In order to deepen the team culture at Zulily, and amplify recruiting efforts, I was given the opportunity to create an internal sub-brand for the Zulily Tech team. By giving employees cool swag and a mascot to rally behind, the goal was to create a sense of community, boost employee engagement and create intrigue for potential candidates.
During the research phase, our team met with Tech employees in a focus group setting to get a better understanding of tech culture, vernacular, and day-to-day roles. Some of the key terms we heard to describe how Tech at Zulily is modular, inclusive and fast-paced.
I used the insights from the focus group and competitive research to create a logo that feels bold, inclusive, and empowered. Our striking brand colors are still prominent while the Zulily logo gets reduced to be a supporting element over the large TECH. To create a mark that is balanced and pleasing to the eye, the script Zulily logo is juxtaposed with symmetric style letters. The tagline “Code Wild” embraces how ferociously the teams work, and the word is set between carets to nod back to writing code.
A mascot is a great character and icon to rally behind because they increase brand awareness, they’re memorable, create a sense of community, exemplify Tech’s personality and improve employee morale. I did a lot of research to see how other tech companies utilized mascots and I was drawn to the android droid because of its versatility and personality.
Connecting back to our “code wild” tagline and how ferociously the teams work, we decided on a mascot that is whimsical and fearless and taps into our “playful” brand trait. To tap into Zulily’s “inclusive” brand trait, we gave Nano a personality, interests, various poses and outfits. We heard firsthand from tech employees that personalization and the idea of building blocks resonates with the team.
Results of our efforts are going to be reflected in time but it was exciting to see Nano stickers on Tech employees computers and work stations.