Google X - Cybersecurity
Grounding a moonshot
Challenge
Google X (the moonshot group of Google) decided to reinvent cyber security, taking a proactive approach that would allow people to understand and avoid internet catastrophes. They had the product, they had smart people, and they had a few prominent customers - what they didn’t have was a way to talk about it that would allow them to reach the masses.
Work
We had less than 2 months to create positioning, visual identity and a new name - Chronicle. As a result we created a series of sprint workshops where we would walk through options and work through feedback to arrive at decisions in the room.
Using the information from those sessions, I developed a brand strategy that would be differentiating in the industry by being positive and empowering versus utilizing scare tactics.
Solution
Chronicle profitably stood on its own for 18+ months before Alphabet decided they wanted to keep it as a competitive advantage and merged it with its Google Cloud offering.
“At the core of our mission was the ability to look for the biggest way to have impact, and to bring the technology and services needed to “Give Good the Advantage.” Combining our efforts will allow us to take the next step on our journey, and will significantly accelerate our impact globally, together.”
(Stephen Gillett, CEO)
Brand strategy
Give good the advantage.
The Internet has made accessing information faster and easier than ever before. It’s created unimaginable leaps in advancement for our society. It’s built the connections needed to better the world.
But for cybercriminals, it’s forged a new ability. The ability to turn any network and anybody into a victim.
For those who protect our information and innovation from attack, we can be the difference between “everything’s fine” and “the worst day ever.”
While some have turned 1’s and 0’s into weapons, we’re committed to turning them back into tools.Tools to explore. Tools to transact. Tools for good. Through the proven expertise of our people and the power of the collective we give good people the edge. We empower them to identify and neutralize threats, to be smarter and faster, and to discourage cybercriminals from trying again.
Our digital future is up for grabs, and together, we can make sure the good guys win.
You made it this far, so here’s a fun fact about this project.
Standing for truth, justice, equality - and cyber-security.
Writing this positioning, I was completely inspired by Wonder Woman.
Aside from the Gal Gadot movie being everything, Wonder Woman sense of purpose to fight injustice everywhere stands out in the comic world. Drawing on that sense of ‘right’ and ‘wrong’ and protection, I came up with a narrative that made sense for Chronicle and what they were trying to do.
Plus, myself and our clients were a bunch of comic book nerds so I thought they’d appreciate it (which they did).
