Evolving the Omada brand for a new era of digital care
This morning we are taking the first steps to introduce the new Omada to the world. It’s a big day, and we couldn’t be more excited.
Beginning today, you’ll notice a host of new visual elements making their way into our materials – headlined by our new logo. We’ve launched an updated look and feel as part of our brand refresh, and later in this article we’ll discuss in a bit more detail how these new elements were developed, and what they represent.
But the why behind our updated brand is the reason we are so excited. As our CEO Sean discussed last year, we’ve evolved significantly from our diabetes prevention roots – expanding the conditions we address through our digital care program; opening new channels to reach even larger populations; and launching industry-leading partnerships to enhance the care we deliver.
So over the last several months, we’ve worked hard to develop a brand that reflects the company we’ve become, and represents the future we’re working to create – for our participants, our partners, and the broader healthcare industry.
The process began last year as we updated our brand promise, and our company mission:
But refreshing a brand is more than a new logo, color palette, website, one pager, medium article, or cool shirt (although to be fair, we have all of those things). It’s the sum of all experiences a person has with our company. And we believe we’ve developed an evolution of our brand that will drive a lasting perception of who we are and what we offer.
Approach and Creative Strategy
Omada was first incubated at IDEO – the birthplace of human-centered design. Those origins have stayed with us. From behavioral science to clinical best practices, our focus has always been about engaging real people to make lasting, sustainable changes. Our ability to both empathize and empower our participants makes us truly unique in both digital health and whole person care. Every decision we make – about our product, our brand, and our company – starts with a foundational value: Participants First.
As we approached the rebrand, we knew it would be important to maintain our existing heritage, while emphasizing our ongoing focus on participants while acknowledging our updated strategy and expanded program suite. While the messiness of being human is undeniable, the importance of our impact at the center of a participant's journey towards a healthier life is undebatable.
Additionally, we focused on integrating our new brand promise into our visual brand language. Healthy patterns include a wide range of behaviors. A healthy pattern is anything that becomes a repeatable formula for a healthier way of life. Things like glucose monitoring, taking family walks after meals, and staying in touch with your Omada Health Coach. It’s the backbone of our approach to sustainable behavior change.
Application of the Strategy
The new Omada logo maintains our iconic O symbol, as well as keeping orange as a core color for our brand. But we’ve completely reinvisioned our mark and type treatment. The new Omada mark is equal parts an abstracted “O”, and a healthy pattern moving forward with purpose and momentum.
Our name has been set in a custom lowercase logotype that balances friendliness, sophistication, and legibility and emphasizes both the geometry and rhythm these letterforms embody. And while the new logo is a large part of our brand, we are in the process of completely updating our website, marketing materials, product experience, and more.
A Brand as a System
But simply updating those elements isn’t enough without an integrated operating system guiding our decisions. The way people experience brands is increasingly complex; the potential channels and touchpoints through which individuals encounter Omada necessitates coherence and clarity across our platforms. Whether you are coming to the Omada website, logging into our app, or meeting one of our coaches at a health fair, that experience must feel welcoming, familiar, and consistent.
The only way to achieve this level of harmony is to deploy a unifying set of principles that serve as the foundation for everything we do. These principles both set the tone for the visual elements of our brand, and guide the tone we use to communicate to the world. While certain emphases may shift based on the audience, the core story remains the same. No matter the context, we are laser focused on participants and partners feeling empowered and supported. That means all of our brand assets clearly communicate our unique offering in ways that are savvy but accessible, demonstrating expertise without condescension. Our message must cut through an increasingly noisy industry to empower individuals towards lifelong health.
That message lands most effectively and impactfully when the brand system operates across product, marketing, and other key brand touchpoints. It’s one of the larger challenges in the industry, and I’m ecstatic to report we’re on track to deliver the most unified brand experience in the market.
In a coming post, we’ll dive deeply into how each of these principles guide critical decisions about our brand, and our program.
Rolling the brand out
In the coming months, you’ll see the new Omada brand work its way into all company and program touchpoints. That starts today with our presence at Sales Advantage in San Diego.
We’ll be flying our flag at conferences, in social feeds, and most importantly, within the ecosystem of our program. In the coming weeks, we’ll also share more behind-the-scenes looks at our product design system, illustration style, and more.
Above all, Omada’s new brand is a declaration of how far we’ve come, and where we’re headed. It’s a representation of the value we deliver in the lives of our participants, and the bottom lines of our partners. And it’s an expression of our continued expansion as we grow into the only true digital care provider on the market.
Today’s launch, and the work you’ll see in the coming weeks and months represents hundreds of hours of work from dozens of dedicated Omadans. Who better to express the company we’ve become than the people who live our values every day?
