CASE STUDY
McAfee
Repositioning McAfee for accelerated growth
Challenge
With innovations like streaming and teleconferencing as well as external trends like COVID-19, people found themselves living more of their lives online—and in turn, looking to find better online protection.
At the same time, McAfee, the global cybersecurity leader, announced it was spinning off its enterprise business to focus exclusively on consumers.
These two realities provided McAfee with a moment-in-time opportunity to redefine what its consumer business stands for and become even more relevant for the people it serves and position itself for accelerated growth.
Solutions
McAfee partnered with Prophet to uncover how it could best become more relevant with consumers. After auditing the competitive landscape and immersing in what made McAfee unique, Prophet conducted research with over 5,000 customers internationally to understand the needs and opportunities where McAfee could play. In our research, we uncovered a white space that customers care about and where McAfee could credibly deliver.
Working closely with McAfee executives, we crafted a new brand strategy, including a more human-centered brand positioning that pushes beyond the category’s conventions. We looked at untapped drivers of purchase to build a brand that focuses on how McAfee’s protection—not just cybersecurity, but identity, privacy and family protections too—frees and empowers people to confidently enjoy their lives online.
We developed a new verbal and visual brand identity to match—crafting a brand voice that is approachable and optimistic, messaging that highlights McAfee’s research-backed strengths and a look-and-feel that is modern and dynamic that can be applied across marketing and product.
Prophet translated the new strategy and identity into a compelling digital launch campaign. The “Free to Be” campaign highlights how everyone deserves to be able to do what they want to do online—that people should be free to learn, free to shop, free to bank, free to connect—confidently and without fear of online threats.
Results
The new strategy, brand identity and corresponding campaign herald the future of online protection—not just for McAfee, but for what consumers should demand from the online protection industry. McAfee will continue to roll out major updates and industry firsts that help consumers stay protected and enjoy life online.
“Prophet became our indispensable ally. They expertly bridged strategy and execution and helped us effectively align our organization around our new brand strategy, which is helping us continue to deliver on the future of online protection.”
Judy Bitterli
SVP of Marketing
