content production so they wouldn’t have to rely on development assistance in the future. The aim was to remove all unnecessary clutter plugins and improve core web vitals, page speed, and SEO ratings.

Russel now has a working environment that allows them to publish new content quickly and be more creative and consistent in the process. The new build will enable them to post content efficiently, including articles, ebooks, webinars, case studies, and other page types and layouts.

  • Information Architecture & Navigation

  • SEO Analysis

  • Content development

  • Wireframes

  • High fidelity website designs

  • Block system

  • Wordpress development

  • CMS implementation

 
 
 
 

“Our experience with Deztopia was phenomenal. Their team went above and beyond to make sure we were aware of project expectations and timelines of work items. Undergoing rebranding can be scary, but Deztopia guided us along the way.

 We wanted to rebrand to appeal to different industries we offer insurance to as well as create a better impact through our messaging, which our old website lacked. We can confidently say without Deztopia, we couldn’t have completed our website redesign or branding goals. A+!”

Tim Russell (Vice President at Russell Agency)

 
 
 
 

Results and Impact

  1. Enhanced lead conversion with redesigned forms, resulting in a remarkable 45% increase in conversions.

  2. Helped Russell diversify its market reach in various new industries by broadening its target audience, resulting in more business opportunities.

  3. The website’s structure design now ensures effortless navigation, empowering users to find relevant content with a single click to achieve overall user satisfaction.

  4. We introduced tiered information levels instead of departing from lengthy content altogether. This allows users to educate themselves and access tailored content for their specific needs.

  5. Facilitated quicker decision-making processes and a higher number of quote requests among users based on educational content that guides them on their insurance needs and related costs.

  6. Built trust in the brand by incorporating case studies, testimonials, and other social proofs to show Russell’s reliability and high rate of client satisfaction.