NanoLayr.

 

Rebranding NZ’s most innovative deep tech company.

 

NanoLayr (previously Revolution Fibres) design, formulate and manufacture functional nanofibre textiles. They approached us for recommendations on how to achieve their goal of growing to $100M revenue. We gave them two answers - advertising, and getting ready to advertise.

Revolution Fibres and its product identities were a result of a peace-meal approach by disconnected designers over the first 10 years of the business. The products are applied in filtration products, composites, soundproofing and skincare. Any one of these could be adopted into a mass produced product and gain global recognition. We wanted the NanoLayr brand to benefit from any product-adoption success.

There’s a saying that goes something like ‘a rising tide lifts all ships’. This saying really encompasses the value behind a branded house – when one product rises, the family name rises. Whoever wins, the house always wins.

We proposed a rebrand to transform an eclectic house of brands model into a branded house, and align their identity to:

- Their new nanofibre mass production capabilities

- The idea of their products being a layer within others

 

 

 
 

Our activity encompassed the following:

Name generation:

A nanofibre layer within other products to enhance them. NanoLayr was chosen with the idea to develop product identities using the Layr convention.

Parent and product logo design:

A simple wordmark with the R device denoting the rolled goods, focussing on manufacturing ability over the cliche scientific or electrospinning symbols used in competitor brands.

Brand guidance and templates:

A comprehensive brand guide was created.

Website design and build:

An open-platform website was built to showcase the new brand and the nanofibre platforms. With a wealth of video content, the site was designed with a minimalistic approach to allow the content to shine. The one new website and it's pages replaced the old Revolution FIbres website and a separate e-commerce XantuLayr website.

Building signage:

Brand and wayfinding signage was created for their building interior and exterior, as well as wraps for their electrospinning machines which are named after lizard species - Goanna, Komodo and Iguanna.

Parent brand video production:

A B2B brand video was created to introduce NanoLayr to the world and let it be known that a competitive edge lies with a NanoLayr partnership.

Site and staff photography:

Part of the brand video shoot was an on-site shoot day at the NanoLayr premises. This involved product, manufacturing and staff photography.

Product 3D video production:

Nanofibre is hard to fathom. The scale of the fibres, the method through which they are made (electrospinning), and the benefits each nanofibre platform brings to other products. Our approach to explain Layr nanofibre platforms was to work in 3D. We had to carefully avoid showing sensitive production IP with intentional misdirection used in the electrospinning scenes.

Sales Tools:

Sales collateral, templates and staff stationery were created to support the growing team in keeping all of their communications on-brand.

 
 

 "Over the last year we have been transforming every aspect of our operation as we transition from an R&D business, to being recently named New Zealand’s most Innovative Deep Tech business and a manufacturer at scale. One of the more significant areas of this change has been our rebranding as the previous identity didn’t align with the strategy we had implemented or the work we had done to move towards becoming a values based organisation.

Right from the first meeting where a branded house was suggested as a means to achieve the strategic objectives of the business, we've felt The Brandery was a safe pair of hands to rebrand us. The team knew our business and the product literacy they brought gave us confidence to lean on them to write, art direct and create our visual communications. While there was an initial bedding in process to getting the positioning, narrative and tone right, this was achieved with buy in and consideration of the history and our journey. It was important we acknowledged our history, but moved away from that origin story, which you embraced.

While the commercial outcome of our rebrand is not yet measurable, the internal outcomes have been amazing to see. We have a very happy Board, an existing team reinvigorated, and a rapidly growing staff as we execute our strategy, that are excited to wear that new logo on their chest. Most importantly, we're all crystal clear on who we are, what we do, and why we come to work every day. The brand narrative and the identity The Brandery helped us create will serve us well as we move collectively towards our goal of a successful IPO."

- Ray Connor, CEO