PML Applications, the commercial arm of Plymouth Marine Laboratory, is a diverse marine environmental consultancy, providing scientific research, consulting and training services to help clients understand the marine environment’s impact on their business, and their impact on the marine environment. Expert in marine biology, biofouling, corrosion and remote sensing, it works with some of the biggest names in shipping, offshore energy, aquaculture and environmental services, and donates all its profits to a sustainable ocean future by funding PML’s research.
Its Centres of Excellence in Marine Biofouling and Corrosion, Coastal Technologies, Geospatial Applications and Environmental Solutions had built a leading reputation for independence and impartiality, with testing facilities and expertise dedicated to bridging the gap between research and real-world solutions. Its existing brand and messaging, though, suggested an academic or scientific institution rather than a commercial consultancy with a customer-centric service portfolio. BLUE was engaged to develop the PML Applications brand, help build networks in key market sectors, and drive increased enquiries and sales through digital channels.
The starting point was a perception audit, building the evidence for an updated brand position that would both maximise commercial opportunities and support the association with Plymouth Marine Laboratory, the charity dedicated to marine science. The audit confirmed PML Applications’ reputation for expertise and for going the extra mile for customers, and showed a clear need to clarify its purpose and articulate its offering to a diverse client base. It also provided the evidence for how to organise content from the individual Centres into a revised, customer-focused service portfolio.
That evidence supported a clear opportunity to differentiate PML Applications by articulating its purpose and finding its voice, explaining the sum of its parts in language the industry understands. The new brand narrative was built around a purpose-led proposition, ‘Applied science for the blue economy’, which set out its role in accelerating new technologies for a sustainable blue economy across the marine, energy, defence, aquaculture and fisheries, and environmental sectors. The narrative positioned PML Applications as a social business, giving profits back to society through funding PML’s research, and delivering environmentally responsible marine consultancy to a global client base.
Building on the narrative, BLUE developed creative concepts and delivered an updated brand identity, with a new visual identity system and tone of voice for a new website and brand assets. The website design centred on the new customer-centric service portfolio, making it easy for clients to navigate by service, by sector or by Centre of Excellence, and was built to optimise accessibility, usability, SEO and conversion.
A new narrative and online identity improved the positioning of PML Applications, supporting its growth strategy as it sought to engage new clients and market areas. BLUE helped the organisation rethink its service portfolio from the client’s perspective, making its diverse offering, and its Centres of Excellence, easier to access and understand.
