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Beyond Hardware to Holistic Solutions

FUEL recently took on the challenge of helping Inteconnex, an innovative new technology company, to convey the critical intangibles that set the firm apart from its competitors.

Inteconnex creates information technology systems and physical security systems incorporating elements such as cameras and facility access. The firm provides services for enterprises such as hospitals, financial institutions, universities and medium to large-sized businesses.

    Says Inteconnex President Marc Meyer, “We are a highly knowledgeable technology-oriented company with state-of-the-art systems that allow us to provide system integration that other system integrators are not able to provide. We provide creative solutions that really meet the customers’ needs, rather than trying to sell them product.”

    Without an identifiable brand and relying on word-of-mouth referrals to build its business, Inteconnex turned to the Entrepreneurial Development Center (EDC) in Cedar Rapids for assistance in developing its marketing plan.

    “We started from the ground level,” says Josie Heskje, EDC Vice President of Marketing, who brought FUEL in to help establish a foundation for the marketing effort. “Inteconnex had a name and loyal customers, but that’s all. We needed a strategy for them to go to market, and part of that was building the brand.”

      EDC research showed that Inteconnex customers were most impressed by the level of support and creative problem-solving the company provided, says Heskje. “Inteconnex also had a vision that was unusual with both information technology and physical security products and services. This gives them the ability to use their IT strength to leverage physical security projects so they could provide something more comprehensive and holistic than most providers. Our challenge was how to convey that theme forward to differentiate them in the market.”

      “They’re very collaborative. I have worked with a number of other marketing companies in the past and generally you’re working with an account manager who is translating what you say to the designer or writer. I really enjoyed meeting with the creative people, hearing what they’re saying and interacting with them.”

      — Marc Meyer

      Heskje says FUEL took time to study the research and talk with the Inteconnex team to understand the firm’s message and capabilities. “The whole FUEL team got immersed in the project and learned about the company and the industry,” she says. “It was a purposeful, meaningful exercise that led to a powerful ideation phase and very thoughtful decision-making.”

        Inteconnex’s Meyer says FUEL’s approach was a refreshing change for him. “They’re very collaborative. I have worked with a number of other marketing companies in the past and generally you’re working with an account manager who is translating what you say to the designer or writer. I really enjoyed meeting with the creative people, hearing what they’re saying and interacting with them.”Rather than focusing on wires and servers, as Inteconnex’s competitors were doing, FUEL focused on the back-end solutions that define the firm. The resulting logo is a dynamic, intersecting shape that suggests connectivity.

        “The logo that FUEL created expresses the attributes of being holistic, comprehensive, innovative and trusted,” says Heskje. “We wanted to distinguish Inteconnex from the competition with something that portrays a higher level of professionalism and a clean, high-tech feel, and they were able to do that.”Meyer says the new Inteconnex brand, which FUEL has carried through its business cards, stationery system, website, collateral materials and trade show banner, has generated a very positive response. “It conveys a highly technical type of field but doesn’t look dated like a lot of what’s out there. It really communicates the integration and connectivity of our system overall.”

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                                Bill Bollman
                                Creative Director
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                                Bill Bollman is FUEL’s Creative Director. Before co-founding FUEL in 2001, he worked for Horizon Communications, JW Morton and Basler Design Group. Bill studied Illustration at Hawkeye Tech in Waterloo, Iowa. An expert in the “old ways” of hands-on print production, these skills influence his work in the digital world to this day. His work throughout his career has been featured in international publications including Graphis, How International Design, Communication Arts, and The One Book as well as numerous design annuals and reference books.

                                Hometown: West Union, Iowa
                                Involved in Design and Marketing since 1988
                                Interests: Fitness, Travel, Movies