Apta Software Case Study

Apta Software, Inc. (formerly Alstec Systems) is a software development company specializing in financial management solutions for public-sector organizations. The first product, AptaFund™, launched in mid 1999 into the public school sector.

Today's marketplace presents particular challenges for a young, start-up company: technical excellence must be reflected in its marketplace presence. Recognizing this crucial need, the leadership team partnered with Bromberg Consulting to develop a unique brand identity that they could own in a competitive market.

The goal when creating a brand identity is to efficiently represent the company personality, culture, and state-of-the-art technology as well as speak directly to the target audience. Following are some key steps that we took towards building a brand identity that communicates technical excellence, innovative thinking and commitment to customers.

Brand Strategy
This process identifies brand attributes, brand characteristics, company vision and key corporate messages. For Apta Software, it involved an in-depth analysis of the company, people, product plans (present and future), target audience and competitive products. A brand is built over time and the Brand Strategy needs to successfully position the products and company while allowing for growth and development in the future.

Brand Architecture
The Brand Architecture or structure was developed from the brand strategy. The structure is the blueprint that defines the relationship between the company, its products and services. Does it serve the company better to build the brand at the company or product level? Where is the current brand equity and how does that map to the future goals of the company? How is the strategy leveraged into product packaging, advertising and company communications?

Company and Product Naming
The leadership team did not feel the original name, Alstec Systems effectively represented their state-of-the-art technology or corporate culture. A comprehensive naming study was implemented which leveraged the Brand Strategy work and included naming strategy development and name generation. The final selection was Apta Software, which came from the root words Apt and Active to convey cutting edge, moving forward, ahead and advanced. The new company name was then incorporated into the product name: Fund Accounting became AptaFund™, leveraging the company name as well as being descriptive within the market.

Company Tagline
The company tagline is strategic for building brand and defining product position with the target market. The initial target audience for the AptaFund™ product is school districts. A very focused tagline that speaks directly to that market segment and communicates the value proposition of the company was chosen.

We help schools get down to business.

Visual Identity Development – Logo
The origin of the visual identity design is deeply rooted in the brand strategy, organizational identity and corporate culture. When design is created as part of the bigger process it can more successfully represent the brand attributes and personality of the organization. The leadership team believes this design successfully represents the organization, brand attributes and is relevant in today's marketplace.

Corporate Business System
Using the newly created corporate identity, a complete corporate business system was designed that stylistically represented the defined corporate vision and company personality.

Web Site
The existing Web site was updated with the newly created Apta Software look and feel.

Marketing Materials
To ensure maximum flexibility and cost efficiency, a pocket folder with interchangeable inserts was created for trade show, public relations and general sales purposes.

Interactive CD-ROM Product Demo

AptaFund™ is an extremely easy-to-use, intuitive financial management tool. It is the first Windows™ - based fund accounting solution and out-performs the old proprietary systems that are prevalent within school districts. After a number of product demonstrations it became evident that once a potential customer saw the product in action, there was a high level of interest. The interactive CD-ROM was produced, complete with video clips and active screen shots, to be used as a cost efficient way to introduce the product to new potential customers.