From ACS to Koltiv
Naming - Logo Design - Verbal Guidelines - Visual Guidelines - Website Refresh - Video Production
Koltiv: Rebranding, redesigning, and repositioning a 44-year-old IT firm for sustained growth
The Koltiv Rebrand
Define Your Brand. Drive Your Growth.
How do you build a brand for growth?
With clear positioning, a compelling story, and visuals that draw people in – of course all built on a foundation of authenticity, truth, and integrity.
As Marketing & Communications Manager, Caitlin Tiemeyer joined ACS and quickly saw the potential for a strong brand, but also realized it wasn't ready for the growth the firm was looking to achieve.
A Reputation Worth Building:
For more than four decades, Associated Computer Systems (ACS) built a reputation in the Midwest as a trusted IT partner. From managed IT and cybersecurity to cloud and app development, the firm served hundreds of small to mid-market businesses with technology solutions.
But as ACS grew, it faced a brand problem: its identity had not kept pace with its ambitions.
Clients valued the people and the service, but the name “ACS” didn’t communicate anything meaningful or interesting. Staff even admitted they didn’t know what the letters stood for. Externally, the website didn’t reflect the values and meaning behind the services.
ACS engaged Resound to refresh its identity, creating a brand and digital presence that would stand out for all the right reasons.
The Problem:
- Outgrown identity: Staff described ACS’s brand as “antiquated” and “stone age.” One sales team member admitted, “There’s not really a connection between ACS, the name, the brand, and any values. It just feels like a regular company.”
- Confusion and inconsistency: The name meant little to staff or clients, the logo was unused, and brand colors changed frequently.
- Reactive marketing: Historically, ACS had done little strategic marketing, relying on word of mouth and sales rather than building air cover for growth.
- Website limitations: The existing site wasn’t intuitive, lacked SEO optimization, and failed as a lead-generation tool.
Without a clear, unified identity, ACS risked blending into a crowded IT marketplace.
The Solution
Resound designed a three-pronged approach: brand development, design support, and a new website.
Brand Development: Expressing Their Brand’s Character
Every rebrand starts with the truth. Not nice-sounding words that look nice on the conference room wall, but values it really owns…and that have a real effect on how they look at their work.
And you can’t just do this any old way. The process has to extract those things that are true (and therefore consistently executable by the brand) and valuable.
The Process:
- Strategy Workshop: Leadership defined core values, personality traits, and a brand anthem. During the workshop, we noticed some misalignments we would later confirm through the validation research.
- Validation Research: This isn’t just to find out how true the values and traits we identified in the workshop were, but also to deepen our definitions.
- Competitor Analysis: Reviewed 8 regional and national firms. Found opportunities to differentiate through custom development, stability, and long-term relationships (vs. vendor churn).
The Deliverables:
- New name: Koltiv
- Brand values: Human Experience, Character, Problem Solving, Ownership.
- Traits: Trustworthy, Resourceful, Reliable, Candid.
- Visual system: new logo, color palette, typography, guidelines, and rollout plan.
Design Support
The internal team at ACS/Koltiv lacked the bandwidth to fully implement the new brand, so they asked for our help with the brand rollout.
- Ongoing design retainer: 150 hours over six months.
- Services: social media content, proposal templates, PowerPoint decks, and collateral.
- Ensured consistent rollout of the Koltiv identity across sales and marketing channels.
Website Redesign
Koltiv asked Resound to help the brand come to life on their website, where we started with planning and followed our proven process to launch on time and without the need for bug fixes after launch.
- Content Strategy & Design: Built a sitemap, wireframes, moodboards, and key page concepts.
- Development: Created a new HubSpot CMS site with responsive design, custom templates, and SEO optimization.
- Launch & Training: QA tested, migrated content, trained staff, and set up analytics/tracking.
Video Production
A rebrand that doesn’t inspire and align is a failed rebrand. But when it does, it’s magic. How do you know when the magic has happened?
Remember that this whole process starts with the company’s leadership going deep with the brand.
So when — at the end of all the work — the CEO gets on camera, and everything he says is what we’ve found to be true in the process, and he owns it, you know it’s the natural result of a thoughtful rebrand, following our process.
And that’s exactly what happened. We showed up with our video equipment and let the CEO work his magic, speaking from authenticity and showing the world that this brand is for real.
The Results
Koltiv enjoyed a fully fleshed-out version of their brand, executed through their new logo, a website, a video, and design:
Unified Identity
ACS became Koltiv, a brand rooted in Midwest values but forward-looking in its technology. Staff embraced the “Rural Tony Stark” metaphor, blending expertise with a human touch.
Clear Differentiation
Competitor research validated Koltiv’s unique position: a firm that combines custom development capabilities with long-term, human-first IT service.
Digital Growth Platform
The new website gave Koltiv a scalable, modern platform aligned with its new brand. With improved navigation, content strategy, and SEO, the site became a lead-generating asset.
Brand Video
A rebrand proves successful when the CEO authentically embodies the brand’s truth on camera, turning strategy into real, inspiring connection.