Forefront Communications

Where Tech Meets Intellect

BROADWAY

CLIENT TYPE:

Fintech/RegTech

Categories:

Brand/Website

Forging a new identity for a global fixed income solutions provider offering a unique combination of talent and technology

THE CHALLENGE

Broadway Technology, a leading fintech that solves its institutional clients’ toughest trading-related workflow challenges, came to us with a compelling challenge. After agreeing to be acquired by ION Group in 2020, the deal was paused due to antitrust concerns, which ultimately resulted in Broadway selling only its non-fixed income business to ION. Broadway felt that the reconstituted firm – “Broadway 2.0,” as they called it internally – led by new CEO Michael Chin, had a significant opportunity to forge a new identity, especially as curious industry contacts began to reach out about the firm’s future. Broadway had never devoted significant time or resources to its brand, preferring to focus on its clients, but with a new chapter ahead and the industry watching closely, it decided to take the plunge.

WE WERE EXTREMELY IMPRESSED BY FOREFRONT’S ABILITY TO DELIVER KEY MESSAGES, A PITHY TAGLINE THAT PERFECTLY CAPTURES OUR PHILOSOPHY AND ORIGINAL DESIGN ELEMENTS THAT HELP US STAND OUT.

Michael Chin, CEO

THE STRATEGY

With its business now focused exclusively on fixed income, Broadway had to adapt in many ways, and we felt its brand had to reflect this evolution.

 

During the messaging and positioning phase of the project, we were struck by Broadway’s commitment to the human element. Chin articulated his vision for how trading technology should augment human intelligence, and how Broadway fosters a collaborative culture and consultative approach to client interactions. From these qualities, we created the tagline “Where Tech Meets Intellect,” which we believed to be a perfect encapsulation of how Broadway’s approach differs from other providers. With its well-known Toc platform for workflow optimization and a suite of powerful trading apps, as well as the ability to integrate any proprietary or third-party tool, Broadway required a human touch to both build and benefit from its solutions, and we wanted this to shine through to both sales prospects and potential hires.

 

That led us to make a key recommendation: ditch the “Technology” and move forward as simply “Broadway.” In speaking with our industry contacts, we found that Broadway already had name recognition and respect among the firms it wanted to reach – the extra word simply wasn’t necessary. The shortened name created a more concise, ownable brand while giving equal weight to the human element that defines Broadway’s business.

EXECUTION

The rebranding project culminated with the launch of a new website complete with new copy that reinforced the developed messaging, a new logo that captured the new name and compelling visuals to drive it all home.

 

Perhaps the most striking design element came in the form of the “Dataways” we developed, an original design concept that abstractly represents both tech and intellect. These were used heavily on the website, sales and marketing materials and on social media. We even created a framework for the Dataways to be used as Morse code, giving Broadway an additional avenue to subtly highlight its key messages.

 

The website and logo were authoritative and straightforward, yet elegant, reflecting the code that Broadway writes. But while the key information was laid out in black and white, vivid shades of purple, green, orange and blue throughout showed that the firm isn’t afraid to do things a little differently either. Effective use of imagery, especially photos of focused, driven individuals, was another key design element.

 

The website launch was supported by a refreshed library of sales materials, giving Broadway a full toolkit to promote and win clients for its revamped business.

It’s not every day that you get to relaunch your firm, and with Forefront’s help, we made it count.

Michael Chin, CEO