First things first. We’ve always been a purpose-driven company. We started Marshmallow when we found out how unfair insurance prices are for people who move to the UK. We’re talking thousands more £££ for the same cover, even if their driving experience is flawless.
That’s because the industry isn’t set up to price this huge group of people properly.
Over the years, we’ve helped 100,000s of UK newcomers get a fairer deal on their car insurance. How? By building our own technology and developing pricing models that let us cater to their unique experiences. And investing time in getting to know them too.
To that end, we wanted a stronger mission. One that emphasises our continued commitment to helping people who move here. And one that keeps the door open so we can use our learnings to help other groups of people in similar situations.
There are millions of marginalised customers out there with problems most insurers don’t want to think about. Our future is in helping those people.
Our new mission is about supporting those who find themselves on a different path, either by choice or by circumstance. The exceptions to the rules that other insurers aren’t interested in serving.
Right now, we’re still focused on helping people who are new to the UK. But keep watching this space.
Since we were sprucing things up on the inside, we thought we should look at the outside as well.
So how do you bring a purpose like ours to life?
First, we needed to be completely aligned on what it means to back the ones who step outside the norm. And that meant answering some big questions like… What makes us tick? What do we do differently to other insurers? What do we have planned for the future? What do our customers say about us? What do we want them to say about us later down the line?
The answer soon became clear: we’re not an average insurance company that prices people out for living life differently, or for making choices outside the traditional norm. Instead, we champion their uniqueness. And we back the exceptions to the rule.
Our new identity reflects that. As our brand team explains:
“Our new visual identity manages to celebrate the diversity of our customer base in a really optimistic way. Rather than just tell people that we’re here to support UK newcomers and other marginalised groups, it shows that.” - Fran, Lead Brand Designer
“Our voice has always been a strong component of the brand. We’ve always prioritised using clear, simple language across the board, adding flourishes of delight when we can. This rebrand has allowed us to evolve and elevate that. I’m excited to really dig into our customers’ own stories so we can celebrate them properly in our own copy, and to do so with confidence.” - Gwenllian, Lead Content Designer
First of all, a streamlined visual language that’s shaped exclusively by a library of marshforms - a new set of graphics that make up shapes, illustrations and characters that can be built to showcase the infinite variation and uniqueness of our customers.
That library also gave rise to our new logo - now a recognisable and standout ‘M’ in a world of famous Ms. It’s totally bespoke and always looking forward - just like us. They also give us infinite ways to frame and highlight our new photography style. Our customers are our muses (yes, really!). So our photography is all about them. Think real, vibrant snaps that elevate our customers and bring their personalities to life.
Then there’s the way we speak. Functional Delight is what we’re aiming for. That means clear, useful and accessible content, with the odd sprinkle of je ne sais quoi that shows that different is, indeed, delightful. We want people to have total confidence in what we tell them. And we want them to enjoy what they’re reading, even when the subject is dry.
And our signature pink? We’d never ditch that. We just gave it a bit of a lift.
As you can tell, we’re very excited about it all. But our work’s only getting started. Want to help make our mission a reality? Check out our open roles.
And if you want to find out more about the ins and outs of how we got here, who better to explain than the brand agency who helped make it all happen. Ragged Edge is famous for using brand to create change. Based in London but with a global remit, their bold ideas are now live in over 175 countries. You can read more about our collaboration in their case study.