New logo: Budget Direct

Budget Direct is an Australian provider of low cost insurance in various forms. Last week, it launched introduced a new brand identity, created by branding agency Hulsbosch.

The aim was to reposition the brand as being about somewhat more than low prices. Hulsbosch has worked to bring clarity to Budget Direct's offering with straight-forward. They also created new mascots to represent the brand in the form of friendly aliens.

Previous logo.

From a press release:

The new brand positioning aims to clearly communicate the Budget Direct brand as the smarter insurance option for consumers. Quantitative and qualitative research conducted by Hulsbosch revealed that a new level of disruption in the brand’s narrative was required to maintain the brand’s high awareness levels and to evolve the Budget Direct brand to a position that could communicate more than just attractive price points.

“Strategic insight to a brand will always steer and inform the business’ brand identity. In Budget Direct’s case, the essence is framed by one idea articulated by the tagline – Simply Smarter,” explains Hans Hulsbosch, Executive Creative Director. “We have taken the uncomplicated nature of this concept through to font, colour palette, iconography and image library to create an immediately engaging and consistent brand.”

“Working with Hulsbosch on repositioning and rebranding the Budget Direct brand has been a fantastic experience,” said Jonathan Kerr, Director Marketing and Digital, Budget Direct. “We’ve shifted Budget Direct’s positioning from cheap price to price plus. We’re telling our customers that they’re clever to have found us, and this by association also makes the brand smart. It’s the start of a more relevant dialogue with consumers when a brand can offer more than just a price point.”

Hulsbosch added, “Today, value is the badge of a savvy consumer and certainly in the insurance category people want to feel smart in their purchase decisions. Our creative “aliens” concept on which the TVC was built, created by Liquid Animation, places intelligence at the heart of making sound insurance decisions. The concept redefines the tone of insurance advertising in this country and permits Budget Direct to clearly stand apart in this sector.”

Kerr concluded, “Hulsbosch has demonstrated a clarity of vision and an understanding of the Budget Direct brand that we were looking for in a creative partnership. We’re excited about where the business is going, proud of the repositioning and inspired by the strategic branding process and how these insights will continue to steer the business and its marketing efforts going forward.”

Product icons.

More icons.

This is a classic ad from Budget Direct featuring a French woman mispronouncing the word "budget":



It has been reworked to feature the new alien mascots: