10/18/2021

q.beyond awarded “marketing Oscar” Effie for brand relaunch

• Award acknowledges repositioning as leading IT service provider
• Expert jury convinced by rebranding concept and implementation
• Transformation to asset-light IT service provider has clear impact

Cologne, 18 October 2021 – Together with Cologne-based advertising agency zuk., q.beyond AG has been awarded the prestigious Effie Award in Bronze for effective B2B brand communications. The jury at Effie Germany, comprising marketing experts from companies, agencies, market research and academia, confers awards for the best marketing communications in Germany. A total of 86 submissions qualified for the shortlist, of which 11 in the B2B category. Among marketing and brand experts, the Effie has counted as the marketing sector “Oscar” for 40 years now.

Expect the next – new brand image stands out

q.beyond launched its new brand identity in September 2020. Guided by its motto of “digitalisation beyond conventional”, the company deliberately steered clear of the expectations traditionally placed in an IT service provider. The new brand identity and the claim “Expect the next” add an unmissable exclamation mark to the company’s change of focus. Its transformation to a pure asset-light IT service provider was implemented in visual terms as well, underlining the revolutionary approach that intentionally stands out from other, more run-of-the-mill brand identities. The launch campaign with visuals untypical for the sector and minimalistic headlines, the consistent implementation of the striking brand design and the rollout all provided a well-rounded programme for the relaunch.

“Together with the agency zuk., we reinvented q.beyond as an IT service provider and consciously took a courageous path. The new brand identity underlines our claim to rethink our customers’ business and to support them with the manifold challenges of digitalisation. The new brand has shown that it has convinced our customers, employees, investors and other stakeholders, so we are delighted to receive this prestigious award”, says Stanja Müller-Wolf, Head of Marketing & Communications at q.beyond.

Strategy and KPIs make winning concept especially convincing

The jury was particularly positive in its assessment of the benefits which the relaunch has created for the company. These are backed up by facts and figures. The number of visitors to the website has surged by more than 200 percent, while social media participation has risen by more than 60 percent. The rebranding has therefore promoted q.beyond’s “2020plus” growth strategy, raising awareness among potential customers and fresh talent, as well as among M&A candidates.

q.beyond will take receipt of the Effie for its successful brand launch at the official gala due to be held in Leipzig on 25 November. The award will be made by GWA, the association of leading communications agencies in Germany.

q.beyond Visual Effie Germany and examples of the launch campaign:

About q.beyond AG

q.beyond AG is the key to successful digitalisation. We help our customers find the best digital solutions for their business and then put them into practice. Our strong team of 1,000 people accompanies SME customers securely and reliably throughout their digital journey. We are experts in Cloud, SAP and IoT.

q.beyond AG resulted from the rebranding of QSC AG in September 2020. With nationwide locations and its own certified data centres, it is one of Germany’s leading IT service providers.

Contact
q.beyond AG
Jan Erlinghagen
Corporate Communications
Mathias-Brüggen-Str. 55
50829 Cologne
T +49 221 669-8119
presse@qbeyond.de