The Console Blog

Posted by Rick Jackson
Chief Marketing Officer

VMware has now passed the decade mark, and created what is arguably one of the most important brands in software.  In this case, I am simply referring to the name of our company as the brand.  It is incredible how well recognized we are amongst our primary target buyer – the IT audience. 

As we look forward to what we want to accomplish in the next decade, we decided that it was time to pump up the whole essence of the VMware brand.  And in this case, I am referring to the brand identity – the collection of attributes and image that our overall brand experience delivers to our target audiences.  Without going into the science of brand, of which there is plenty of expert and scientific research, I’d like to reflect one simple, country boy view.  (For the record, I was born in Nashville, Tennessee, thus the “country boy” reference.  Having spent most of my life in CA, I may or may not be entitled to this reference!)

Our approach to brand is holistic, encompassing the image, voice and tone of VMware, all wrapped around a set of core messages that set up our value proposition.  Thus our starting point was one of energy… “Energize the business through IT, while saving energy – financial, human, and the earth’s.”  (See my blog on “Energize and Save – Standing Out in a Crowd”.)

With that core message defined, we needed the other elements – image and tone – to reflect that message.  Consistency is key.  It all has to re-enforce what we want to get across, and not compromise the essence of who we are, and how we best present ourselves.  This is why we are excited to bring an updated look, tone, and message to market in a cohesive package.

The first thing you’ll notice is that our color palette is considerably more vibrant. We specifically chose a wide range of cool to warm colors in tones that complement each other, in order to give us the flexibility to be creative in our execution. But the differentiating image that manifests itself throughout our creative execution is the use of the color prisms.  A simple idea manifested through our creative execution – VMware solutions simplify the underlying complexity.  For example, in some of our treatments you’ll see a reveal – a corner of a piece pealed back to show the underlying complexity illustrated as a grid of color prisms.  In other words, the surface is simple and clear, but the underlying infrastructure is complex and diverse.

As part of our comprehensive brand redesign, we have also updated our logo.  I will talk about this in more depth in my next post.

Brighter, bolder, more energetic.  That was the goal of the image redesign.  With our rapid growth and expansion, it has been difficult in the past to manage a consistent brand.  But now we are entering a stage of our company lifecycle where increasing the depth of relationship with our customers, partners, and broader ecosystem is critical to our ongoing success.  Where maintaining leadership visibility across multiple audiences will keep us in a position of strength.  This evolution dictates that we become more aware and protective of our complete brand, and thus the perception of VMware everywhere.